This weekend, who is running other than Hocker and Ruthe?
Ruthe ran a massive 3:48 PB (with a massive 3:33 PB 1500 on the way) two weeks ago, amazing for his age but not exactly stiff competition for Olympic gold medalist with a 3:27 PB and many 3:30s to his name. (Though no 3:28s - strange!)
Racing a child to break a nine-race losing streak? Two weeks after ducking a fast Wannamaker Mile for an easy win in a slow 2-mile, in the same meet? Weird thing for fans to boast about!
Ruthe is New Zealand's National Record Holder. Why are you hating on New Zealand? They've produced many great middle distance runners.
Huh? Ruthe is awesome: 3:48 at 16!
He is also not on Hocker's level. (Not the "cooked Hocker" we are now seeing in the 1500, and definitely not the 2024 1500 Hocker we saw for about 2 weeks and fanboys seem to think is "back.")
Your random comments about NZ suggest poor reading comprehension.
Mr. Observer of Facts. What is gonna save him from not being COOKED? Just a 1500m medal at Beijing is literally all he needs? What can he do in 2026 to convince you he’s not cooked in the 1500m?
Mr. Observer of Facts. What is gonna save him from not being COOKED? Just a 1500m medal at Beijing is literally all he needs? What can he do in 2026 to convince you he’s not cooked in the 1500m?
1. Run sub 3:30
2. Win some diamond leagues in 2026 while running sub 3:30
3. Try and sniff 3:27 one more time before fading into oblivion
Mr. Observer of Facts. What is gonna save him from not being COOKED? Just a 1500m medal at Beijing is literally all he needs? What can he do in 2026 to convince you he’s not cooked in the 1500m?
Mr. Observer of Facts. What is gonna save him from not being COOKED? Just a 1500m medal at Beijing is literally all he needs? What can he do in 2026 to convince you he’s not cooked in the 1500m?
1. Win a race at the distance.
2. Win a race against world-class competition.
3. Come within ~2 seconds of PB, i.e. break 3:30.
Reasonable?
So basically win a DL under 3:30. He didn’t run a single DL 1500m last year but that shouldn’t be a problem this year I hope. I hope he has plans on being based in Europe for the summer.
“51.2 final 400. 25.3 final 200. 12.2 final 100. Three things Hocker has NEVER DONE.”
When someone correctly pointed out that Hocker has done two of those things (25.3 or faster last 200 and 12.2 or faster last 100 to close a race) to finish a race, you responded with “Sure, but…”
So you acknowledged you were incorrect with the word “Sure” but you didn’t really take ownership of your falsehood.
Um...
Hocker has never run a 51.2 final 400, 25.3 final, and 12.2 final 100.
That is a true statement. There is no "falsehood" to take "ownership" of. 🤣
How is this hard for you?
I said "sure" because indeed Hocker has completed some but not all of the closing lap done by Nader. Get it?
If I say "VAboi has never entered a skyscraper, taken an elevator to the top, and flown a hanglider back down" it doesn't my statement "false" if you say "Hey, I have been in a skyscraper and taken an elevator to the top!" 🤣🤣🤣
OF COURSE the components need to be done TOGETHER to be meaningful in the sense they were presented.
Lmao ok, pretend like you weren’t treating them separately by saying “Three things Hocker has NEVER DONE” and then revise your statement in your head to say “One thing Hocker has never done, run a 51.2 final 400 with a 25.3 final 200 and a 12.3 final 100” when someone calls you out for incorrectly stating he’d never run a 25.3 or 12.3 to finish. You must’ve taken the Trump University course in deception because you’re terrible at it.
If you can’t see how you were wrong and that now you’re deceptively pretending like that’s not what you said, you’re a complete moran.
Then why were the great runners in the past spending their time racing throughout the rest of the season? For some, like Ovett, having a string of wins was considered a major achievement. Obviously not today, when some simply have a string of losses. Losing race after race is apparently part of Hocker's "preparation".
Competition is much deeper today. Hocker peaks very well for the biggest events. He’s mentally tough enough to shrug off losses while prepping for world level title meets. You’re simply jealous of his success.
I should be jealous of Ovett's success. He won far more races at his peak than Hocker has. Only on a ludicrous fan site such as this can it be relentlessly argued that a runner who loses far more than he wins can be the best in his sport. But all these pages show no one outside his fan boys is convinced of this.
Lmao ok, pretend like you weren’t treating them separately by saying “Three things Hocker has NEVER DONE” and then revise your statement in your head to say “One thing Hocker has never done, run a 51.2 final 400 with a 25.3 final 200 and a 12.3 final 100” when someone calls you out for incorrectly stating he’d never run a 25.3 or 12.3 to finish. You must’ve taken the Trump University course in deception because you’re terrible at it.
If you can’t see how you were wrong and that now you’re deceptively pretending like that’s not what you said, you’re a complete moran.
It’s OK at least he doesn’t seem like he’s posting in bad faith. I think Naders finish was special…and let’s be honest it was somewhat insane. People think Hockers Olympic run was crazy because he tried an inside pass. Nader didn’t leave lane 1 for the first 300 of a race in a lap he started in 8th right and was 6th in with 100 to go? Wild sandbag, Reynold/Wightman ran much more sensible races. It’s no given Hocker beats him at all. But I do trust Hockers kick timing and I suspect he starts the last 100 ahead.
Mr. Observer of Facts. What is gonna save him from not being COOKED? Just a 1500m medal at Beijing is literally all he needs? What can he do in 2026 to convince you he’s not cooked in the 1500m?
1. Win a race at the distance.
2. Win a race against world-class competition.
3. Come within ~2 seconds of PB, i.e. break 3:30.
Reasonable?
Yes, that is reasonable. Looking forward to seeing this in the summer.
Competition is much deeper today. Hocker peaks very well for the biggest events. He’s mentally tough enough to shrug off losses while prepping for world level title meets. You’re simply jealous of his success.
I should be jealous of Ovett's success. He won far more races at his peak than Hocker has. Only on a ludicrous fan site such as this can it be relentlessly argued that a runner who loses far more than he wins can be the best in his sport. But all these pages show no one outside his fan boys is convinced of this.
Regarding Ovett v. Hocker, well, yeah. But this circles back to a point the Brothers Johnson and Jonathan often make, namely that the present version of the sport chose an incentive structure leading to this outcome. The present bonus structures pay out primarily for the world championships/olympics, and the incentives are large--paying more than Ovett likely made even in his best whole year. Naturally, athletes then focus on health and peaking, avoiding meets to preserve health and maintain training consistency. They compete just a few times a season (see Josh Kerr), with non-championship meets suffering as a consequence.
But choices can be changed.
If the sport featured more meets that matter, at a structural "you don't get to go to the world championships unless you do X" level (beyond just being chosen by your country), then we would be talking about the other meets. It's not the "fan boys". The fan boys are just reacting to obvious ground truth that many meets don't matter and that fields are diluted, with few marquee head-to-head matchups and many less-than-best performances.
Take the eight best 1500m runners in the world right now. Put them on a track. Winner gets 1 million bucks cash.
Who would you personally bet on to win such a race?…
One who has one won a race at the distance since August 2024.
Kessler.
That 2,000 was scintillating.
This is a silly answer. Everyone here is talking about how Hocker is cooked in the 1500 (he isn't lol), and you think Kessler is better after his 2025? Kessler had a much worse season over 1500 than Hocker last season, seems like he also came back to earth a bit at Millrose. He hasn't won a 1500 since 2025 USA indoors either, and has never beaten Hocker.
Hocker is not cooked, you guys just don't watch track.
Another dumb statement. Wow, he hasn't run a peak level time in the 1500 since the last time we saw him run all-out in the 1500 at his peak! Shocking!
18 months and counting since he last went sub 3:30. He’s going backwards in the 1500m
you all were saying he was at “peak” heading into Tokyo, and his “peak performance” was an officially recorded time of 3:41.88 😂
Him going backwards is a crazy thing to say here. Someone quite obviously didn't watch worlds. You're like the dude that doesn't watch basketball, looks at box scores, and pretends like he watched.
Pro tip: looking at someone's world athletics profile for their last outing over 1500 meters isn't winning you any arguments lol. You may want to actually *wait for it* *gasp* watch the sport.
Hocker is fine. Nobody with his level of kick can stay with him if it’s fast. Nobody with his endurance and strength except arguably Kerr can drop him before a kick.
He was outkicked at last years US championship and was outstrengthed at Pre. Stop lying.
Do you think he was peaking for either of those, or no?
So basically win a DL under 3:30. He didn’t run a single DL 1500m last year but that shouldn’t be a problem this year I hope. I hope he has plans on being based in Europe for the summer.
Bad post. Actually deceptive; either bad-faith or truly ignorant. 🤡
He ran the MILE at Pre -- which last I checked is a DL -- and didn't remotely sniff a 3:29 equivalent. 3:47 for 4th, coming through 1500 in a slow 3:32.88.
If he wants to race the best, yes, he'll be in Europe running DLs.
One who has one won a race at the distance since August 2024.
Kessler.
That 2,000 was scintillating.
This is a silly answer. Everyone here is talking about how Hocker is cooked in the 1500 (he isn't lol), and you think Kessler is better after his 2025? Kessler had a much worse season over 1500 than Hocker last season, seems like he also came back to earth a bit at Millrose. He hasn't won a 1500 since 2025 USA indoors either, and has never beaten Hocker.
Hocker is not cooked, you guys just don't watch track.
Kessler's 2000m in January was faster than Hocker's, and he actually ran against good competition (NBIG) rather than ducking (Hokie Invite).
And he's done more in the mile lately than Hocker.
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