What's the point of this, do you genuinely think guys like Fisher, Sedjati, Mehary, Cheruiyot are better than him? The list is ass and takes diamonds leagues in way too high of a consideration, and USAs and worlds way too low.
The point is to provide an official list of the distance runners in "Men's Overall Ranking", in response to the thread title "Cole Hocker is officially the #1 distance runner in the world right now".
That you personally would give more weight to national championships instead of DL races doesn't change that. Personally I think DL races have normally better competition.
Most national championships don't hold much weight, the only exceptions are the Kenyan, Ethiopian, UK, and especially American championships. Just in the 1500m, there is a real argument to be made that the USATF 1500m final was more competitive than the 1500m final at the world championships.
The official part sure, odd phrasing by the OP. Would be better to have said he is the undisputed number 1 vs the official number 1.
Jakob is currently going through the craziest build. He's postponing his outdoor season until the middle of June. He's going to come back faster than ever. Cole Hocker is good but Ingebrigtsen has that x factor. His type of high mileage training will flourish over 6 months. Just give Jakob time that's all he needs. Jakob can win a race almost any way. The exception is a super slow race but he can control that. He already enjoys front running and is comfortable there. Once he has his strength back he'll be unstoppable
Jakob is currently going through the craziest build. He's postponing his outdoor season until the middle of June. He's going to come back faster than ever. Cole Hocker is good but Ingebrigtsen has that x factor. His type of high mileage training will flourish over 6 months. Just give Jakob time that's all he needs. Jakob can win a race almost any way. The exception is a super slow race but he can control that. He already enjoys front running and is comfortable there. Once he has his strength back he'll be unstoppable
The sport may have passed up Jakob by the time he comes back.
In a deep 5k now, I'm taking the field over Jakob; I'll say the same thing about the 1500. 2 years ago, that wouldn't even be a talking point. In a fast field, he gets beat by Hocker, the teens, Laros, Nader etc
There's something going on with him. Silent ban? Injury? I'm sick of the smokescreens; he is irrelevant to me until then
This discussion is tiring, just bad arguments being repeated over and over. Hop off Jakob's meat ffs. It's done. He's not winning a gold medal in an outdoor champ again, get over it.
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- Chicago Marathon Win 2023 (2:02:23) - London Marathon 2nd 2:03:37) - World HM Championship Gold (2020, 58:49) - 56:42 HM 2025 (WR not ratified due to pace car placement) - 57:37 2020, 57:31 2021, 57:56 2022, 58:09 2024
- 3:27 / 12:57 (LOL), - Oly Gold, WC goldG - Scared to run cross country after high school - Useless at anything longer than 5000m, and not even good at that
What a wild fanboy post to call him the world's greatest.
- Chicago Marathon Win 2023 (2:02:23) - London Marathon 2nd 2:03:37) - World HM Championship Gold (2020, 58:49) - 56:42 HM 2025 (WR not ratified due to pace car placement) - 57:37 2020, 57:31 2021, 57:56 2022, 58:09 2024
- 3:27 / 12:57 (LOL), - Oly Gold, WC goldG - Scared to run cross country after high school - Useless at anything longer than 5000m, and not even good at that
What a wild fanboy post to call him the world's greatest.
* Kiplimo's CHI win and LDN 2nd were in 2025 and 2024. Sorry for the typo in my post about the world's greatest active distance runner, hands-down.
After that convincing Millrose win, I think every race from this point on he should be the favorite to win. Am I wrong?
It’s a good question. We can disqualify Jakob as of now since we have no idea whether he is trending up or down.
As of now, Hocker seems to be unbeatable in 5000/3000 non-paced races without Jakob and anybody putting down a hard last 2000m. But that’s pretty much it. He hasn’t won a 1500m race, paced or non-paced, since Paris. He hasn’t put down a convincing fast time over 5000m or 3000m other than his 7:23. Seems hard to call him the best in the world.
I’d say if he puts down a really fast indoor mile time in 2 weeks (3:46 or faster) and wins the double at World Indoors then it’s fair to call him the best in the world over middle/long distances.
I think this would normally be my take as well, but that indoor 2 mile field was one of the best of all time. He's the reigning 5k champ, he beat 3 world champs (who are all in great shape), and ran one of the fastest 2 miles of all time. I can't think of any athletes I'd pick over him as the favorite, and as reigning champ, I think he has the claim on best in the world until someone proves him otherwise.
Of course, if he loses to a 16 year old next week, people are going to come back and say of course he wasn't the best in the world, but really, who else would be the best? All of the top distance runners either haven't raced this year, or raced Millrose.
Wanyonyi is middle distance which is the same category as the 1500/Mile
You’re ignoring how Gressier won Gold in one event and a medal in the other, while Hocker didn’t make the final of his main event.
The 1500m final didn’t have Jakob or Hocker but included the last 3 defending world champions, something you can’t say is true for the 5000m. In some ways, Hocker’s 5000m field was more watered down.
Don’t hate Hocker but there are too many If’s and buts right now with him to conclusive call him the best. I already conceded he’d be the best were he to run a top 2 or 3 all time indoor mile in his next race and win the World Indoors double.
Sure buddy, by accolades Gressier technically had a better year. The statement was " Cole Hocker is officially the #1 distance runner in the world right now" which factoring the results and fitness of Hocker last year as well as his American record and Millrose Games win this year over a strong field, is a legitimate statement that I agree with.
That being said you're being a disingenuous Hocker hater as usual. Hocker did make the final looking easy, he did however get disqualified afterwards for jostling. Sure, fine, but he was still obviously in good enough shape to win the entire final (and make the final, not sure why that's held against him).
The 1500m field included an injured Josh Kerr, a post prime Jake Whiteman (hasn't had nearly as good of results in the 1500m or 800m as when he was at his best, both in time and competition, yet still got Silver), a way past prime Cheruiyot who hasn't done anything since the Olympics.
Accolades don't matter in a championship race, it's who's most fit at the moment. Niels Laros should have been the one to win, but didn't show his usual fitness that he had across the outdoor season which was unfortunate. So all the heavy hitters did so bad that the way past their primes runners managed to medal/get good results.
That's how watered down it was. The 5000m was solely watered down in terms of Jakob being injured, otherwise there's were many runners who ran in the 12:40s that season as well as the 10000 gold medalist + indoor 3000 world record holder and double Olympic medalist Grant Fisher. All of whom he trounced in a very fast championship race (12:57 I believe).
LOL. Laros had the “fitness” to win Worlds and instead faded a a few meters back to 5th. So now you are going to hold that against him but not Hocker who failed to make the final and also failed to win a single 1500m race all year? Ironic that you’re calling me a hater. The rest of your post is just BS. Nader, Wightman, and Cheruiyot ran straight up the most impressive splits in recent time. Nader closed in 51.2-25.32-12.28. We haven’t seen clean splits in an old school burn up like that since Morceli. Of course I wouldn’t expect you to understand that. None of the guys missing from the final were going to match splits like that. Isn’t it also ironic that you’re including Grant Fisher as an impressive competitor when Fisher was also in bad shape by the time the World Championship came around? Just double standard nonsense all around from you. Hocker is not the #1 distance runner in the world. He is among quite a few people for that claim and he has to do something seriously impressive to change that in the coming weeks, which I have already listed.
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It’s a good question. We can disqualify Jakob as of now since we have no idea whether he is trending up or down.
As of now, Hocker seems to be unbeatable in 5000/3000 non-paced races without Jakob and anybody putting down a hard last 2000m. But that’s pretty much it. He hasn’t won a 1500m race, paced or non-paced, since Paris. He hasn’t put down a convincing fast time over 5000m or 3000m other than his 7:23. Seems hard to call him the best in the world.
I’d say if he puts down a really fast indoor mile time in 2 weeks (3:46 or faster) and wins the double at World Indoors then it’s fair to call him the best in the world over middle/long distances.
I think this would normally be my take as well, but that indoor 2 mile field was one of the best of all time. He's the reigning 5k champ, he beat 3 world champs (who are all in great shape), and ran one of the fastest 2 miles of all time. I can't think of any athletes I'd pick over him as the favorite, and as reigning champ, I think he has the claim on best in the world until someone proves him otherwise.
Of course, if he loses to a 16 year old next week, people are going to come back and say of course he wasn't the best in the world, but really, who else would be the best? All of the top distance runners either haven't raced this year, or raced Millrose.
Like the other Hocker fanboy, UngusBungus said, you have to evaluate the fitness going into the race. Kerr was coming off a calf tear so the fact that he was a world champion is irrelevant as it had no bearing on the race, he was not in great fitness. Geordie Beamish is almost never the favorite in any race he is in and his Steeple world title doesn’t change that. Who else? Wightman? Are you serious? Hocker’s 8:07 is good but compared to other marks it’s just not that impressive and isn’t moving any needles.
This discussion is tiring, just bad arguments being repeated over and over. Hop off Jakob's meat ffs. It's done. He's not winning a gold medal in an outdoor champ again, get over it.
Seems like Jakob lives rent free in your head that you are grasping at straws to elevate Hocker to #1 status when he can’t even achieve more than Jimmy Gressier in a year…
The point is to provide an official list of the distance runners in "Men's Overall Ranking", in response to the thread title "Cole Hocker is officially the #1 distance runner in the world right now".
That you personally would give more weight to national championships instead of DL races doesn't change that. Personally I think DL races have normally better competition.
Most national championships don't hold much weight, the only exceptions are the Kenyan, Ethiopian, UK, and especially American championships. Just in the 1500m, there is a real argument to be made that the USATF 1500m final was more competitive than the 1500m final at the world championships.
The official part sure, odd phrasing by the OP. Would be better to have said he is the undisputed number 1 vs the official number 1.
BAHAHAHA, how many double standards can you make? Huh? Let me get this straight. Your argument is that the USA 1500m championships is the most competitive race 1500 race in the world. BUT the only way you could make that claim is conceding that Jonah Koech and even Ethan Strand ran impressive splits AND had better years in Hocker’s main event, the 1500m, than Hocker had. You won’t admit that though, because Hocker is of course the #1 distance runner in the world, but not the two guys who beat him…..at his own area championships
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The title "#1 distance runner in the world right now" goes to the reigning simultaneous WORLD XC TRIPLE CHAMPION and CHICAGO MARATHON CHAMPION, with 7:26/12:40/26:33/56:52 ... over a sit-and-kicker who has barely broken 13:00.
If they both retired tomorrow, Kiplimo would end up in the World Athletics hall of fame.
If he quit today, Hocker and his flukes would be forgotten. He has a fluke win in the Oly 1500, the WC 1500, and then his next-best global finish is... 6th lol. THAT'S IT.
Seems like Jakob lives rent free in your head that you are grasping at straws to elevate Hocker to #1 status when he can’t even achieve more than Jimmy Gressier in a year…
Funny to see fanboys arguing about Gressier vs Hocker vs Kerr, when Kiplimo has done more than all of them combined.
Track results matter most, and Kiplimo never won gold on the track. Last time we saw Kiplimo on the track with the big dogs, he finished 8th in Paris. An afterthought. Can't be #1 without any track gold on your mantle.
Track results matter most, and Kiplimo never won gold on the track. Last time we saw Kiplimo on the track with the big dogs, he finished 8th in Paris. An afterthought. Can't be #1 without any track gold on your mantle.
You can’t be the best distance runner if you’re not the best at either a track event or the premier road event (Marathon). He definitely was never the best 5-10,000 track guy. He has to beat Sawe to establish himself as the guy in the marathon. Being the best Half/XC guy seemingly is good but not enough in my eyes. Sawes marathons so far are more impressive.
Like the other Hocker fanboy, UngusBungus said, you have to evaluate the fitness going into the race. Kerr was coming off a calf tear so the fact that he was a world champion is irrelevant as it had no bearing on the race, he was not in great fitness. Geordie Beamish is almost never the favorite in any race he is in and his Steeple world title doesn’t change that. Who else? Wightman? Are you serious? Hocker’s 8:07 is good but compared to other marks it’s just not that impressive and isn’t moving any needles.
How can you evaluate someone's fitness going into a race if you haven't seen all his workouts? Kerr's coach said Kerr was in great shape going into Millrose.
Hocker's 8:07 shouldn't be looked at as a "mark." He didn't time trial it. He raced it. And won. Impressively.
Like the other Hocker fanboy, UngusBungus said, you have to evaluate the fitness going into the race. Kerr was coming off a calf tear so the fact that he was a world champion is irrelevant as it had no bearing on the race, he was not in great fitness. Geordie Beamish is almost never the favorite in any race he is in and his Steeple world title doesn’t change that. Who else? Wightman? Are you serious? Hocker’s 8:07 is good but compared to other marks it’s just not that impressive and isn’t moving any needles.
How can you evaluate someone's fitness going into a race if you haven't seen all his workouts? Kerr's coach said Kerr was in great shape going into Millrose.
Hocker's 8:07 shouldn't be looked at as a "mark." He didn't time trial it. He raced it. And won. Impressively.
How can you evaluate someone's fitness going into a race if you haven't seen all his workouts? Kerr's coach said Kerr was in great shape going into Millrose.
Hocker's 8:07 shouldn't be looked at as a "mark." He didn't time trial it. He raced it. And won. Impressively.
And then clearly he wasn't in great shape.
Kerr was clearly in great shape because he beat everyone in the race except the best distance runner in the world right now, King Cole Hocker.