WTF Murphy and Hoppel?! - Isaiah Harris gets revenge and the win in Gateshead

You don’t lose fitness that quickly, so they are not unfit.

It’s either a bad adjustment to the travel or training through.

I hope they training through.

I would be concerned with the confidence hit.

Their state of mind is way more important than how these posters are feeling about it.

I’ll trust them.

Star wrote:

You don’t lose fitness that quickly, so they are not unfit.

It’s either a bad adjustment to the travel or training through.

I hope they training through.

I would be concerned with the confidence hit.

Their state of mind is way more important than how these posters are feeling about it.

I’ll trust them.

It's just speculation but I can't imagine that Murphy at least isn't training through. He said he ran, what, 12 miles total in the week including his win at the trials? That probably created an unintentional mini peak and he needs to put some work into his legs before freshening up for the games

Lots of people gave up on Brazier and left him for dead when he ran injured at the trials. I wish we had him now. We need him back and it shows. Hopefully he will be back at worlds next year in top form and healthy again.

!*@#@ wrote:

Harris just beat them both in a slow race in Gateshead. 1:44.

Uhm. Tokyo is next month. Harris will be watching the Olympics on TV. Murphy and Hoppel will be there racing.

rojo wrote:

!*@#@ wrote:

In retrospect he should have stayed home and trained. Winner of the Diamond League gets $10g. Does Murphy get paid to show up?

Shhh..

Jerry Schumacher is at home dancing on the grave of this one. Does this prove people should never ever race at all? I mean Murphy two weeks ago was the Olympic favorite. Now he's gone over to Europe and run like crap 3 times in a row.

Let's hope he got paid.

U.S. 800m fans hope our 800m athletes are training through. We hope Murphy and Hoppel completed a 10 mile tempo run an hour before or we hope Murphy and Hoppel an hour prior to recent 800m race were squatting heavy weights, doing leg extensions, calf raises and leg curls.

Murphy has a bum hamstring and didn't go all out. You can see one of his hamstrings heavily taped.

InjuriesHappen wrote:

Murphy has a bum hamstring and didn't go all out. You can see one of his hamstrings heavily taped.

This can't possibly be true because if it is then Murphy and his coach are absolute idiots. He just ran one of the most impressive championship style races in history at the trials in a year where the 800m has never been more open. He is a reigning medalist and has as good a shot as anyone to win the gold. So that being the case what on earth would possess you to be racing now with an even partially injured hamstring (and yes I saw the race video and you are right he has his left leg well taped), basically tempting fate. I mean did he not see what happened to the World Champion running on an injury?! Am I the only one who sees the utter absurdity in this if it's true he is currently compromised?

Looked obvious to me. Murphy and Hoppel realize they can't sit back and kick in an Olympic final. The race that Amos won the other day is glaring evidence of what a final will look like. Both of them realized that. They were irrelevant given the strategy they chose. So today they experimented with running close to a fast pace. It is absolutely the correct move but something that needed to be ingrained years ago, not desperately forced two weeks before the Games.

I'll continue to insist that any American coach who teaches a late closing style should be terminated, if not executed.

He's probably just not in shape.

rojo wrote:

!*@#@ wrote:

In retrospect he should have stayed home and trained. Winner of the Diamond League gets $10g. Does Murphy get paid to show up?

Shhh..

Jerry Schumacher is at home dancing on the grave of this one. Does this prove people should never ever race at all? I mean Murphy two weeks ago was the Olympic favorite. Now he's gone over to Europe and run like crap 3 times in a row.

Let's hope he got paid.

Won’t be much for finishing 6th. Would have been better to stay home train maybe do a couple time trials

More “Hot Takes”:

Just watched their race videos... Definitely not as disastrous as people are claiming.

Today Hoppel and Murphy went 24.X, 49.X, 1:17.68.. So they went after it hard from the start. Experimentation while the stakes are lower A+

In Monaco they were more conservative opening pace A+

Experimenting with different race strategies before the games A+

Playing things close to the vest against Amos A+

Look for surprises at Tokyo.

cramister wrote:

I feel like even if you make an 800 a “workout” or train through it, the last stretch still hurts like a b!tch

I agree with this. I’m in mid-low 1:50s shape and anything sub 2:10 is gonna hurt a lot.

I still have faith in our boys, it sounds like Murphy is having a rough week, he literally just ran a negative split 1:43. That’s not speculation, that happened. The fitness is there, bad days/weeks happen.

Hoppel has been improving like an MFer. He’s been having a comparatively sub par last few months, but he’s clutch, I had him and brazier being interchangeable medalists, so he better show up or I’ll look pretty dumb.

!*@#@ wrote:

Harris just beat them both in a slow race in Gateshead. 1:44.

How much money would Murphy get to run these races?

In retrospect he should have stayed home and trained. Winner of the Diamond League gets $10g. Does Murphy get paid to show up?

Centro is our only male medal hope.

Final

Place Name Birth Date Nat. Mark

1. Isaiah HARRIS 18 OCT 1996 USA 1:44.76

2. Wyclife KINYAMAL 02 JUL 1997 KEN 1:44.91

3. Peter BOL 22 FEB 1994 AUS 1:45.22

4. Álvaro DE ARRIBA 02 JUN 1994 ESP 1:45.36

5. Bryce HOPPEL 05 SEP 1997 USA 1:45.45

6. Clayton MURPHY 26 FEB 1995 USA 1:45.72

7. Jamie WEBB 01 JUN 1994 GBR 1:45.97

8. Saúl ORDÓÑEZ 10 APR 1994 ESP 1:46.02

9. Amel TUKA 09 JAN 1991 BIH 1:46.25

10. Jeffrey RISELEY 11 NOV 1986 AUS 1:50.05

Daniel ROWDEN 09 SEP 1997 GBR DNS

Erik SOWINSKI 21 DEC 1989 USA DNF

you guys are hilarious. every time someone doesn't run an incredible race or PB, you condemn them. Centro is on another thread for having no chance and now he's our only chance.

I really hope you aren't coaching children to be runners.

what would be a reason to be racing really fast, good times right now?

Please list the reasons why an athlete who needs to run rounds to win a medal would want to be peaking now versus on August 4th when the 800m men's final is?

I agree. I wouldn't be risking it this close to the games. Maybe he had contractual obligations with Nike and the race organizer and thought he could race just fast enough to not pop the hammy and still make things competitive?

He also had the hammy issue at the trials but was inspired by his wife's pre-race talk to just go for it.

2:XX 800 PR wrote:

More “Hot Takes”:

Just watched their race videos... Definitely not as disastrous as people are claiming.

Today Hoppel and Murphy went 24.X, 49.X, 1:17.68.. So they went after it hard from the start. Experimentation while the stakes are lower A+

In Monaco they were more conservative opening pace A+

Experimenting with different race strategies before the games A+

Playing things close to the vest against Amos A+

Look for surprises at Tokyo.

"Hot take"?

Since winning the trials he's finished 3rd, 7th and 6th in races well outside what he ran at those trials and as someone pointed out appears to be nursing an injury.

What races are you watching?! In presumably his last race before Tokyo he runs through 600m in 1.17.6, runs 28.0 for the last 200m and gets rolled over in the home straight by an average field looking strained in doing so and you give that an A+ for "experimentation"? That's a "hot take" if ever I heard one.

You seem to forget he ran 1.43.1 at the trials basically even splitting and you think these races show an "expanding of the portfolio?" He's been a pro for 5 years mate! Seriously gtfoh - that is the most ridiculous and idiotic analysis of 3 needless and poor races by Murphy.

" I mean Murphy two weeks ago was the Olympic favorite."

Only in the minds of Letsrun Americans who seem to think the rest of the world doesn't exist. According to your podcast the winner of the USA trials were favorites in 100 200 400 800 110h 400h etc

the state of sports wrote:

you guys are hilarious. every time someone doesn't run an incredible race or PB, you condemn them. Centro is on another thread for having no chance and now he's our only chance.

I really hope you aren't coaching children to be runners.

what would be a reason to be racing really fast, good times right now?

Please list the reasons why an athlete who needs to run rounds to win a medal would want to be peaking now versus on August 4th when the 800m men's final is?

This isn't about needing to run incredible races or PB's - it's about showing up in races and running poorly which he's done 3 times now.

So regarding your last point about peaking now vs August 4th you think running these races (and Murphy in particular isn't using these as "training" races - go watch them) is part of him "peaking" again in 3 weeks time after he just ran 1.43.1 at the trials. I think you need to learn a little more about the event my friend. I as much as anyone want to see him run as well as possible in Tokyo and win the gold - but nobody can convince me these races are helping him do that - especially if he is even mildly hurt.

I tell you what - I really hope you aren't coaching kids to be runners. Muppet.

Race was Friday,, his workout was Saturday (pre race Monday) ...then race Tuesday.

Just clarifying that up a little as an extra day makes a lot of difference.

JR

This!