SIFAN HASSAN BREAKS WOMEN’S MILE WR

Why should it be a safe bet. It woudn't be worth running if it were.

malmo wrote:

400 UKR LYAKHOVA Olha 1:04.26 1:04.26

800 UKR LYAKHOVA Olha 2:08.20 1:06.94

1200 NED HASSAN Sifan 3:10.13 1:01.93

Which means she ran the final 409m in 1:02.20

First split - 409 meters

Second split -- 1:03.94

Bad Wigins wrote:

casual obsever wrote:

she was already flagged with a suspicious ABP in March 2016, then willingly chose NOP

interesting. link?

also interesting if NOP knew about that when they chose her.

I find Hassan's speed less believable than Dibaba's merely on the basis of terrible form vs perfect form.

I can't believe you are still stuck on that arm flailing. It is clouding your perspective to absurd degree.

A few weeks ago you were actually trying to equate Hassan's unusual form to lack of talent.

She has kind of a dorky build. She holds her arms in less than ideal fashion and swings them around. No kidding. This is already built into the equation and the athlete. It is not going to change.

Hassan is immensely talented. The change recently is simply being more aggressive. In far too many prior races she sat too far back and essentially eliminated herself, or made her task far more unlikely than it should be, given her extreme talent level.

Now, like so many gifted runners, the world opens up to them once they realize they can indeed challenger the front end and still persevere and thrive.

However, Kipyegon is another matter entirely. That is a proven winner. Hassan was still a tactical novice in 2017 when she smartly took the lead late in that 1500 but gave way late and finished 5th. I think that failure set Hassan back and she unwisely believed that remaining further back in the back was her greatest option. Now 2 years later she seems to be wising up and toughening up again. If she timidly sits back like that worlds 5000 in 2017 then she has no chance at the top spot.

I don't think Hassan is mature enough to defeat Kipyegon. IMO, Hassan should attempt the 5000 and 10,000. Helen Obiri could not be more overrated. If I had the choice of challenging Kipyegon or Obiri my biggest problem would be not to laugh. Never concede anything to Helen Obiri. Then Ayana at 10,000 is a totally unknown quantity. She tweeted that her legs were feeling good during the Prefontaine flop. Not exactly confidence inspiring. That injury might have been far more serious than we've been led to believe. The length of layoff suggests as much.

If Hassan and her team are thinking clearly they go after Obiri and Ayana, while leaving Kipyegon alone.

BTW, Jakob also displayed tactical sharps by going to the lead in that Monaco 1500. I had to laugh the prior race when somehow Jakob was being praised for lingering 8th entering the final lap. That's a great way to throw away a career. You'll get a few mop up medals, and nothing more. But for Jakob to instantly recognize the strategic idiocy within one week was extremely impressive indeed.

Awsi Dooger wrote:

A few weeks ago you were actually trying to equate Hassan's unusual form to lack of talent.

She has kind of a dorky build. She holds her arms in less than ideal fashion and swings them around. No kidding. This is already built into the equation and the athlete. It is not going to change.

Quit making stuff up. I don't even believe in talent, I'd be the last to accuse any athlete of not having it. There is a reason for everything in athletic performance.

Whether Hassan's form can improve or not is irrelevant to whether she'd be faster if it did. It's reasonable to find elite speed more suspicious in someone with bad form than good, particularly with extreme cases like Hassan and Dibaba.