I guess El G did not prefer to win the olympics in 1996 and 2000 then.
5 world championship titles to zero. And just as many Olympic 1500 titles - despite a fall and a silver. And the 1500/mile wr's that Jakob doesn't have. But keep "towing" other runners, Jakob - they find it helpful when they pass you in the straight.
Both are born in mid September, so good comparison possible:
Achievements up to their 23rd birthday:
HG
1500m: WC gold + silver, WIC gold, WIR,
1 Mile: WIR
JI:
1500m: OG gold, WC 2 x silver, WIC silver, WIR
2000m: WR
2 Miles: WR
5000m: WC 2 x silver
We are comparing JI to the greatest Miler in history.
At the moment, JI has a good chance to come very close to HGs career achievements in the 1500m. Looking on the full spectrum of events, he might have surpassed him in two or three years. In five or six years he already might be regarded the greatest distance runner in history. Another Olympic title next year and a WR in the 10000m would do it. Let's wait what he can do in near future.
Some info for you, Armbraindead: at age 16, JI has not reached the steeple final at the World champs. If he sets the steeple WR in 2026 and wins Gold at the 2028 Olympics, you can use it to demonstrate which loser we are discussing.
Jakob has a "remarkably quick mind"? Guess you have a low bar for intelligence.
I guess i have a low bar too then, cuz i find Jakob's answers interestingly detailed and nuanced compared to many other runners. At times he's quick and funny (if i break the record you'll have to build a statue of me, stick with me and you'll break 346 etc), and other times he pauses and thinks carefully before giving a more balanced reply.
What stands out is that each answer is usually unique to the the performance, he doesn't rattle off trite praises to god or coach, or standards like "at the end of the day i gave it 110% because my back was against the wall even though i had my A game". He gives precise nerdy answers about things like wind, pace, pacers and what records are possible or not at has current training level. How often have i seen runners blow away their PB, look shocked and stunned as if they had no idea of their capabilities - that's kinda inspiring, but also shows a lack of intelligence wrt their training/ability and/or lack of intelligence from their coach. He's not entirely self absorbed, acknowledging Wightman as a "good guy" after his loss, and McSweyn and others for their excellent pacing.
Lastly, he seems to inspire interviewers to ask better questions, rather then just phoning it in and asking "so, uh, tell us about your race". After the mile, the interviewers were all talking over each other in excitement. For sure he is blunt and cocky, and does eventually say stuff like "it is what it is", a euphemism for "this is my fourth interview and that question is now boring", but... ...overall his interview intelligence creates press and so is good for the sport.
Great take thank you! Very thoughtful and intelligent athlete
Jakob is a fantastic interview and refreshingly honest, direct, and literal. I believe his interview conduct is revealing of his champion's mindset. My favorite example was when he corrected an interviewer after his 3:27 Diamond League race with many PRs behind him. The reporter says something like, "It's great that many of those people chasing you got PRs!" And Jakob says, "They weren't chasing me, I was towing them to PRs". It's extremely insightful, literally accurate, and a great twist on a normal statement that none of us would challenge except Jakob. If you want to call this "arrogant" I think you are way off base. He IS the best and does not "owe" the fans nor the other athletes any deference. As with Tiger Woods in golf, the other runners should get into the habit of thanking him profusely every day for what he does for their times and the sport interest level.
I like the way he "towed" three runners to prs in three consecutive WC finals. That he lost. El G preferred to win.
Huh? WTF "preferred"? This is track&field man, people win and they lose. El G had two devastating Olympic losses in a row '96 and '00, the latter coming off a record streak of wins (43 in a row at mile/1500 i think?). I prefer people with a take that don't suck as Jim Rome would say.
I'd say Jakob with his age has a good shot at challenging El G as GOAT if we're comparing merits. While shoe technology undoubtedly plays a role in record making, I don't see why so many on lrc is trying to discredit the performances of the athletes. Tech has always been improving. We're no longer running on dirt tracks..
Doping? Sure, might be, but El G was running in the major EPO era before proper testing, so in any case I'd give El G the upper hand in less / zero testing.
Technology? El G didn't run on the same shoes and tracks as Bannister. He in turn had better tech than a guy like Nurmi. Does this mean Bannister or Nurmi was better? I think it's hard to compare athletes across the ages, since there are so many factors in play. We could only guess what to make of a hypothetical race on what different era legendary athletes would do against one another with equal access to doping, tracks, sport science, training and diet knowledge et cetera. Even the time on track isn't a sufficiently objective measurement since tracks, gear and training methods are evolving. I heard the Real Science of Sport podcast and other sport scientists, and while progress has been made on training, technology is definitely a major factor in improvements of the sports. It's not like humans have evolved all that much in a 100 years. In women's track, it's taken around 40 years of technological advances etc to catch up to the DDR snd USSR testo doped womens records from the 80s.
To conclude, I find is rather pointless to try and definitely decide a GOAT by comparing performances, merits etc, becaus they are so hard to compare. Jakob doesn't have the same competition El G did, and vice versa. We can definitely have our subjective favorites while discussing though, and this is always fun to discuss of course. Just choose your parameter, and you will find a way to make your favorite look better. They're both great athletes, each with a great footprint in the sport, and I'm truly excited to see Jakob continue his journey. I feel we'll se more WRs dropping next season.
I like the way he "towed" three runners to prs in three consecutive WC finals. That he lost. El G preferred to win.
El G got "towed" as well, lest one forget the WC championship record.
But he generally finished in front, bar a couple of lapses - no one was perfect, except Herb Elliott, who never lost. And El G had 5 WC golds to Jakob's zero in the 1500.
5 world championship titles to zero. And just as many Olympic 1500 titles - despite a fall and a silver. And the 1500/mile wr's that Jakob doesn't have. But keep "towing" other runners, Jakob - they find it helpful when they pass you in the straight.
Both are born in mid September, so good comparison possible:
Achievements up to their 23rd birthday:
HG
1500m: WC gold + silver, WIC gold, WIR,
1 Mile: WIR
JI:
1500m: OG gold, WC 2 x silver, WIC silver, WIR
2000m: WR
2 Miles: WR
5000m: WC 2 x silver
We are comparing JI to the greatest Miler in history.
At the moment, JI has a good chance to come very close to HGs career achievements in the 1500m. Looking on the full spectrum of events, he might have surpassed him in two or three years. In five or six years he already might be regarded the greatest distance runner in history. Another Olympic title next year and a WR in the 10000m would do it. Let's wait what he can do in near future.
Some info for you, Armbraindead: at age 16, JI has not reached the steeple final at the World champs. If he sets the steeple WR in 2026 and wins Gold at the 2028 Olympics, you can use it to demonstrate which loser we are discussing.
If this, if that - your arguments and that of Ingebrigtsen's blind fans depend on what he hasn't done - and may never do. Did you predict his series of losses in WC 1500 finals? On achievements that matter - over the 1500/mile - El G remains far ahead on their specialty distance.
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