athing mu progression

jabouko wrote:

yup, so much time afterwards with Pre Classic and a ton of DLs.

I gotta say when I started this thread, I severely underestimated how good she was gonna be at the 400m.

mine and JWH's guesses seemed wild at the time but now they may be in fact conservative.

regardless gotta appreciate greatness, congrats Athing Mu

+1

True greatness, which comes along very rarely. Not some manufactured machine.

Mu is the real deal, possibly the best real track athlete alive.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

She. Is. Phenomenal.

Hopefully she does some 400’s post-Olympics.

Yes. She is. No doubt. You are so predictable in your cheerleadership as Coevette though. Same coin, different side.

M Miguez wrote:

Sprintgeezer wrote:

She. Is. Phenomenal.

Hopefully she does some 400’s post-Olympics.

Yes. She is. No doubt. You are so predictable in your cheerleadership as Coevette though. Same coin, different side.

???

M Miguez wrote:

Sprintgeezer wrote:

She. Is. Phenomenal.

Hopefully she does some 400’s post-Olympics.

Yes. She is. No doubt. You are so predictable in your cheerleadership as Coevette though. Same coin, different side.

Yeah? Tell me how that works.

**************

Mu is that very interesting type of track athlete: the very fast runner. She is not a sprinter, she has never demonstrated sprint phases or any sprint mechanics. Whatever distance she covers, she runs it...but because she can run faster than others, like Juantorena, she is successful in the fastest run, the 400m. Because she could be challenged by an actual sprinter in the 400 who more-or-less sprints the first 300 and just grits out the last 100 (but it would have to be someone amazing like SMU), her best distance might just be the 800, which cannot be sprinted successfully in whole or in part.

BUT otoh the 800 is run at a slower pace than is the 400, and there may be others who can run at that same pace, bit who would have to sprint to match Mu’s 400 running pace.

So it’s a tough call. I say her big shot might be in the 800, IF she can ensure a finishing kick long enough that others would have to sprint to match her speed, but could not because they’re too spent on the 2nd lap.

So IMO her 800 becomes a game of strategy, to pick those precise speeds/splits—the first 500 or 550 that others can match, but fast enough that Mu can go faster but they can’t, without sprinting...then the last 250 or 300 at her max running pace, and leave behind the slower runners and progressively bleed off the would-be sprint finishers, none of whom could maintain sprinting for anywhere near that long—250 at the end of an 800 would ensure that.

This would mean that Mu would have to front-run and dictate the pace in each of the 2 segments, and especially dictate the timing of the kick far enough out.

I know you might respond with a good Bollocks!, but that’s my 2 cents.

Sounds reasonable. That's how I see things as well.

Since I have never been an 800 guy I don’t really understand the intricacies of the race—but it will be super-interesting to see what happens.

When was her last 800?

I would love to see Mu take a crack at Semenya’s 600m World Best (1:21.77) this year. Enlist one of the other 85 women globally who have broken 52” this year to tow her through 450m at 53.5” pace, and there’s a good chance she breaks the record.

Could you imagine what kind of monster she could be on that tainted beef.

I ran 1:56.3 in high school and did not split 48 on the 4x400. I was more like 50, 49 high at the fastest. Having said that, if Mu can get comfortable going out in 57-58 and then pushing hard the second lap I would think she could run even or even negative splits. Based on what I’ve seen 1:57 should be the norm for her and if her 400 speed is any indication she may have a 1:55 in her. You never know though. We’ll see.

athing has improved 1 sec in the 4 since her 800

pushed to her limits in the 400 she can do 49.2.

in the 800, we're talking at least 155 now in an average competitive race.

probably 153 high this season.

look at what 49.2 gets you in world champs these last years.

the podium

it looks like mu is a 22 high 200m now.

so call that a non sprinter if you will.

the 400m call was made early in the season, so that's a done deal.

now onto the 800.

her coach knows the above.

1:56.07....

JWH we gotta revise these!

1:55.22.... Olympic Gold.

just incredible... what a season.

So crazy she hadn't run under 2:01 till this year and yet insisted she was an 800 runner.

She was right! I think she'd win 400 gold as well if she was in it.

wejo wrote:

So crazy she hadn't run under 2:01 till this year and yet insisted she was an 800 runner.

.

Yes, but the 1:23 Mu ran in the indoor 600 as a junior in high school (beating 1:57 runner Raevyn Rogers) showed that Mu was capable of running a world class 800 time.

John Wesley Harding wrote:

[quote]no pressure wrote:

2021 - 19 - 23.5 49.8 1:57.9 - NCAA champ at 400, 2nd at USAs in 800, 3rd at Olympics in 800

*Turns pro*

Cannot believe this was CONSERVATIVE. wow

SPLITS A 48.34!!!!! OLYMPIC DOUBLE GOLD

47.6 Jarmila Kratochvílová TCH 82

47.70 Marita Koch GDR 84

47.72 Allyson Felix USA 15

47.80 Olga Bryzgina URS 88

47.82 Olga Nazarova URS 88

47.84 Tatana Kocembova TCH 84

48.08 Flo Griffith-Joyner USA 88

48.32 Athing Mu USA 21

e h wrote:

47.6 Jarmila Kratochvílová TCH 82

47.70 Marita Koch GDR 84

47.72 Allyson Felix USA 15

47.80 Olga Bryzgina URS 88

47.82 Olga Nazarova URS 88

47.84 Tatana Kocembova TCH 84

48.08 Flo Griffith-Joyner USA 88

48.32 Athing Mu USA 21

You've mixed out of the blocks times (Jarmila) with relay times. Mu's time is closer to 49 out of the blocks. Still very good. I think it shows she's a 400/800 runner, like Juantorena was.

WOW looking back on this... You literally called out this strategy perfectly, it's pretty much exactly how she executed it. Great call