Congrats to him.
As for Centro, I'm a big fan- but time to move up to the 5k.
Congrats to him.
As for Centro, I'm a big fan- but time to move up to the 5k.
What I saw was that Centro was positioned well going through the last turn, he just didn’t have a sprint so couldn’t maintain contact on the home stretch, which is where he usually excels.
Mcsweyn’s only chance is a fast race from the start as he can’t kick like hocker, for example. I’m hoping he makes it a fast race, rather than letting cheriyut dictate the pace.
TheyPlannedForThis wrote:
He is scared to death of hocker…knows if he’s around at the bell, he will make him look like a still image in the last 100m so he’s gonna try and 3:27 it with Cheriyuot who also looked less than his perfect self
Imagine rivals colluding to stop you
Cole hocker is a dangerous man
Nobody in the field is scared to death of Cole Hocker. Give it a rest. This Hocker worship is out of control. He's not dangerous. If his only chance is his kick in a slow race he isn't dangerous, he is one dimensional. All they have to do is run fast from the gun and take his legs away.
bike moit wrote:
TheyPlannedForThis wrote:
He is scared to death of hocker…knows if he’s around at the bell, he will make him look like a still image in the last 100m so he’s gonna try and 3:27 it with Cheriyuot who also looked less than his perfect self
Imagine rivals colluding to stop you
Cole hocker is a dangerous man
He's not dangerous. If his only chance is his kick in a slow race he isn't dangerous, he is one dimensional. All they have to do is run fast from the gun and take his legs away.
I want you to be so wrong with this safe little prediction.
THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:
Strong performance and Hayward looks like he has a bright future. Kerr I'm still wary of, as had he been in heat 1 I think his Q might have been awfully dicey.
Kerr is in low 3'27"shape, as per his coach. Dont know if he will win but just watch out
rojo wrote:
But he hasn't run fast... Fair enough but
His pb is now 3:33.....
I say that if the final somehow goes 1.57 at 800m and they leave it to the last 400m, he has as good a chance to win as ANYONE in the field.
I said that 6 weeks ago, and I believe it now more than ever.
Runningart2004 wrote:
Like I said.....1 would make the final, the rest would get spit out in the semis.
Alan
You gave them each a 50/50 shot at the final, so a 33% chance that just one of them would make it through, a 38% chance that exactly two would make it, and a 50% chance that at least two would make it.
So not as bad as your take that no American should be in the podium conversation with his like Kerr and Mcsweyn, but not exactly a perfect prediction.
KAV wrote:
Kerr is in low 3'27"shape, as per his coach. Dont know if he will win but just watch out
Link? That is an outlandish claim for a guy who ran 3:31 with a race perfectly paced through 900 meters.
Big questions are asked about Cheruiyot:
1. Is he hiding his game?
2. Is he a replica of Kenyan trials or Florence 5000m Cheptegei?
Someone close to his staff could ask how is shape?
zxcvxzcv wrote:
The two fields were excellent. Qualifying was not going to be easy and both races went much quicker than usual in the Olympics, with 3:33 and 3:31 OR. Centro had bad luck to get into the 3:31 heat because he might have qualified out of the other heat. He is just not a time trialer. Willis ran a fine race at 38 and showed a lot of class immediately congratulating the guy ahead of him. I was very impressed with Kipsang. He looks like a very likely medalist and could win gold. Tim went out in 41/54, I think, and then slowed it to 60 (1:41)/62 (1:56), which is the kind of race I think he will try in the finals, go out quick, ease off and then try to pick it back up in the last lap, which is similar to what he's done several times against Jakob since the Lausanne race a few years ago. Jakob will need McSweyn to maintain pace to 1:53/2:49 and then we will see if Jakob has closed the gap because Tim is ready to run 3:28 again and this track seems to be faster than most (the designed at Mondo claims it is 1-2% faster, although faster than what he did not say).
Should be fun to see a bunch of kickers if it somehow turns into a 2:54-55 1200m, but they'll all get nice pr's in a 3:27 race if the time trialers really push. Should be fun. And now we know for a fact beyond dispute that Cole Hocker is a 3:33 guy. I think that 3:29-30 is a possibility, but he's got to recognize that putting himself in the top five between 800m and 1200m is key to medaling. If the pace lags, you scoot up a bunch of places. Otherwise, he'll be kicking for a lesser medal.
Centro may not be a time trialer, but as he noted he ran his semi heat all wrong. He might have qualified out of the first heat, but it was similar enough that I'd be wary of him making the exact same mistakes. He should know better that if the semis go out fast conserving energy for the kick and moving up later in the race is more important than running wide so you can cover moves and get to a good position late.
Tim was more 56-60, it was like a light version of what he could do in the Finals. He can now note that this year's field doesn't have the same deference for him as in 2019 and they will push him if he lags the pace.
I think Tim goes 55 or so first lap (fast first 200) slows to 58-ish tempo at 350-400 and then McSweyn surges by to get them through in 151+...I imagine Time will let him maybe take it to 1000 before surging by with Jakob and Wightman in hot pursuit.
I don't think anyone here doubts that Hocker is an excellent runner and that it's exciting to have a new talent on the stage.
But other than that, what are we actually talking about? That he's going to win gold? Medal? Hang with Cheruiyot and Jakob? These would all be major feats. Hocker may do it, but so far, no one's seen him run the times that are likely necessary. Being skeptical about his ability to do these things just based on how he "looks" is just being realistic.
I'm baffled by posters who say, "He has it it all, the times will come!" What? The times are the only thing that matter. Hocker has courage and doubtless trains very hard. But natural talent still plays an important role, and so far, his times just aren't there. I mean c'mon, let's at least see him ACTUALLY RUN fast times before we start putting all these expectations on him.
Compare him to Mu, for example. They're both young, NCAA stars. But Mu had the fastest 800m time in the world this year, and what is currently the 8th fastest 400m. Hocker's semifinal PB puts him at ... 38tht. And that's by PERSON. In terms of just time, his PB is 52nd.
Look, I'm as happy for him as the next person. He may get lucky and place well in the final. But c'mon folks ... get a grip.
Phil Ken Sebben wrote:
bike moit wrote:
He's not dangerous. If his only chance is his kick in a slow race he isn't dangerous, he is one dimensional. All they have to do is run fast from the gun and take his legs away.
I want you to be so wrong with this safe little prediction.
You call it safe. I call it a bit of little reality. The guy has never been in a fast international race. To say that the others are scared of him is nonsense. They've been 5 seconds faster than his best effort to date. So before we anoint him MF King World Beater whatever, lets see how he does in the actual race that counts, not the semi. For the love of god, there are people on here that are ready to hand Hocker the gold based on his semi performance while at the same time saying Kipsang? after he sets an OR in his semi. Some how they can twist reality in a way that makes second place in a slower heat a better performance than the OR in a faster heat.
KAV wrote:
Kerr is in low 3'27"shape, as per his coach.
Kerr has looked like garbage, as per everyone's eyes.
Doubt what? wrote:
I don't think anyone here doubts that Hocker is an excellent runner and that it's exciting to have a new talent on the stage.
But other than that, what are we actually talking about? That he's going to win gold? Medal? Hang with Cheruiyot and Jakob? These would all be major feats. Hocker may do it, but so far, no one's seen him run the times that are likely necessary. Being skeptical about his ability to do these things just based on how he "looks" is just being realistic.
I'm baffled by posters who say, "He has it it all, the times will come!" What? The times are the only thing that matter. Hocker has courage and doubtless trains very hard. But natural talent still plays an important role, and so far, his times just aren't there. I mean c'mon, let's at least see him ACTUALLY RUN fast times before we start putting all these expectations on him.
Compare him to Mu, for example. They're both young, NCAA stars. But Mu had the fastest 800m time in the world this year, and what is currently the 8th fastest 400m. Hocker's semifinal PB puts him at ... 38tht. And that's by PERSON. In terms of just time, his PB is 52nd.
Look, I'm as happy for him as the next person. He may get lucky and place well in the final. But c'mon folks ... get a grip.
Centro won a medal in 2011 without the "times." Ultimately people are excited because he finishes high in races and this has been the case as the level has gone up every time. You might be right that it might ratchet up to a height too high in the final and he'll look for a kick in a 3:30 race and be bankrupt. It's also plausible nerves lead to a slower race improving his chances OR that PB and time is coming in this race. Lewandowski had that sort of final in 2019, Kipsang just had that sort of semifinal, Hodgkinson did it in the 800 and Chemutai in Women's Steeple just did it.
current odds on the betfair (uk) exchange, for those interested.
I love how salty you whiny brits always sound on these message boards. You guys act like Cole Hocker led the Yankees in the revolutionary war with the hate you throw his way lmao
THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:
KAV wrote:
Kerr is in low 3'27"shape, as per his coach. Dont know if he will win but just watch out
Link? That is an outlandish claim for a guy who ran 3:31 with a race perfectly paced through 900 meters.
I think Rojo mentioned it in one of the recaps
scrags wrote:
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/en/athletics-betting-3988current odds on the betfair (uk) exchange, for those interested.
Why is Kerr 3:1 to win Gold while Wightman is 14:1?
AlSalswhatsapp wrote:
Cheruiyot looked like he just jogged it in. BBC saying he had nothing else to give. Opinions?
I think Cheruiyot also had more in the tank. He looked very relaxed.
It is somewhat crazily true:
“I wanted him in shape to be able to run 3:27,” Mackey says. “And I think he is. I think he’s able to run 3:27-low.”
Just a reminder: only five men in history have run 3:27.
I'm not really sure who Danny Mackey has coached though to make such a claim. If Kerr is in 3:27 fitness, that heat is going to be some weird sort of footnote like Tim's Kenyan Trials race. The facts are his fastest run so far is a 3:31-mid with 900m of pacing at 3:30 pace and then a slowdown... And I'm not that impressed by the 800m workout either that looks completely inapplicable to the type of race we're going to see as well.