Startlist's for Diamomd League Final in Zurich are up

Gault posted on Twitter a link that showed that they will stream live on Peacock. Still haven't seen it on the app. Coverage would begin 11:30 (ET) AM tomorrow.

Coevett and I agree on this. You could also argue that Jakob is dodging his 5,000m competition (who he didn't race before Worlds either) by not doing Brussels/Monaco same as Jake not running the last 2. I don't think either is really true. Jake wants to be a true 800/1500 guy and I don't think the schedule next year is that bad. Jakob is managing doubles at Championships meets and style points at 3K/5K isn't a priority with two doubles.

Jake hasn't run all 800s after World's. He ran 1500 at Commonwealths. Then he ran 800s. I'm glad to see an 800/1500 guy but he's ducking Jakob and he's not unique in recent history. Makhloufi was a good one, don't forget him. Other 1500m runners ran 1:43 (Kiprop, Cheruiyot) recently, while many run 1:44s and 1:45s. Makhloufi ran 1:42s and medaled with silvers in 800 and 1500 in 2016. The Polish runner, Marcin Lewandowski, who beat Jakob, ran 800s before moving up to 1500m.

I don't think Jacob is dodging the 5000m. At the current level, he consider that distance a joke. I don't see in any way Krop or Fisher challenging him.

Jacob want challenges.

I mean, he won in Lausanne by a second pretty much with a pace that was quite comfortable for him. In Monaco, Aregawi requested a World Record pace for 3,000 (well faster than Jakob's PB)...that feels like a challenge to me. In Brussels, they were going after a 5,000m time right at Jakob's PB.

Running 3:29 1500s is routine for him, so I don't agree with your premise.

If I have a slight doubt that Krop, Aregawi or Barega are going to challenge Jacob I will be the first to tell it.

In the last 3 years he run one 5000m by season and he always won.

I just think this is over-dramatic. If he was about "ducking" after winnings Worlds he would've run the Commonwealth Games 800m, which was missing Korir and had a far softer field with Bol and Kinyamal Kisasy. Instead he ran against a topflight field in the 1500. Now you say he's ducking Jakob in particular, but there's nothing stopping Jakob from running the 1,000 that Jake did or the 5th Ave Mile. And Jakob has only run one DL since Worlds. Does it really make sense for Jake to run a longer event at the DL Finals in which he already has a bye, or try to earn a bye at 800 for next year's worlds and likely be fresher to defend his 5th Ave title?

Very small sample size. A championship 5,000 really suits Jakob and we've seen this. Could it be harder for him in a DL race that goes out really fast? We don't know. He won in Italy a couple years back, but the top-end of the field was a tired Gebrhiwet and the winning time was 12:48.45. Yes I still would put my money on him to have won this year in Rome, Brussels or Monaco. That being said, who thought he was going to lose in Oslo or Lausanne?

I suppose if the roles were reversed you would be saying "There's nothing stopping Jake from running the 5000 that Jakob did." I don't have a horse in this race but your statement in bold is ridiculous. And it's a bit unfair to fault Jakob's post-Worlds racing. It's not like EC 15/5k double, Lausanne 15, Zurich 15 is an easier schedule than CG 15, Monaco 1k, EC 8, Brussels 8, Zurich 8, nevermind the fact that Jake could have raced the 1500 in Munich or Lausanne while Jakob could not do the same in Birmingham.

That said, I don't see Jake as a coward. He did say in multiple interviews well before Worlds that he would run the 800 at Europeans, and if you look at last season, he didn't race any 1500s after Tokyo. As a fan I wish we'd get to see the rematch between him and Jakob sooner than next year, but that's not a knock against Jake.

LOL

The "top-end of the field" was Cheptegei, AKA the world record holder.

I’ve seen you characterize that Florence 5k field as weak before. It wasn’t. It featured the season’s eventual gold and silver medalists in the event in Cheptegei and Ahmed. It had Katir in the midst of his breakthrough 3:28/7:27/12:50 season. It had Justyn Knight (shortly after running 3:33, prior to placing 7th in the Olympic final) in the shape of his life. It had Balew, Haile Bekele, McSweyn, Edris. You say Gebrhiwet was tired (proximity to Ethiopian 10k trials) but the fact is he ran his best race in the last 3 years.

Good mention of those people, as I'll admit I had not really thought of them. Makhloufi getting double medals in the 800m/1500m is very special, but he disappears for several years and then shows up every Olympic cycle. I'm not gonna comment on whether I think that's sketchy, but it makes his career and racing more infrequent and less consistent. As for Cheruiyot, he has raced one 800m since 2019 and he ran 1:46. Lewandowski was always there in the 800m for over a decade, but only came around to the 1500m at the end of his career.

This is all to say that it is impressive that Wightman is trying to be really great at the 800m and 1500m at the same time, which has not happened much since Snell, Coe, Cram. I think Lewandowski being good at both the 800m and 1500m for a few years in his 30s was your best example, but Wightman has already run faster in both events and won a world championship medal which Lewandowski, though he was very consistent and had a great career, never did. So if Wightman continues to go after both and keeps being successful, then he is unique in recent history.

Wightman beat him when it counted, who cares about the other races?

What is ridiculous about Jakob running a 1,000 meter race? No he's not an 800m guy, but he could've run plenty well at the 1,000 while staying fresh for Euros. Wightman ran the 3K indoors and thats honestly comparable. I'm not faulting Jakob at all for skipping Monaco (his focus was on the double), I just don't understand faulting Wightman for focusing on the 800/1000 for a stretch after two high-level championship 1500s. Neither guy deserves the "ducking" moniker in my view as they've continued to race top competition at big meets.

I meant in the actual race. Let's face it, Gebrhiwet ran best and he was 3 or 4 days removed only from not even being top 3 at Ethiopian Trials in the 10,000. Sure Cheptegei is good but he clearly was not at his best in that race awesome credentials aside.

It wasn't weak on paper, but it was a smudge weaker in execution with Cheptegei fading badly and only Gebrhiwet having a super-strong day (Ahmed very solid of course). It had great depth (all the guys you mentioned), but I do think a lot of the best 5,000m runners that year (the Ethiopians) weren't in it. Barega was in awesome shape last year, and the Ethiopians raced much less and performed better in Tokyo. Ao was Kejelcha until getting hurt. Aregawi rolled after the Olympics. Kiplimo had his 26:33/12:55 runs. I don't think the 3 best 5,000 meter guys necessarily got the medals in Tokyo. So a weak field no, but I think Gebrhiwet in that race wasn't quite on the level of where Krop/Fisher/Kipkorir Kimeli (in Rome) were. And I think Jakob's better and would roll, but it'd be a larger test than racing Tim, Kipsang, and Hoare again.

LOL

Cheptegei ran his 2nd best 5000 m time. But sure, "not at his best"..

If Jake is ducking Jakob at their main distance, the onus is not on Jakob to go out of his way to race against Jake in an event to which he is not suited. Without some serious 800m focus/preparation or a massive 1500 PB, Jakob is not going to be very competitive in a 1k against a guy who can run 1:43 and 3:29. That is why your statement was ridiculous.

As I already stated, I don't really think Jake is ducking Jakob. He had a plan in place and is doing the same thing he did last season. That being said, it isn't unfair for fans to expect the World Champion to continue racing his main event, especially when he finally gets the best of the guy who has been beating him for years. Someone mentioned earlier how Jakob continued racing Tim after Tokyo, and I'm confident that fans would not have been happy had he only raced the 5000 for the remainder of that season. Jake has done the equivalent by only focusing on the 800, which is why people are taking exception.