scrags wrote:
I'll qualify this first of all by saying that I haven't had the time to read through all of this thread before commenting, and also that I'm a brit who, despite finding Kerr's general demeanour quite off putting, very much wanted him to win (absolutely delighted for Jake, as a side note).
Anyway - I am in no way suggesting that he faked anything, he was very clearly carrying aan injury or a cramp of some sort. However, regardless of that, something wasn't right. He's normally the bravest, most tactically astute runner in major finals that you could hope for. The way he very conciously ducked in to the rail after about 30 or 40m and then happily stayed there (boxed in) without any concerted effort to move out as the race continued to progress at a fairly leisurely pace was absolutely baffling to me.
I think the semi finals made him realise he wasn't in the shape he thought he was, he wasn't in the right mental space to attack and try and win today, and that the injury is just some kind of weird conincidence that gives him quite a handy excuse, as he was never going to win anyway. Very weird race, in all
He's actually behind Nader when he starts limping. I think if he was fully healthy he could have been in good position by the last lap. Funny enough Nader was in a pretty bad spot at the bell but found his way up. I think it's likely that he came in with a calf issue after the semi. Thus why he accelerates very slowly and moved to the rail immediately instead of trying to fight for position.
I think Kerr most likely knew his calf could handle a bunch of moves and was hoping to do one big move to get to the front and win if his calf held up.