A surprising race, given that Muir has run poorly over the last month, apparently being tired by the season's end. Mageean had comfortably beaten her in the two previous races and was at the NYC mile as well, yet she wasn't even in the picture. Several other runners based on current form should have been able to run with Muir, too.
Kipyegon crushed Muir all season, and wasn't the only East African athlete to do so.
Sorry but a claim like that can't pass unchecked. Kipyegon is indeed untouchable but who are these mystery athletes that have been 'crushing' Muir all season? Bearing in mind she missed the indoor season because of injury, the last three major champs that I can think of that included 'East Africans'- Olympics (Silver), World's (Bronze), Commonwealth (Gold) weren't exactly indicative of being 'crushed' by anyone except Kipyegon.
Said differently, there are more than four different athletes who handed Muir an L this year, who weren't invited to Fifth Avenue.
Thanks for proving my point about this whitewashed second-tier race.
A surprising race, given that Muir has run poorly over the last month, apparently being tired by the season's end. Mageean had comfortably beaten her in the two previous races and was at the NYC mile as well, yet she wasn't even in the picture. Several other runners based on current form should have been able to run with Muir, too.
Yeah if I had to handicap the race before, I would've though Mageean was the slight favorite with Muir close up and a second or two dropoff to MacLean, Hurta and Reekie. Then Hiltz and Fulton were definitely dark horses being more rested and having run really well in the late summer (and on the roads).
I think Muir's run in Brussels on further inspection was actually pretty good (beating Hailu and Welteji and running 3:56), it didn't feel that way in the moment because she was the pre-race favorite and Mageean took her down. Zurich now looks like an aberrational performance in a very tactical race.
The way the race was run and executed so well in blistering style, I think based on current form I'd only really have thought Mageean would be competitive to win with Muir holding on for 4:14.8. It was a really good race for Muir, and she has a gap to the USA's best who are in the 4:18-4:22 range. This performance feels worth somewhere around 4:16-4:17 in a track mile.
Sorry but a claim like that can't pass unchecked. Kipyegon is indeed untouchable but who are these mystery athletes that have been 'crushing' Muir all season? Bearing in mind she missed the indoor season because of injury, the last three major champs that I can think of that included 'East Africans'- Olympics (Silver), World's (Bronze), Commonwealth (Gold) weren't exactly indicative of being 'crushed' by anyone except Kipyegon.
Said differently, there are more than four different athletes who handed Muir an L this year, who weren't invited to Fifth Avenue.
Thanks for proving my point about this whitewashed second-tier race.
Good god, looks like I need to spell it out. Of those three major champ finals, two different athletes beat her, not four. Your maths skills are second-tier.
I think Muir's run in Brussels on further inspection was actually pretty good (beating Hailu and Welteji and running 3:56), it didn't feel that way in the moment because she was the pre-race favorite and Mageean took her down. Zurich now looks like an aberrational performance in a very tactical race.
Yeah, Brussels wasn't bad. But besides Zurich she wasn't all that great in the 3k at Lausanne either, finishing 7th. Admittedly a fast race but still ...
Yeah, Brussels wasn't bad. But besides Zurich she wasn't all that great in the 3k at Lausanne either, finishing 7th. Admittedly a fast race but still ...
Fair point for sure. I think Merber asked her about running that 3K and she acknowledged she didn't have the necessary volume in training to go up a distance after the championships. I think next year we're likely to see some really good 3000s/5,000s because they'll put in more strength-laden blocks of training. That seems to be the plan at least.