Yes and that's because he has better arm swing than Cole Hocker and Hobbs Kessler and Nuguse (not in the race).
Kicking and kicking efficiency is all anchored by the arms and mid section, not the legs.
Yes and that's because he has better arm swing than Cole Hocker and Hobbs Kessler and Nuguse (not in the race).
Kicking and kicking efficiency is all anchored by the arms and mid section, not the legs.
Kessler will just keep getting better...I ran at Saline with his dad, Mike, who was a little older than I and was more of a mentor/coach to me...but its not surprising Hobbs is kicking ass. Mike was INSANE and the most gung-ho dude out there. We used to run 24-hour relays together and he would be doing sub 5's after like 20 hours.
usual suspex wrote:
This goes against the conventional wisdom here that a kicker can no longer hang back and 'Wottle' a win at the championship level.
No formula holds up every time. It's the same thing in American football. Every Super Bowl champion has different DNA. But by far the most dependable DNA is an elite quarterback.
Same in track. Easily the best tactic is early speed that establishes position and stays out of trouble. All the math is in your favor. You are running shorter distance and don't have to make as many decisions. Less stress mentally and physically. And once the decisive sprint begins you don't need many variables to fall your way, unlike Beamish who required countless things to unfold perfectly in front of him.
The internet loves outliers. That astonished me during the late '90s because I was a Las Vegas sports bettor. Nobody in that realm cares about outliers or has to explain the concept of more often than not.
Tsige Duguma was the biggest breakout star of Glasgow yet nobody is saying a word about her. Beamish doesn't translate to outdoors. All those American medalists at 1500 are going to be left behind. Duguma with her 400 background and front running tenacity has a chance to be a major player and disrupt all the conventional wisdom at women's 800. Welteji was an 800 front runner who finished 4th in Eugene. She is overly passive so she moved up to the less bumpy 1500. Duguma seems just the opposite.
JoeFalcon wrote:
Kessler will just keep getting better...I ran at Saline with his dad, Mike, who was a little older than I and was more of a mentor/coach to me...but its not surprising Hobbs is kicking ass. Mike was INSANE and the most gung-ho dude out there. We used to run 24-hour relays together and he would be doing sub 5's after like 20 hours.
Are you THE JOE FALCON????
I mean to be fair this site is most frequented by Americans and American-based athletes also garner interest. I don’t think people expect Hiltz or MacKay to medal. Duguma was a revelation but there’s a big 3 in that event and none were there. All of them could’ve replicated her dominance vs that competition. Beamish *could* be a factor in the Steeple. He can’t accomplish it by hanging too far back as he needs to run low-8 mins to beat the Kenyans. The top 2 will be faster than that. But he now has the fitness. Hocker is rounding into medal contender fitness, but he probably needs another jump or he’s outkicking Reynold, Laros or Kipsang for 4th in a 3:29 PB but short of the medals. He seems aware of this.
THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:
I mean to be fair this site is most frequented by Americans and American-based athletes also garner interest. I don’t think people expect Hiltz or MacKay to medal. Duguma was a revelation but there’s a big 3 in that event and none were there. All of them could’ve replicated her dominance vs that competition. Beamish *could* be a factor in the Steeple. He can’t accomplish it by hanging too far back as he needs to run low-8 mins to beat the Kenyans. The top 2 will be faster than that. But he now has the fitness. Hocker is rounding into medal contender fitness, but he probably needs another jump or he’s outkicking Reynold, Laros or Kipsang for 4th in a 3:29 PB but short of the medals. He seems aware of this.
Where are the Kenyans of the Steeple or the mile?
currently there are 2 runners in the equation: an Ethiopian (finally Word Athletics did a justice to him by ranking him 8 overall mens) and a North African that seems to be the master of this discipline.
Seeing what has done Vincent Kibet Keter (an U20 World Champion? 2021) or the erratic behavior of both T. Cheryuiyot or Kipsang during the last years I wouldn't beat on any Kenyan in the mile.
The last time where Conseslus Kipruto attempted to take his hand on the distance and play the clown at the end as he did in 2019, that was at Tokyo 2022 and that day he figured he was largely distanced (in form) by both El Bakkali and Girma.
High hopes wrote:
He feels like he's on the up and more confident and less focussed on how difficult races are, which was pretty much all he talked about on Coffee Club last year.
I lost count of how many times he brought up "it was so hot. it was so humid" that year. His tone and demeanor have changed significantly since then.
The same can be said for Morgan and Ollie. It's pretty palpable how their injury status impacts their enthusiasm, tone, and energy levels on the podcast. It's such a rare and unique gem on YouTube. The consistency is really impressive.