Grand Slam cooked Fisher and still hasn’t got his paycheck 😭
Grant going to take that GST to the cleaners
yup. he's extra pissed now. And has the means to go to the courts. Could Michael Johnson be held liable outside the scope of the company? THey knew they didn't have money, and held TWO MORE MEETS with nothing more than a hope and a prayer.
Jimmy Gressier winning gold is what happens when you run slower than the women’s 10000m WR. Absolutely gutless effort by the guys with the fastest 10k PBs - I know it’s hot, but heat doesn’t make you 2 1/2 minutes slower over 10k. Conditions were similar to Tokyo 2021 where they At least ran in the 27:40s.
I have to watch again to be sure, but my sense at the time was that Nico took himself out of contention with bad positioning. He had to start kicking 200 meters early to get back to the front and then finished running very wide on the last turn.
Looks like Grants peak was indoor this year. He’s looked flat in the sprint since then. Nico Young couldn’t handle the humidity which makes sense. Really frustrating to see all three Americans up there and have nothing at the end. It sounds crazy but this race would have been perfect for Hunter.
Happy for Almgren. Been close so many times. Has been putting in the work like no one else for more than a decade.
My hot take on Grant: It’s not that he didn’t have a kick. He was fading. He didn’t have the fitness to bring the kick this go-around. Backed too far off the aerobic fitness going into this meet, which he telegraphed in interviews going into this meet.
Let's go Almgren!
As a side note, medalists Almgren, Gressier and Kejelcha are some of the few men that have had genuine success in the 10K and 5K on the roads or outdoor track this year (pedestrian GST races don't count). Well done to them.
I think Nico could have medaled if he was in better position at the bell lap. He was boxed in and a little further back. Overall I liked how he sat back and didn’t yo-yo for the first part of the race, but he had to go wide and surge a couple times before fully kicking down the home stretch.
Fisher played it too safe, I understand that it’s hot out but I’m not sure why he left it to a kick with that many guys still in the race who have better kicks than him.
It wasn't gold, but I'm glad to see Kejelcha pick up another medal -- his first in 6 years. For a guy that simultaneously held the indoor mile and half marathon world records, and is an absolute monster on the DL circuit, he doesn't have much championship hardware. Really hope he gets an outdoor gold in his career (and with Jakob not in his best shape, this might be his best shot).
Also Nico Young 5th is great. I know we (at least I) wanted him to win, but for his first year as a pro, and his first year as a real contender 5th is great (and is the best a US guy has ever placed at WCs besides Fisher's 4th, and Rupp finished 4th or 5th once iirc).
I think American individualism hurt us in that race. Fisher, Nico, and Blanks should have worked together to make it a more honest race like the Kenyans did in the women’s race. Also, notice the phalanx the Ethiopians formed on the final lap. Very good demonstration of teamwork there.
I love Fisher, but he just isn't HIM. There was no HIM in this race, which made it wide open to around 10 different people. A missed opportunity for many people to get their once in a lifetime gold. Congrats to Gressier who has found his wheels at the same age Mo Farah found his!