This looks stupid now, but prior to Tokyo, there was no indication Hocker would be capable of medaling in the 5k, let alone closing a 12:58 in 52 for gold. His only DL appearance was terrible and his win at USAs was nothing compared to what he did at Worlds . It’s similar to the jump he made in the 1500m between USAs and the Olympics in 2024.
Idk what this guy does to prepare for championships, but his peak is so far beyond his usual level it’s kind of absurd.
Egregiously bad take that I’d only marginally better than your choice of guest name.
Hocker ran a brilliant all time indoor 3K the winter before his 5K win that was 8 months later. He absolutely has shown he can do it. People forget how hard it is for Americans middle of the season to jump approx 9 time zones and just be awesome at a 5k.
+1
Also, everyone has bad days or slightly off days. He could have been slightly sick or not slept well, eaten bad food, just been fatigued, whatever. I think it is absurd to discount anyone who is an Olympic Gold Medalist. The 1500-5000 spread is difficult, but we have seen plenty of guys who can put up medal caliber performances at both distances. Winning gold at 1500m is more than enough to consider someone a potential threat at 5000m, and then he had that stellar indoor 3000m also. Clearly he proved the haters wrong.
This looks stupid now, but prior to Tokyo, there was no indication Hocker would be capable of medaling in the 5k, let alone closing a 12:58 in 52 for gold. His only DL appearance was terrible and his win at USAs was nothing compared to what he did at Worlds . It’s similar to the jump he made in the 1500m between USAs and the Olympics in 2024.
Idk what this guy does to prepare for championships, but his peak is so far beyond his usual level it’s kind of absurd.
USAs was more impressive than you are crediting it. He beat Nico and Grant despite leading most of the race and spotting them major distance after relinquishing the lead. Both guys were considered top 5 medal threats. Then with a below-par Jakob, Hocker had to be taken seriously as a medal threat. After this Stockholm race I was skeptical, but it turns out the travel got him in my estimation. Hocker certainly peaks majorly but it also seems he was one of the few guys who didn’t botch the long season last year. It’s frustrating how little he races during his peak but last year it was explainable because of his USAs double. This year since he’s double-qualified to World Ultimate we will see him running more when he’s in top form.
Just like how it's just going to be a formality for Hocker to break the 1500 world record when his two fastest 1500 times is 3:27 with 1400m of pacing and 3:29 high, right?
What exactly has Hocker shown in the 5000 that would put in at the same level speed wise as someone like Almgren or Jakob? He barely races and can only win or put up good times when the conditions are 100% right, if the slightest thing goes wrong then he falters.
Yes. The only thing that Hocker has shown is that he can win world championship races.
Winning world championship races doesn't automatically mean someone has world record speed. Have you heard of this guy called Mo Farah before?
This looks stupid now, but prior to Tokyo, there was no indication Hocker would be capable of medaling in the 5k, let alone closing a 12:58 in 52 for gold. His only DL appearance was terrible and his win at USAs was nothing compared to what he did at Worlds . It’s similar to the jump he made in the 1500m between USAs and the Olympics in 2024.
Idk what this guy does to prepare for championships, but his peak is so far beyond his usual level it’s kind of absurd.
Egregiously bad take that I’d only marginally better than your choice of guest name.
Hocker ran a brilliant all time indoor 3K the winter before his 5K win that was 8 months later. He absolutely has shown he can do it. People forget how hard it is for Americans middle of the season to jump approx 9 time zones and just be awesome at a 5k.
If it were as simple as running a fast 3k, guys like Kerr and Girma would be elite 5k runners, but they aren’t. It’s not uncommon for strength-based 1500 specialists to put up strong 3k times only to fall off by 5k. Hocker ran 12:57 two weeks after that 7:23 which fits the pattern. Nothing about his 2025 season points to a gold medal in a sub-13 race.
Winning world championship races doesn't automatically mean someone has world record speed. Have you heard of this guy called Mo Farah before?
Did Farah attempt any world records or did he simply prefer championship titles?
Why would he not attempt any world record throughout his entire career if he was capable of breaking them? Or did he care more about breaking the world record in Mickey Mouse events like the one hour run rather than breaking world records in championship events?
You're constantly giving Jakob crap for prioritizing championships over time trials in the 5000 because you're claiming Jakob can't run faster than his PR, but somehow that doesn't apply to Farah?
Winning world championship races doesn't automatically mean someone has world record speed. Have you heard of this guy called Mo Farah before?
No one is saying Hocker can run 12:35. We're saying a guy with 7:23 ability who closed in 52 can run a lot faster than 12:58.
There's no guarantee of that, no. Girma has a 5000 PB of 12:59, El G has a 5000 PB of 12:50, Wale has a 5000 PB of 12:53, Saidi-Sief has a 5000 PB of 12:50, Morceli has a 5000 PB of 13:03, all guys who run 7:25 or faster in the 3000. You can't just extrapolate times in shorter distances to assume that means they can run fast in longer distances as well.
Did Farah attempt any world records or did he simply prefer championship titles?
Why would he not attempt any world record throughout his entire career if he was capable of breaking them? Or did he care more about breaking the world record in Mickey Mouse events like the one hour run rather than breaking world records in championship events?
You're constantly giving Jakob crap for prioritizing championships over time trials in the 5000 because you're claiming Jakob can't run faster than his PR, but somehow that doesn't apply to Farah?
After that spiel you still don't answer the question: what world records do we know Farah attempted?
Why would he not attempt any world record throughout his entire career if he was capable of breaking them? Or did he care more about breaking the world record in Mickey Mouse events like the one hour run rather than breaking world records in championship events?
You're constantly giving Jakob crap for prioritizing championships over time trials in the 5000 because you're claiming Jakob can't run faster than his PR, but somehow that doesn't apply to Farah?
After that spiel you still don't answer the question: what world records do we know Farah attempted?
Maybe because that question hadn't been asked, drongo.
Why would he not attempt any world record throughout his entire career if he was capable of breaking them? Or did he care more about breaking the world record in Mickey Mouse events like the one hour run rather than breaking world records in championship events?
You're constantly giving Jakob crap for prioritizing championships over time trials in the 5000 because you're claiming Jakob can't run faster than his PR, but somehow that doesn't apply to Farah?
After that spiel you still don't answer the question: what world records do we know Farah attempted?
He attempted Mickey Mouse world records like the one hour run and not any real world records because he wasn't fast enough to beat them.
You didn't ask that question. You are bad with words. Is that why you never made it as a lawyer and spent your life pressing a button instead?
"Did Farah attempt any world records or did he simply prefer championship titles?"
To anyone who understands English that was a question. But that obviously doesn't include you.
"Did he attempt any world records?"/"What world records did he attemp?" are not the same question, peabrain. At least to anyone who understands English. But that obviously doesn't include you.
So like Ingebrigtsen over championship distances then? Not fast enough to beat them.
except he already has the 1500m indoors WR which is a championship distance, moran.
So you have to dig into the consolation prizes, the indoor records. No one gives a phuq about those records. No outdoor 1500/mile, 5k/10k world records. He will never get those.
"Did Farah attempt any world records or did he simply prefer championship titles?"
To anyone who understands English that was a question. But that obviously doesn't include you.
"Did he attempt any world records?"/"What world records did he attemp?" are not the same question, peabrain. At least to anyone who understands English. But that obviously doesn't include you.
Like the spelling of your user name demonstrates you are an illiterate peabrain. Farah didn't attempt any outdoor track world records. Given that he holds more global championship titles over the 5k/10k than anyone else - 10 of them - it is reasonable to infer he might have been able to take them if he had set out to do so. The same can't be said about Ingebrigtsen.