Its hard to say whats best for him without knowing him personally. Only he can decide that! College can be a great experience for runners to develop both physically and MENTALLY. It is also good to have something to fall back on if he were to ever get serious injured. Of course college is not for everyone, but it is great opportunity for anyone privileged enough to attend.
where is he going to college?
Why is the 1600 a footnote to the mile, but not the 1500?
is this a serious question?[/quote]
If you look at all that stuff you posted up about Webb, but remove the mile record, then what? Still an impressive resume, but one of the best ever? Nope. His mile cements that for him, just like German's 3200 does for him.
Converted his, 3200 is within a second of Nelson's mark. Hypothetically, if some HS kid nice resume suddenly popped a 3:54 @ his state meet for a full mile (or equivalent time for 1600 or 1500), would you not consider him one of the best HS runners ever?
And yes, the question about 1600 vs. 1500 vs. mile is a serious question.
why do yall keep entertaining this moron?
German may not be the greatest HS runner of all time...who gives a damn...the kid ran an even split 4:00 1600 and then two hours later broke the 3200m HS record almost even split until running faster on his last lap...
the kid is ridiculously talented and will be an incredible addition to US track and field
now all you kids should STFU
Webb's 3:53 achievement, while amazing, was run in a race with other professionals. His next best was 3:59. German is capable of going sub-4:00, which would make him, what, only the fifth prep to ever accomplish that feat? And he's capable of a sub-8:30 two-mile, which would make him faster than any prep ever. If he turns those two feats over the next few weeks, I think it's very hard not to say that he's the best prep ever. One thing's clear to everyone here: that double yesterday is the BEST prep double at those distances EVER.
Webb also won his heat of USATF with a ~3:40 and then ran 3:37/3:38 in the finals...those are both faster than his 3:59 indoor time
Fair enough, but the spirit of the argument is still the same.
midwaste wrote:
If you look at all that stuff you posted up about Webb, but remove the mile record, then what? Still an impressive resume, but one of the best ever? Nope. His mile cements that for him, just like German's 3200 does for him.
Converted his, 3200 is within a second of Nelson's mark. Hypothetically, if some HS kid nice resume suddenly popped a 3:54 @ his state meet for a full mile (or equivalent time for 1600 or 1500), would you not consider him one of the best HS runners ever?
And yes, the question about 1600 vs. 1500 vs. mile is a serious question.
well much of my argument is based on my assertion that a 3:53 mile is much, much better than an 8:36 2mi (which is, in turn, slightly better than an 8:34 3200m). purdy points and the IAAF tables agree with me, but the longevity of records do not. i, personally, put more stock in the points and tables, but that's a matter of opinion. the mile is a stronger record than any HS T&F record other than the shot put, and it's good enough to qualify someone as one of the top 3 prep runners ever, in my opinion. (although Webb had other accolades, as i listed above)
as for your hypothetical hs runner, yes, if he had a "nice resume" (at least two track nat'l titles and/or a FL title) i would consider a 3:54 kid to be up there with ryun, webb and ritz. that is because i (and purdy points) think that an 8:34 3200m is about equal to a 3:59-4:00 full mile. i don't put 3:59 guy Tim Danielson up there as one of the best HS runners ever and, similarly, i don't yet put Fernandez there, either.
in general, the 1500 is significantly different from the mile (1600 vs 1609m is not), and it is a collegiate, national, and world championship event. as it pertains to this argument, neither the HS 1500m record nor the HS 1600m record holds as much merit than the HS Mile record, though the 1500 is closer (3:38 en route) in quality BY FAR.
Sagarin wrote:
German is capable of going sub-4:00, which would make him, what, only the fifth prep to ever accomplish that feat? And he's capable of a sub-8:30 two-mile, which would make him faster than any prep ever. If he turns those two feats over the next few weeks, I think it's very hard not to say that he's the best prep ever. One thing's clear to everyone here: that double yesterday is the BEST prep double at those distances EVER.
not that it'll change anyone's opinions of my arguments, but i would like to state that i agree with all of this.
i'm not totally sure he WILL go sub 4, though, even if he is capable of it. he'll probably only have one shot, at NON, and his 4:00.2 was all out and fresh, even if it was without competition. he's got a pretty narrow margin of error, and one chance to do it. i think the sub-8:30 is more likely.
These posts are dumb! Ok German is the fastsest distance runner to ever compete for in high school in the U.S.over the 2 mile distance. PERIOD! Nelson, Pre, and everyone else and there moms were not faster! Did Nelson, Pre, Ritz or anyone else of those top guys ever double there faster 3200 ever? NO! German did in unideal conditions on a double after a 4 minute 1600. He IS the fastest high schooler EVER. He is not the next Pre, nor the next Nelson, he is German Fernandez. Future generations will look to be the next Fernandez. PERIOD
The fact he is even being argued as one of the, if not the, greatest high school distance runners ever means something. 8:34 solo, a week after running 8:44 solo, winning by almost 30 seconds, running consistent laps, it is what is is...8:34.23. However, it is also an indication this kid is faster than that time, why is it not improbable to suggest he could improve a mere 4 seconds over the 8 lap distance, or .5 seconds a lap with competition? Factor in the 4:00.29 1600m run just hours earlier and the assumption can easily be made, if there were ever a prep athlete capable of breaking 8:30 for 2-miles, this is the kid. I have been stating for years that the high school record should be in the 8:26 range. Kudos to you German. I look forward to seeing you compete in the two-mile at the Prefontaine Classic, will bring me back to the days when people thought it was crazy guys like Jim Ryun were competing on the national scene. German Fernandez will, or should be, the first high schooler under 8:30 for the two-mile and 4:00 for the mile. Good luck kid,
From one legend to another, Go set the bar somewhere that you force the whole prep distance world to reevaluate how they look at records and possibilities. Imagine what the world will think when you run a 8:29 two-mile.
Old Distance Legend wrote:
German Fernandez will, or should be, the first high schooler under 8:30 for the two-mile and 4:00 for the mile. Good luck kid,
Thereby making him the best ever.
Sagarin wrote:
Webb's 3:53 achievement, while amazing, was run in a race with other professionals...
Only 4 of those 13 professionals beat Webb. He also finished 0.29 from Lagat. Maybe Fernandez does huge things in his 1st race against pros. But will he be running stride for stride with Lagat, to the end? Fernandez was amazing... but Webb's 3:53 race is still on it's own level.
Can someone please explain to me why there's so many haters on this thread? You bashed Rupp when he did it his way in hs (extremely controlled environments, altitude tents, technology, gadgets, etc.)
Now German is getting bashed even though he seems to be the exact opposite, a blue-collar runner with an ability to run fast in hs-only, non-setup races. Some of you people are just absolutely retarded.
His 8:34 3200, in case it hasn't been posted.
wrongo wrote:
that is because i (and purdy points) think that an 8:34 3200m is about equal to a 3:59-4:00 full mile. i don't put 3:59 guy Tim Danielson up there as one of the best HS runners ever and, similarly, i don't yet put Fernandez there, either.
Wait, so you would consider someone who has run faster than all but two other preps in U.S. history (Tim Danielson) NOT to be one of the best U.S. high school runners ever??? This has got to be the stupidest arguments ever made on LR.
ttc wrote:
Sagarin wrote:Webb's 3:53 achievement, while amazing, was run in a race with other professionals...
Only 4 of those 13 professionals beat Webb. He also finished 0.29 from Lagat. Maybe Fernandez does huge things in his 1st race against pros. But will he be running stride for stride with Lagat, to the end? Fernandez was amazing... but Webb's 3:53 race is still on it's own level.
Agreed. But Webb wasn't capable of going sub-8:30 for the deuce either. Sure, he had the TALENT to get that fast eventually, but he never soloed anything close to an 8:34. On the other hand, German won't run 3:53 either, but he could get under 4:00 in the right race, making him only one of a handful of preps accomplishing the feat. Webb is the only other guy that I don't think you can say German is necessarily better than (though he probably would have beaten him in cross), but nobody else in the history of prep running has shown the capability of producing a sub-8:30 for two miles. Only one has actually produced a sub 8:40 in Nelson.
Bottom line, Fernandez has to actually DO it for it to come to fruition. But, no other prep has EVER run a BETTER double. NOBODY.
hknkl wrote:
wow
Just gave a call to the Applebees in Riverbank (209)863-9780 to congratulate him, and he said he's receiving quite a bit of notice tonight at the restaurant.