Kiprop had a ~10 second faster 1500 pb than Centro, yet kiprop jogged behind centro for 3 laps, then centro raced one lap and won. Kiprop must not be a very smart guy. In fact, I think he must be dumb.
Kiprop had a ~10 second faster 1500 pb than Centro, yet kiprop jogged behind centro for 3 laps, then centro raced one lap and won. Kiprop must not be a very smart guy. In fact, I think he must be dumb.
Keep trolling and lying.
Kiprop’s career fell off a cliff shortly after that race - and tested positive for EPO the following season. Regardless of the extent of his doping or duration of it - he was slowing down. Even at his best, his 1500 pb was only 4 seconds faster than Centro’s.
2016 OG finals was a weird one and many, many people have speculated as to why is was run so poorly given the talent in the field that day. Exceptions prove the rule. Kiprop won way more races than he lost prior to 2017 - so his tactics worked.
Hocker has a losing record against the top global runners and keeps losing qualifying races to lesser talent. This trend is not changing and will be to the detriment of his legacy if he continues running this way
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Let me go out and lead only to get boxed in and outkicked
While I appreciate your enthusiasm and analysis, you’re still missing the boat here. You should reread THOUGHTSLEADERS post and mine from earlier in the thread.
Its very clear you don’t understand how this sport works at the PROFESSIONAL level. This isn't high school, or even college. To be able to dominate a global field consistently….requires a very very special athlete indeed.
1) Cole is not so much better than the field that he can just run away from them. You are putting him on Morceli and Hicham’s level. That is not fair to the young man, and also not respectful of the very strong PEDs accusations surrounding those two. Hocker has never shown the ability to decimate world records and be 2 seconds clear of the entire world, as those two did. He also is competing in the super shoe era; running times that they equaled 30 years before. You keep touting his 3:27/7:23 credentials as if they are rarified air, forgetting that times have changed…Kerr is a 3:27 man. Nuguse is a 3:43 man. Wale is a 7:24 man.
Cole is incredible, one of the best talents America has produced. But to act like he is head and shoulders better than his peers, or directly comparable to Morceli/El Guerrouj shows a lack of understanding and appreciation of the eras. The direct comparisons are Jakob, and Kerr, who he has favorable/equal performances against.
2) You ARE underestimating Josh Kerr. Kerr has proven, over a long career, that he is one of the best runners of his generation, and on equal footing with anyone. This is no slouch that beat Cole this weekend. As far as the tactics of this particular race go, Josh made a fantastic move to box Cole in, aided by the luck of the Nuguse/Wale stumble with trapped Cole in. As I stated in my previous post, if this doesn’t happen, Cole likely wins. With two outstanding runners as evenly matched as Josh and Cole are, sometimes a sprinkle of luck can be the difference, and it was in this race. Josh, a talented, accomplished veteran, seized a great opportunity, and it won him the race. Cole didn’t fumble it, in fact he nearly still won!
3) You keep criticizing riding the rail. Over, and over, and over, and over, we learn that riding the rail is, in fact, the surest tactic we have in high level racing. The number of runners who have tried the strategy you recommend (sitting on the outside, chasing the leader and trying to swing around) and have failed is far; far longer than those who have ridden the rail to victory. Ask Jakob’s and El G’s opponents how it works trying to sit on a strong leader.
Cole is NOT strong enough to run away from his peers, and that’s not a knock on him. It is incredibly difficult at this level. This is not high school or the NCAA, where a runner can just sit and kick around everyone while running extra distance. Conserving energy by running the least distance is ABSOLUTELY a sound strategy. His strategy, riding the rail, which has repeatedly passed the test of time, did not work in this instance because he got squeezed. That does not make him a bad tactician. He is fresher than the others and able to kick BECAUSE he has run less distance.
I argue that Cole and his team’s strategy and sticking to it has taken remarkable maturity and planning, rather than attempting haphazard tactics that have not proven to work for him. What he has done HAS worked. It has led to Cole winning 4 global medals (all gold or silver, mind you). I’m not sure you appreciate just how important this concept is. If you don’t get it….well I won’t be able to explain it to you.
4) To the point about Cole not making the finals of the 2025 1500 or qualifying for world indoors in 2026: You are missing a few key points. Firstly, the 2025 semi was a bit of bad luck, as many runners have experienced. As others have pointed out, Kerr also got caught up. In a bunched semi, sometimes you get unlucky. It was, frankly, a weak DQ, but we shouldn’t make excuses for Cole. I think he would make that move again, and I think he’d be pissed that he got DQ’d again. It was a bold move. Thats why he’s Olympic champ, and you are not.
Regarding the 2026 US indoor 1500. Why are you conveniently forgetting that this was the day after the 3000m? The US champs in the 3000 this year featured 3 of the top 6-8 runners in the world. He absolutely had to go to the well to beat Nico Young and Nuguse, who as I’ve pointed out are fantastic runners in their own right. To be able to come back the next day and run a top tier 1500 is nigh impossible for anyone, and in particular those who aren’t using PEDs.
Furthermore, it’s obvious not only from his results but also from his chosen races that he has emphasized the distances more than middle distance. And that is OK! You are criticizing him for prioritizing 3k/5k (when of course he WANTS to complete the double and be an all time great) without appreciating just how hard that is to do.
TL/DR: Have some appreciation for the greatest American runner of this generation. What he has done is hard, and I’m not sure many people realize how much his tactics of riding the rail and saving the best for last has actually CONTRIBUTED to his success. I’ve followed his career closely, and am astounded by where he has succeeded when others (myself included) have failed.
To state that his tactics are the worst in the world is just asinine.
Way to write an essay romanticizing poor tactics and lost races. I sure hope you applied vaseline before sitting down to produce that girthy take.
You’re now bringing PEDS accusations into this and think it supports your opinion? Your golden boy isn’t free from legitimate suspicion either - going from never breaking 3:30 to miraculously running 3:27 and hasn’t run sub 3:30 since August 2024. He’s had opportunities to do it but hasn’t. Curious to hear your justification for that anomaly.
Lastly, I don’t want to hear your nonsense about doubling at USA’s for why he came 5th(wtf?!?) in the 1500m. And claiming that he had to race the 3000m against 3 of the top 6 in the world is taking some huuuuggge liberties when the 2026 indoor season has been missing just about all of the top talent ranging from 1500m-5000m. And that would have bumped Blanks(lol), Young(62 last year), and Nuguse waaaayyy down the global rankings.
p.s. winning the double at world indoors(with 1500m rounds) has been done before, so doing it at USA’s should be a lot more achievable unless that runner has been sniffing their own farts
Maybe it just comes down to - some days you got it and some days you don’t - & that DETERMINES your strategy.
No plan survives first contact with the enemy. Tactics are important. You can’t just go to the front and hope for the best. That idea rarely works (just ask Prefontaine or El Gerrouj or even Jakob). Hocker is one of the more successful ones strategically speaking. Many on the boards don’t appreciate how successful he has been. Rookies! Sheesh!
If Hocker’s approach is risky, why are you defending it? Josh and Jakob never miss finals when they’re in form, so why should Cole be any different? He’s a better kicker than either of them and has better PBs than Kerr.
Blaming Kerr for getting injured in that semi is just sad, man. He ran a clean race and was tripped from behind after the finish. What exactly was the tactical mistake?
The Nader stuff is played out, I’m over it. It’s clear to everyone you’re judging his tactics with the benefit of hindsight and overemphasizing his mistakes in some weird effort to defend Hocker. Garcia wasn’t on your radar before the race, but now you want to act like he was an obvious threat and the performance he put up was expected. Whatever.
The criticism from the beginning has been that Hocker’s strategy of leading early only to abandon his position and trap himself at crucial moments is a bad one. You concede that point in the bolded section of your reply, so I’m done here.
Fair response. Point by point:
-Every tactic incurs risk. Doggedly running 2nd/3rd can lead to getting passed, running extra distance, or being at the mercy of an unpredictable leader. Running towards the back can mean having to pass a ton of bodies late, running wide, being at the mercy of a fall/trip/elbow, and timing a kick with a lot of precision. Leading is its own risk as will get to below.
-I am not blaming Kerr, but I've literally asked him about that semi and he takes accountability. It was bad fortune, but it is a possibility for anyone leading that you make a momentary mistake and face calamity. Sure, it didn't help that the jumbotron was showing the pole vault as he came into the last 100. Perhaps that's what caused him to make the fateful decision to downshift. But this illustrates why *leading* can be so hard. Kerr thought he was clear and qualified. At 25 to go, he realized he was decidedly not and he pulled his calf trying to inject a surge in the final steps to reverse the momentum. In the other heat, two guys (Farken and Nillesen) got to the lead and surely thought they'd run great races. As it turned out they were exhausted from the tactic and had nothing to give in the last 50 (Farken got advanced through Hocker's elbow). Hocker meanwhile had banked on some gap/separation appearing and it just didn't. Racing in the middle of the field you take that risk. Again, only Reynold Cheruiyot and maybe Adrian Ben to a smaller degree had THE coveted position outside of Farken/Nillesen. Everyone else was relying on some degree of good fortune.
-Nader, I just don't understand what you're missing. This isn't playing the hits. Nader didn't want to lead, which is fine if a bit inflexible. But in his World Indoor Finals, there's a consistent pattern of him having a mediocre to bad last 200 because he spends so much effort trying to stay in position 2 the entire race he has nothing left to gain on the leader or protect the position in the last lap. At Worlds outdoors last year he completely abandoned the fixation with being in second place, and won the race. Sure that was fortunate, but it just showed how much potential he has if he makes his last 200 one of his best not his worst.
Of course forfeiting position late in a race isn't inherently good, but it's not always the worst tactical decision ever. When it occurs, to who, and the conditions of the race matter. For an easy example, we could look at this year USAs 3K, or last years World Indoors 3K. You can look at any of the recent 5K global finals when the Ethiopians seemingly go nuts to be in the lead at 400 or 200 to go and then get beat by more patient kickers (Jakob, Cole, Kimeli, Krop, whoever). You seem to think those guys are winning in spite of not protecting their leads at 600 or 400 300 to go like the world depends on it, but sometimes regathering for a kick is the best move that can be made.
100% agree with you and your final sentence is the salient point being missed.
I'm not sure if there is this weird "throwback complex" at play where people are just stoked an American MD runner is figuring in these races and pinching a gold medal here and there because at this point in his career, right now, he is good enough to win these races. He was clearly good enough to win the world 1500m had he made it. He was good enough to win this world indoor 1500m had he made it. And I said this in another post, he has the chance to be the dominant athlete for the back half of this decade and make himself an all-time great - but that means winning the races you have the ability to. On top of that, these are the races he wants to win and focuses on winning because he clearly doesn't care about the DL like others do.
I'm not sure if people understand the gravity of what happened in Tokyo. If he nailed that double, he immediately does what Jakob has tried and failed to do 4 times, and he joins a club of 3 to do it - Nurmi, El G, Lagat. 2027 Worlds are a long way away - there is no guarantee he gets that chance again.
Some of the names and mental gymnastics being done here are fascinating. Nuguse, Nader, Ethan Strand - people really think that Cole Hocker is the same tier of athlete? This is just all too simple to me, I'm not sure what others are/aren't seeing.
1) What other elite talent have we ever seen consciously run this way across history? Has he somehow unlocked the secret that all others before just couldn't tactically?
2) He's 3/7 employing these tactics including getting beat at the US level over 1500m by a combined 6 guys in the event he's the Olympic champion and record holder in.
3) This way of running is actually extremely inefficient, so even if you want to make a case there is some type of positioning benefit to doing so (please by all means someone try and make that case), the energy cost alone must compromise him, basically proving my position that he is one of the most physically talented and gifted athletes ever given how he's been able to overcome this, especially in that world 5000m final.
While I appreciate your enthusiasm and analysis, you’re still missing the boat here. You should reread THOUGHTSLEADERS post and mine from earlier in the thread.
Its very clear you don’t understand how this sport works at the PROFESSIONAL level. This isn't high school, or even college. To be able to dominate a global field consistently….requires a very very special athlete indeed.
1) Cole is not so much better than the field that he can just run away from them. You are putting him on Morceli and Hicham’s level. That is not fair to the young man, and also not respectful of the very strong PEDs accusations surrounding those two. Hocker has never shown the ability to decimate world records and be 2 seconds clear of the entire world, as those two did. He also is competing in the super shoe era; running times that they equaled 30 years before. You keep touting his 3:27/7:23 credentials as if they are rarified air, forgetting that times have changed…Kerr is a 3:27 man. Nuguse is a 3:43 man. Wale is a 7:24 man.
Cole is incredible, one of the best talents America has produced. But to act like he is head and shoulders better than his peers, or directly comparable to Morceli/El Guerrouj shows a lack of understanding and appreciation of the eras. The direct comparisons are Jakob, and Kerr, who he has favorable/equal performances against.
2) You ARE underestimating Josh Kerr. Kerr has proven, over a long career, that he is one of the best runners of his generation, and on equal footing with anyone. This is no slouch that beat Cole this weekend. As far as the tactics of this particular race go, Josh made a fantastic move to box Cole in, aided by the luck of the Nuguse/Wale stumble with trapped Cole in. As I stated in my previous post, if this doesn’t happen, Cole likely wins. With two outstanding runners as evenly matched as Josh and Cole are, sometimes a sprinkle of luck can be the difference, and it was in this race. Josh, a talented, accomplished veteran, seized a great opportunity, and it won him the race. Cole didn’t fumble it, in fact he nearly still won!
3) You keep criticizing riding the rail. Over, and over, and over, and over, we learn that riding the rail is, in fact, the surest tactic we have in high level racing. The number of runners who have tried the strategy you recommend (sitting on the outside, chasing the leader and trying to swing around) and have failed is far; far longer than those who have ridden the rail to victory. Ask Jakob’s and El G’s opponents how it works trying to sit on a strong leader.
Cole is NOT strong enough to run away from his peers, and that’s not a knock on him. It is incredibly difficult at this level. This is not high school or the NCAA, where a runner can just sit and kick around everyone while running extra distance. Conserving energy by running the least distance is ABSOLUTELY a sound strategy. His strategy, riding the rail, which has repeatedly passed the test of time, did not work in this instance because he got squeezed. That does not make him a bad tactician. He is fresher than the others and able to kick BECAUSE he has run less distance.
I argue that Cole and his team’s strategy and sticking to it has taken remarkable maturity and planning, rather than attempting haphazard tactics that have not proven to work for him. What he has done HAS worked. It has led to Cole winning 4 global medals (all gold or silver, mind you). I’m not sure you appreciate just how important this concept is. If you don’t get it….well I won’t be able to explain it to you.
4) To the point about Cole not making the finals of the 2025 1500 or qualifying for world indoors in 2026: You are missing a few key points. Firstly, the 2025 semi was a bit of bad luck, as many runners have experienced. As others have pointed out, Kerr also got caught up. In a bunched semi, sometimes you get unlucky. It was, frankly, a weak DQ, but we shouldn’t make excuses for Cole. I think he would make that move again, and I think he’d be pissed that he got DQ’d again. It was a bold move. Thats why he’s Olympic champ, and you are not.
Regarding the 2026 US indoor 1500. Why are you conveniently forgetting that this was the day after the 3000m? The US champs in the 3000 this year featured 3 of the top 6-8 runners in the world. He absolutely had to go to the well to beat Nico Young and Nuguse, who as I’ve pointed out are fantastic runners in their own right. To be able to come back the next day and run a top tier 1500 is nigh impossible for anyone, and in particular those who aren’t using PEDs.
Furthermore, it’s obvious not only from his results but also from his chosen races that he has emphasized the distances more than middle distance. And that is OK! You are criticizing him for prioritizing 3k/5k (when of course he WANTS to complete the double and be an all time great) without appreciating just how hard that is to do.
TL/DR: Have some appreciation for the greatest American runner of this generation. What he has done is hard, and I’m not sure many people realize how much his tactics of riding the rail and saving the best for last has actually CONTRIBUTED to his success. I’ve followed his career closely, and am astounded by where he has succeeded when others (myself included) have failed.
To state that his tactics are the worst in the world is just asinine.
I am almost 100% certain I understand how this sport works at a professional level more than you do. And not just "more", but considerably.
But thanks for giving me a good laugh nonetheless. Nice try with the "analysis" too - that also made me laugh.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
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Let me go out and lead only to get boxed in and outkicked
Of course forfeiting position late in a race isn't inherently good, but it's not always the worst tactical decision ever.
Yes, it is. Especially when you are talking about getting boxed in late in the race, and leaving it too late to win with a kick. It’s gets much, much worse when using this tactic INDOORS where it is significantly more difficult to swing wide around the last bend into a short straightaway. What on earth are you even talking about??
Yes, it is. Especially when you are talking about getting boxed in late in the race, and leaving it too late to win with a kick. It’s gets much, much worse when using this tactic INDOORS where it is significantly more difficult to swing wide around the last bend into a short straightaway. What on earth are you even talking about??
Everything is not so black and white. The race is to the finish line not the lead at 200 to go or 300 to go. You are talking about an outcome like it’s certainty when someone is passed late in a race (losing because you are boxed), when we’ve seen many athletes win after being passed late and many others lose holding the lead in the last 50. Hocker beat Young waiting until the last 100 to time his kick well. He did the same at Millrose. Battocletti won ceding the lead late to Hull. Saving your kick isn’t something idiotic thing, though of course it can go too far, especially indoors. If you can only see the negatives of making a more honest pace, not constantly running wide, preserving your kick etc I’m not sure what to tell you. I can tell you obviously it’d be great to have the lead with 200 to go but guess what easier said than done,
This post was edited 6 minutes after it was posted.
Maybe it just comes down to - some days you got it and some days you don’t - & that DETERMINES your strategy.
No plan survives first contact with the enemy. Tactics are important. You can’t just go to the front and hope for the best. That idea rarely works (just ask Prefontaine or El Gerrouj or even Jakob). Hocker is one of the more successful ones strategically speaking. Many on the boards don’t appreciate how successful he has been. Rookies! Sheesh!
I think you need to realize that strategy & tactics share a messy boundary. Racing a 3000 is long enough for some strategy to be adjusted, affecting tactics.
Concerning Hocker I was pointing out that his seemingly poor tactics may be a reaction to not having his A game.
This cannot be a serious take. 3 WC Golds and an OG Gold all in the same event. Ran the 3rd fastest 1500m all time pre-super spikes. Dozens of wins under his belt
This is the most coherent post. Pretty cheap to forget that there are a dozen or so of the best in the world in these global medal races all applying their strategies in limited space. Name three “great tacticians” of hocker’s generation with better achievements. He puts his pants on one leg at a time like the rest of you, but after he does, he wins gold medals.
I am almost 100% certain I understand how this sport works at a professional level more than you do. And not just "more", but considerably.
But thanks for giving me a good laugh nonetheless. Nice try with the "analysis" too - that also made me laugh.
You're just some dude with a keyboard and an opinion, same as the rest of us. Maybe you know some professional athletes. But you have no firsthand experience contending for a gold medal against someone of Josh Kerr's caliber racing in the deepest middle distance fields this sport has ever seen.
I am almost 100% certain I understand how this sport works at a professional level more than you do. And not just "more", but considerably.
But thanks for giving me a good laugh nonetheless. Nice try with the "analysis" too - that also made me laugh.
For such an expert, you sure are wrong a lot in this thread.
I encourage you to read my post again, recognize what I must have been through to make those points (which no one else is making or has had the wherewithal to consider, mind you) and really consider whether you do “understand” more.
You say the strategy doesn’t work, but don’t say WHY. You asked for examples, I provided them. You asked for counterpoints, I provided them. All with evidence and reason.
You responded with ego and an embarrassing lack of poise.
If you'd like to have a productive discussion, the opportunity is there. Until then, you just sound like a bloviating keyboard warrior who has not experienced our sport at the competitive level with your “I know more than you, but I’m going to just share my opinions rather than real tactical analysis!!!”.
his olympic win was a fluke, how many 1500ms has he won since?
the guys a fraud, dreadful in fast and slow races but got lucky on the big day. none of the other top guys are afraid of him. hes not consistent and rarely beats them
This is why I dislike indoor track. It is all about tactics, positioning and luck. It really is quite silly. No one remembers indoor champs. Outdoor World champ? Somewhat. Olympic champs, definitely.
I never had the chance to run indoor track, so I never developed any attachment to it. I’ve always wondered why the indoor season exists at all, what’s the purpose of it?
If Hocker’s approach is risky, why are you defending it? Josh and Jakob never miss finals when they’re in form, so why should Cole be any different? He’s a better kicker than either of them and has better PBs than Kerr.
Blaming Kerr for getting injured in that semi is just sad, man. He ran a clean race and was tripped from behind after the finish. What exactly was the tactical mistake?
The Nader stuff is played out, I’m over it. It’s clear to everyone you’re judging his tactics with the benefit of hindsight and overemphasizing his mistakes in some weird effort to defend Hocker. Garcia wasn’t on your radar before the race, but now you want to act like he was an obvious threat and the performance he put up was expected. Whatever.
The criticism from the beginning has been that Hocker’s strategy of leading early only to abandon his position and trap himself at crucial moments is a bad one. You concede that point in the bolded section of your reply, so I’m done here.
Fair response. Point by point:
-Every tactic incurs risk. Doggedly running 2nd/3rd can lead to getting passed, running extra distance, or being at the mercy of an unpredictable leader. Running towards the back can mean having to pass a ton of bodies late, running wide, being at the mercy of a fall/trip/elbow, and timing a kick with a lot of precision. Leading is its own risk as will get to below.
-I am not blaming Kerr, but I've literally asked him about that semi and he takes accountability. It was bad fortune, but it is a possibility for anyone leading that you make a momentary mistake and face calamity. Sure, it didn't help that the jumbotron was showing the pole vault as he came into the last 100. Perhaps that's what caused him to make the fateful decision to downshift. But this illustrates why *leading* can be so hard. Kerr thought he was clear and qualified. At 25 to go, he realized he was decidedly not and he pulled his calf trying to inject a surge in the final steps to reverse the momentum. In the other heat, two guys (Farken and Nillesen) got to the lead and surely thought they'd run great races. As it turned out they were exhausted from the tactic and had nothing to give in the last 50 (Farken got advanced through Hocker's elbow). Hocker meanwhile had banked on some gap/separation appearing and it just didn't. Racing in the middle of the field you take that risk. Again, only Reynold Cheruiyot and maybe Adrian Ben to a smaller degree had THE coveted position outside of Farken/Nillesen. Everyone else was relying on some degree of good fortune.
-Nader, I just don't understand what you're missing. This isn't playing the hits. Nader didn't want to lead, which is fine if a bit inflexible. But in his World Indoor Finals, there's a consistent pattern of him having a mediocre to bad last 200 because he spends so much effort trying to stay in position 2 the entire race he has nothing left to gain on the leader or protect the position in the last lap. At Worlds outdoors last year he completely abandoned the fixation with being in second place, and won the race. Sure that was fortunate, but it just showed how much potential he has if he makes his last 200 one of his best not his worst.
Of course forfeiting position late in a race isn't inherently good, but it's not always the worst tactical decision ever. When it occurs, to who, and the conditions of the race matter. For an easy example, we could look at this year USAs 3K, or last years World Indoors 3K. You can look at any of the recent 5K global finals when the Ethiopians seemingly go nuts to be in the lead at 400 or 200 to go and then get beat by more patient kickers (Jakob, Cole, Kimeli, Krop, whoever). You seem to think those guys are winning in spite of not protecting their leads at 600 or 400 300 to go like the world depends on it, but sometimes regathering for a kick is the best move that can be made.
Every tactic incurs risk =/= every tactic is equally risky.
This is the argument you tried to make re Kerr in Tokyo:
“So, while Hocker's DQ gets all the attention both he and Kerr's World Championship 1500 experiences were ruined by difficult semis. This just shows how difficult it is tactically…”
Kerr making a slight misjudgment which had zero impact on his race and only cost him in the final because he was already nursing an injury doesn’t illustrate the point you’re desperate to make about difficulty. He was almost perfect in his semi and qualified easily, whereas Hocker ran terribly and got himself DQed. Why are you pretending their races were similar when they were absolutely nothing alike?
Retreading the Nader stuff is a waste of time. My comments only ever pertained to the final in Torun and I explained my position multiple times. If you want to continue bringing up other races and judging indoor 2025 Nader based on his later outdoor achievements, feel free.
There’s a difference between regathering for a kick and getting shuffled out of position when it’s too late to come back. How many times are you going to reference that 3k? Hocker eked out the win, but we’ve seen him fail in that exact position several times which, again, is why this thread even exists.
Why are you citing a bunch of horrible tacticians who routinely blow their loads too early? I’m not asking Hocker to emulate them, I just think his typical strategy is awful. Read the end of my last post again and then ask yourself why you’re still arguing with me when you already admitted my point.
I am almost 100% certain I understand how this sport works at a professional level more than you do. And not just "more", but considerably.
But thanks for giving me a good laugh nonetheless. Nice try with the "analysis" too - that also made me laugh.
For such an expert, you sure are wrong a lot in this thread.
I encourage you to read my post again, recognize what I must have been through to make those points (which no one else is making or has had the wherewithal to consider, mind you) and really consider whether you do “understand” more.
You say the strategy doesn’t work, but don’t say WHY. You asked for examples, I provided them. You asked for counterpoints, I provided them. All with evidence and reason.
You responded with ego and an embarrassing lack of poise.
If you'd like to have a productive discussion, the opportunity is there. Until then, you just sound like a bloviating keyboard warrior who has not experienced our sport at the competitive level with your “I know more than you, but I’m going to just share my opinions rather than real tactical analysis!!!”.
This is rich considering your first post in this thread was a condescending and long-winded mess which could be fairly summarized “It’s Nuguse’s fault Hocker lost and all of you are know-nothings.”
If you were actually interested in productive discussion, you would’ve skipped all the self-aggrandizing bullsht and presented your argument like a normal person. Congrats on claiming to have been there, done that, though. I feel totally inferior to you.
2016 OG finals was a weird one and many, many people have speculated as to why is was run so poorly given the talent in the field that day. Exceptions prove the rule. Kiprop won way more races than he lost prior to 2017 - so his tactics worked.
The race was delayed nearly an hour as the stadium showed the Brazil soccer game on the Jumbotron. The athletes had already warmed up and sat around staring at each other in the call room. Centro realized nobody was going to be ready to push the pace and gamely decided to get in front.
The flip side to that coin is that while he was getting an easy ride up front on the rail, most of his competitors were fighting for position and running extra distance. Kiprop, particularly, ran a bad race. 2-3 times he surged to the front only the immediately be swallowed up and spit out the back.