Kerr has never gone sub-3:30 in a race that Jakob wasn't in. He's fastest time in a non-Jakob race was 3:30.51 (Zurich 2023)
Also, Josh Kerr after the Eugene 2022 final: "I'm in 3:27 shape now" (Kerr's fastest 1500m that year: 3:30.60)
To add to that: nobody on the circuit has gone sub-3:30 in a race without Jakob, except Tim C back in 2021. Everyone ont he circuit owes their PBs to Jakob
No one owes Jakob anything, if I was a sub 3:30 guy, I wouldn't be thinking, thank you Jakob, I love and adore you because without you I wouldn't be able to achieve anything.
If Jakob wants to lead those races he can, but no one owes Jakob for him leading, that's his choice to lead.
Kerrs comments on the podcast are only a hair spicier than most normal competitive running discourse. Jakob comes back and calls him a "f*cking moron".
That takes it up to a level of immaturity that is beyond sports trash talk. Seems it is Jakob who has the ego problem and can't manage. That was my read before seeing the doc, and then it cemented my view. Honestly the whole family seems to have whiny baby syndrome.
Jakob has not called Kerr a f*cking moron. -He called him an idiot…
This is what Kerr has said about Jakob: “insecure”. “I don’t like him”. “He has a big ego this one”. -“Knows nothing about his own big vulnerabilities”. “Surrounded by yes men”….
Everything started with 2-3 sayings from Jakob: 1. He dreamed of becoming the range Goat. 2. He called Kerr “The next guy” when asked about a rivalry -meaning everybody and none are his rivals. -He has to be the best version of himself instead of focusing on his rivals. Pretty clear that Kerr knew this wasn’t a condescending thing directed towards him. 3. We know Kerr didn’t like that Jakob was so openly about being sick.
Conclusion: Jakob didn’t initially say a single thing about Kerr’s personality, style or psyche. -He could easily have done so. -The only thing I have seen is a return back of the insecurity thing. But else: Only running / racing related things…
I think Jakob thinks it’s idiotic to start an argument about a competitors personality and likability. And I think it’s therefore Jakob now calls Kerr an idiot…
We are three pages deep, yet no one has pointed out the correct word is MORAN!
I’m guessing he will be motivated to defend his World Title but does anyone wonder if Kerr could possibly have lost some of the fire after getting silver? He was very vocal on how his habits, diet, training, etc. changed since before Budapest and that he had sometimes struggled with motivation in the past. It’s hard to walk that line for years and years and after missing out on his ultimate goal and not having a chance for 4 more years could he possibly take his foot off the gas a bit? Probably a dumb theory and I’m sure he wants to keep winning but just something to keep an eye on from my perspective.
No one owes Jakob anything, if I was a sub 3:30 guy, I wouldn't be thinking, thank you Jakob, I love and adore you because without you I wouldn't be able to achieve anything.
If Jakob wants to lead those races he can, but no one owes Jakob for him leading, that's his choice to lead.
I’m pretty sure both Yared and Cole acknowledge that Jakob dragged them to 3.27 (and 3.43 for the former). And unlike Kerr they have in fact credited Jakob in interviews…
I also think the two Americans share some of Jakob’s mind set (again contrary to Kerr, who seems “obsessed” by racing instead of running -fast/getting one’s potential out), when it comes to dreams. -I think both vision them selves becoming so good that they can do their stellar times with normal pacers, and dominating or contributing to the pace, and become consistent and progressing over quite a few distances….
To add to that: nobody on the circuit has gone sub-3:30 in a race without Jakob, except Tim C back in 2021. Everyone ont he circuit owes their PBs to Jakob
No one owes Jakob anything, if I was a sub 3:30 guy, I wouldn't be thinking, thank you Jakob, I love and adore you because without you I wouldn't be able to achieve anything.
If Jakob wants to lead those races he can, but no one owes Jakob for him leading, that's his choice to lead.
Who said that they owe him anything? You don't have to make a post every time you argue with voices inside your head.
No one owes Jakob anything, if I was a sub 3:30 guy, I wouldn't be thinking, thank you Jakob, I love and adore you because without you I wouldn't be able to achieve anything.
If Jakob wants to lead those races he can, but no one owes Jakob for him leading, that's his choice to lead.
Who said that they owe him anything? You don't have to make a post every time you argue with voices inside your head.
I said everyone on the circuit owes their PB to Jakob. And I stand by it. They've all tried to run sub-3:30 without him and have always come up short. Kerr did last year when he went for the British record in Zurich. Nuguse has tried a few times, and failed. I'm not a Jakob fanboy like a lot of the frankly embarrassing people ont his board, but I admire what he does on the track and he has undoubtedly made everyone in this era better. He's an arsehole, but he's also the most important and influential 1500m runner since El G.
Who said that they owe him anything? You don't have to make a post every time you argue with voices inside your head.
I said everyone on the circuit owes their PB to Jakob. And I stand by it. They've all tried to run sub-3:30 without him and have always come up short. Kerr did last year when he went for the British record in Zurich. Nuguse has tried a few times, and failed. I'm not a Jakob fanboy like a lot of the frankly embarrassing people ont his board, but I admire what he does on the track and he has undoubtedly made everyone in this era better. He's an arsehole, but he's also the most important and influential 1500m runner since El G.
Runners in real life know and understand this phenomenon. It takes somebody a little better than you or let's say "equal" to push or pull you to your best times. There is very often great camaraderie and appreciation among relative good runners because they know they can't do it on their own.
It starts early. you see it in high school and club running. and you still see it on the world stage.
There can still be bitter feelings and resentment mixed in with that though. And that's okay. everyones going for the same prize.
I think Kerr will react better to his failure to win gold this year than Jakob. Kerr is a far more reflective character than Jakob, more adaptable, and has a better perspective on his races - in the last year alone he placed his HM, his 2 mile WR, and his course record at 5th Ave in solid context. Jakob never does that. He's a grade-A narcissist and his post-race comments are squarely aimed at protecting his self-image as the best guy, not just the best guy, but the best by some distance. It's why he continues to front-run the championship races when he knows it's not his path to victory. He believes that he's so much better than everyone else that the only way he can lose is if he messes up or he's ill. In other words, he believes he's always in control and nothing anyone else does matters. A slither of reflection crept in in his Insta post after the Olympics, but I would bet that he's extinguished that. He'll be back, doing what he does next year. He'll win when he's paced, he'll set some records. He'll lose in Tokyo because he won't accept that he's not clearly the best.
Your problem here is that we are quite a few that think that Jakob is pretty realistic in his thinking around his own capabilities in events from 1500m to 5000m. And just like him we acknowledge that he sometimes fails. Does that make us a sort of narcissists by proxy? Do you really base your psychologically analysis of Jakob being an insecure narcissist and arsehole on a 3.26/3.43/4.43/7.17 athlete’s dream of becoming really good. Or him sending some sh*t back in a quarrel with Kerr..?
I disagree with Jonathan Gault that one should begin watching this show at episode 4. The first 3 episodes are very good. They show what it is like for the athlete and the athlete’s family. As a mom, a runner, a competitive racer and the wife a of a competitive racer, it was fascinating to see how the extended family members dealt with the life of a competitive runner. I guess if you are not married and don’t have children this would not interest you, but it will interest those who live with those circumstances.
To add to that: nobody on the circuit has gone sub-3:30 in a race without Jakob, except Tim C back in 2021. Everyone ont he circuit owes their PBs to Jakob
No one owes Jakob anything, if I was a sub 3:30 guy, I wouldn't be thinking, thank you Jakob, I love and adore you because without you I wouldn't be able to achieve anything.
If Jakob wants to lead those races he can, but no one owes Jakob for him leading, that's his choice to lead.
To add to that: nobody on the circuit has gone sub-3:30 in a race without Jakob, except Tim C back in 2021. Everyone ont he circuit owes their PBs to Jakob
No one owes Jakob anything, if I was a sub 3:30 guy, I wouldn't be thinking, thank you Jakob, I love and adore you because without you I wouldn't be able to achieve anything.
If Jakob wants to lead those races he can, but no one owes Jakob for him leading, that's his choice to lead.
Not sure why you've gotten all the downvotes. Tbh I don't think what Jakob has been doing is "honorable" or anything. It's just a tactic he thinks would work, nothing more, nothing less. That's why he's essentially being Kerr or Hocker in the 5k. I'm sure he won't hesitate to sit and kick in the 1500m if he finds it the most likely way to win.
at the end of the day, their job is running. jakob makes more money, therefore, he is a better runner.
end of story end of all debates going forward
The debate is, as always “who would win in a race?”
at the low end of the scale (races that do not have titles or medals) the answer is Jakob.
at the other end (medals and titles), Kerr is the answer.
if the answer becomes “who runs faster all things equal?” the answer is Jakob.
Wtf is this garbage. Jakob has one olympic gold, kerr has none. Jakob has two silvers, Kerr has one bronze and a silver. His one WC gold is lower compared to Olympic Gold. Kerr also has zero european titles, jakob 3. In what world is Kerr on the opposite side of the spectrum
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