Champion Allison never ran a 200 in 2022 but I doubt he would have been much faster than 20.7 either. It was more common in the mid 2010s than it is now but a lot of these top level 400 guys are operating entirely off of special endurance.
Most of these people hardly run the 200m. They run it like once or twice a year at some random low-key invitational
CMW literally split 20.99 on the way to his 44.49 indoors at last year's NCAA indoor champs
You're telling me he's only capable of 0.06 faster running it in the open, outdoors? Makes no sense.
I can guarantee you if these 43 high-44 low runners ran the 200m more often and focused on pure speed, they would be running in the 19.8-20.2 range at minimum
WVN - 43.03 and 19.84 and 9.94
Michael Norman - 43.45, 19.70 and 9.86
Michael Johnson - 43.18 and 19.32
Fred Kerley - 43.64, 19.76 and 9.76
LaShawn Merritt 43.65 and 19.74
Nobody is ever running 42.9 with a PR in the 20 second range.
Norman was probably the closest person to be able to do it given his insane speed but he is AWOL as we all know.
Hence why I ultimately don't think QW will ever break the WR unless he drastically improves his 200m speed.
Gordie3 wrote, in part, "I can guarantee you..."
No.
Another Quincy, Quincy Watts, was your classic failed 100/200 guy with a 20.5 PR. He ran the 100 and 200 plenty, kept getting injured, then Jim Bush had him try the 400 and the rest is history.
Butch Reynolds never ran faster than 20.46, so just realize that there are the superfast guys that you mentioned on your list from WVN down to LaShawn. But then there are the "resistant" guys (as coach Renato Canova puts it) who aren't blazing in the short stuff but are made for the 400 nonetheless.
He went into USAs in much worse form last year than he is this year. Even with the state of the US 400 this year I really do think he's a strong contender to make the individual team this year.
We’ll see what he and his coach learned from last year. The stadium will be very empty but he gets the most cheers. Can he handle the rounds? Can he gauge his efforts across round despite being the crowd favorite? It’s a very weak men’s field but he ran out of gas by the time he made it to finals.
I doubt he could go much faster than 20.8, perhaps 20.7
From watching him run (and his 800 last year), it feels like he operates almost entirely off of special endurance with an inhuman ability to either buffer or clear lactic acid. He holds his top speed for an unreasonably long amount of time and just doesn't slow down in that last 100.
If he was fast in the 100 and 200 he would run it…plain and simple!
- The long endurance, Cheptegei is 5’3, KB 5’4, Kipchoge 5’6. So from these heights, we can deduce that shortness is probably a positive for distance.
Is shortness the real advantage or is it less weight? I don't know, just asking.
Most likely just rift valley people are shorter than average. The heights listed above are also wrong. Cheptegi is like 5’11. If he was 5’3 fisher would tower over him. Average Ethiopian is 5’6. At 5’5 KB is right there.
I doubt he could go much faster than 20.8, perhaps 20.7
From watching him run (and his 800 last year), it feels like he operates almost entirely off of special endurance with an inhuman ability to either buffer or clear lactic acid. He holds his top speed for an unreasonably long amount of time and just doesn't slow down in that last 100.
If he was fast in the 100 and 200 he would run it…plain and simple!
no athlete ‘not’ run an event they are good at
What would be the point of running 10.1/20.2 and struggle to make the finals at USAs when you could run 44.1 and make the WC team?
I HOPE this young man has an amazing, and successful career. I HOPE that years and years down the road we can all look back and talk about seeing him emerge at age 16.
The issues with sports prodigies are that the human body can be a tricky thing, and all it takes is an injury here or there and you are back in the pack. Add in the professional/personal side of being a pro athlete and that brings about a whole host of other issues; hangers on, bad coaches, bad managers, and soon you are a Where Are They Now story.
What’s scary about Quincy Wilson is that he’s such an extreme outlier. I think many here are right — I really don’t think he would go faster than 20.5-20.7 in the 200m. His speed endurance at the 400m is almost unparalleled.
If he either hits one last growth spurt (very possible) or even if he doesn’t and gets to that high 19 or maybe even 20 flat 200 speed, he’s going to go deep into the 43s.
And if ever becomes a 19.7/19.8 guy, it’s night night 400m world record. Odds may be against that happening, but it’s not really that far fetched either. He’s a freak.
Joe Lee is on record (Gill Athletics T&F podcast, August 2024) saying that Quincy would run 20.3 if he was training specifically for that distance.
Yes, injuries can happen to anyone but in terms of burnout, getting caught up in external factors etc... I am not worried about Quincy at all. Like SML and or Noah Lyles, he will be fine and we are absolutely seeing the emergence of a generational talent who is going to do some special things for years to come.