Nico Young has made incredible strides forward the last two years. He looks way better running now than he did his first couple years at NAU. Testament to the benefit of hitting the weight room and strengthening glutes for runners.
Also his form. So much better today compared to basically any race in HS or college.
It looks like maybe two western athletes may get medals in the Worlds 5k. The toughest African out there on the track now is Berihu Aregawi and he has a nice kick but not a great one. When was the last time three non African western born athletes swept the 5k, damn like the 76 Olympics, and the Africans boycotted those games... LMAO!
Not saying this to be a smart@ss. Nico is now most likely the fastest gay person to ever live
Probably / certainly in the 5k and 10k.
But not across all events (points per WA scoring table) Yared Nuguse Mi 3:43.97 (1281) Yared Nuguse 1500 3:27.80 (1277) Nico Young 5000 12:45.27 (1265) Nico Young 10000 26:52.72 (1238)
What a race. Congrats to Nico on a big win and an awesome time / AR.
Hopefully Nico's ability to withstand doubling and rounds is as developed as his recently improved kick... get Fisher and Young in the finals and get your popcorn ready. Tokyo M 10k final is on day 2, M 5k heats are on day 7, and 5k final is on day 9.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
Nico Young has made incredible strides forward the last two years. He looks way better running now than he did his first couple years at NAU. Testament to the benefit of hitting the weight room and strengthening glutes for runners.
Also his form. So much better today compared to basically any race in HS or college.
I agree that his form has improved. If you look at some of his high school or college races his face looks like he's in extreme pain and his form wasn't as good as it was today.
Somewhere around 12-18 months ago or so there was a NAU workout or two on youtube where Mike Smith mentions that they were working with Nico on his form. The form work and countless miles have definitely paid off.
Nico's form looks great and he is extremely lean. Guessing being a nutrition major has helped. What kind of mileage does he run. Who does he train with now as a grad. He must stay with Smith so Nike is going to pay him bank.
This is exciting for more reasons than just times. The technology is a (roughly) level playing field. (Exceptions include Rupp's 2016 shoes, but I don't think that applies here.) If two Americans had gone 1-7 in a Golden League 20 years ago, and if that didn't even include our top guy, and if that winner had set an arguably-not-even-AR, it would have been similarly exciting.
New spikes aren't some crazy technology taking off seconds per mile, especially at the elite level. Maybe a couple seconds over a 5k. The biggest advantage the injury proofing and being able to train in them without tearing up your legs like with spikes from 10-15 years ago.
Nico just won a stacked Diamond League race with a time I would expect from a Diamond league winner. These times are nothing new either.
Also, we would have seen more times like this 10 or so years ago but Mo Farah controlled almost every race and decided to turn every race into a 13- 13:10 sit and kick race.
This is exciting for more reasons than just times. The technology is a (roughly) level playing field. (Exceptions include Rupp's 2016 shoes, but I don't think that applies here.) If two Americans had gone 1-7 in a Golden League 20 years ago, and if that didn't even include our top guy, and if that winner had set an arguably-not-even-AR, it would have been similarly exciting.
Did I miss something?
He was using a prototype 4% when supershoes weren't even quite a thing, let alone available to the public, so did Kipchoge actually, but everyone know he was unbeatable regardless of shoes difference, same couldn't be said about Rupp. So for some there's an asterisk to Rupp's Bronze.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
I'm old enough that I can remember Ann Packer winning the Tokyo Olympic 800m back in 1964, and I don't think the sport is "ruined."
This was a great race won in fine style in a fast time. Whether the reason that it's 16 seconds faster than Dave Moorcroft's world-record (for example) is shoes, training or whatever, so what, this was still a thrilling contest.
It's weird how Africans have disintegrated. I guess their anti-doping program is working! These guys used to be supermen. Well on the roads they still may be, LMAO!
Yes. I want to understand this.
Is is the drug testing? Or is the money is on the roads? Or is it coaching?