"Lower competition". I find it strange how the level at europeans is constantly brushed off like it’s all C-tier.
It’s not being a jerk to acknowledge that the only 2 guys to make a final at 1500/5000 last year were Laros and Gourley. So I’m not sure what you want us to say.
And I argue that this is a moot point given that he have so many championship medals. I think one of the reasons this point gets made is because of a what I think is a disregard or blindspot of the euros. Even though the field yesterday had 4 runners from the 1500 olympic final it is threated like some club meet.
I think a second reason is that silver medals/podium placements is also disregarded. If someone wins by 0.01 seconds they are a great championship runner but the one 0.01 seconds behind is not?
I think we just have to be honest about the competition. It's not a "club meet," but outside of Jakob it is frequently guys who would top out at making a final in the 1500 or 5000. Laros could've bucked that obviously although he of course ran an off distance and was a shell of himself due to the flu. But then we are looking at George Mills, Habz, Nader, Nillesen, and typically athletes at that level. It is not Jakob's fault remotely that Kerr skips the meet or that Wightman did the 800 in 2022. He beats all-comers and that's commendable. But to say Jakob's European Championships success has much relevance to the challenge of a global final, I don't agree with that. It's apples and oranges. His tactics and strengths are good enough to beat the guys in a European Championship 1500 who are some 3-4 seconds slower than him typically. It is a huge testament to Jakob that he simply rarely has an off day where these guys could beat him and in the 3000-5000 he faces slightly tougher competition at the Euro level and wins nonetheless. But it doesn't and won't translate to him having the 1500 figured out at the global level. Only improved fitness and better executed tactics will make the difference there.