Breaking: Athing Mu to L.A. to train with Bobby Kersee

Please clarify a three-year peak.

Endurance athletes in athletics can peak for a few weeks, then come down the other side. It varies depending on volume, individual adaptation, how sharp the peak was, distances raced and how the racing season was approached.

Never heard of a three-year peak, or are you talking about some sort of macro-peak, like riding their best period of racing (with peaks and base periods within that?).

Thanks,

No, Sydney did NOT have "a lot more left in the tank" when she ran 50.68. She was going all out.

As far as what will happen in the 400, Sydney will break the American record but not the world record.

Cool. Thanks for the information.

Sydney's running mechanics are deceptive. She looks like she is running effortlessly, but she isn't. She had absolutely nothing left in the tank for that 50.68 run. That's why she couldn't get up off the track. I'm surprised she didn't pass out or throw up.

Kevin Lyles, Noah Lyles father, got an WC Gold in the 4x400m and had a PR of 21.09 over 200m. His son is faster than him

Re the JJK drop in form...

Like most heptathletes, JJK set her PB aged 26 (most seem to set their PB between 24 & 26). JJK was also at her peak then, those years between 86 & 88 were when she set those surreal marks of 7158, 7128 & the crazy 7291. So from a peak perspective, she is typical of most heptathletes. What makes her unusual is the obviously crazy scores, but also her drop after 88 as mentioned. Her 1991 heptathlon - her first since the crazy 88 WR - was a massive 413pts lower. It's not unusual to drop a loft after a PB; most top women have, but a drop of over 400 pts is the biggest. If we look at the last top women:

After her 7013 score (aged 24), Thiam dropped by roughly 200 pts for her next 3 heptathlons, before getting back to 50 pts within reach of her PB.

Jess Ennis set her 6955 PB aged 26, but then DNF the next year, then had a year out for a baby. She returned some 286 pts lower in 2015, before clawing back another 100 pts the next year, to be around 180 pts lower than her PB.

Carolina Kluft set her first 7000+ score aged just 20, and the next few years she dropped by 50pts, 100pts, 260pts (injured at Europeans..) and then beat it by 20 pts aged 24. But then of course she changes events at her peak!

Personally, I believe Kersee heavily doped JJK leading into Seoul, then purposely took her off in 89 & 90 to allow her body to recover. She hardly competed during 1991 (back on the juice?) in a build up to Barcelona, her last great hurrah in the heptathlon, and likely still juiced, but with a very different drug regime.

On Mu moving to Kersee, I don't know whether it's the best idea. I believe her weakness is her endurance, not her speed. She was nearly run down by Hodgkinson in Eugene. That was all to do with her lack of endurance and nothing to do with lack of speed.

And as an aside, is this (as well as Harrison's move) all part of Kersee's master plan to have his athletes hold the WR's in the w 100, 200*, 400, 800, 100mh & 400mh? Can you imagine if that was the case, patriot fans would wet themselves at this 'amazing' coach, and these amazing 'naturally talented' women. GUFFAW, GU-F*CKING-FAW!

*I know Flo Jo was coached by Al come the 21.34, but it was BK that got her into that form over the winter.

I can see it if she is going to try to double 400/800. Otherwise, I don't know. Not that Bobby Kersee isn't a good coach, but Mu is an athlete who has already achieved at the very highest level. Are they going to chase an 800 WR?