GRANT MFFFFF FISHERRRRRRRR

AP5000 wrote:

He was almost certainly in better shape than his PB would indicate, given the conditions. We would be talking with 8th and 26:5X, but in those conditions, that was never going to happen. He wasn't going to be a minute faster than he ran this in. So I think more like 8th and low 27 and there wouldn't be much of a discussion. But I get you.

Yeah I see what you mean. It being a tactical race in hot weather changed the discussion. It's like Ritz's 2009 race at the World Champs that didn't get enough notice at the time. A fast race in crappy conditions wouldn't be properly evaluated. So yeah, this race accentuated his strengths a bit more BUT had we had great conditions and it was a fast race like the Ugandans wanted I believe Fisher would've run an attention-grabbing performance (for time not place).

So again, I’m not saying he’s in AR shape but he’s clearly made a strong progression since the 27:11 he ran in the spring. It’s not outrageous to think he’s right around 27 given the race he just ran against the best in the world. I know it was a kicker’s race but his fitness suggests faster than 27:11 based on the negative splitting. Put him in a fast 10k and I think he’s under 27 next year

They let him hang in there. They could've pushed the pace from further out but were more worried about the real contenders. At no point did he even look like he could or wanted to challenge for a medal. Ahmed showed some balls and tried to go from further out but that didn't faze them. So Ahmed faded to 6th; 5th, 6th what's the difference unless Nike had some bonus for finishing in a certain spot?

Funny how the country that considers Steve Prefontaine's style of running to be iconic (isn't there a Nike slogan based on it?) that they would get so excited over this. And Pre was 3 or4 years younger than Fisher and actually went for the win.

Well he certainly performed better than people expected and it's a good result. Remember the people saying how the Americans where going to be lapped?

I do think we need to temper the "he should switch to the marathon where he'll run 2:04 in 7-8 years" type talk. It's not like he's going to or should give up on the 10,000 at his age.

zxcvczxv wrote:

WinnytheBish wrote:

Who logs on to letsrun after a major olympic race and expects to not see spoilers? This is your fault.

How about people who were either sleeping or running during the race and couldn't find a single video on the Interwebs with the race?

😥

AP5000 wrote:

Are you blind? Did you not see where I said "Despite that he still ran great and did better than expected." You remind me of a woman only hearing what she wants to hear.

I felt that there was some implicit criticism of the conditions as pertains to performance. It’s possible that I did. It seems like you qualified his performance in your comment and I don’t think that is justified

llort_vbo wrote:

AP5000 wrote:

Are you blind? Did you not see where I said "Despite that he still ran great and did better than expected." You remind me of a woman only hearing what she wants to hear.

I felt that there was some implicit criticism of the conditions as pertains to performance. It’s possible that I did. It seems like you qualified his performance in your comment and I don’t think that is justified

Naw...you just ignored what I wrote, but all good!

Pablo Nurmi wrote:

They let him hang in there. They could've pushed the pace from further out but were more worried about the real contenders. At no point did he even look like he could or wanted to challenge for a medal. Ahmed showed some balls and tried to go from further out but that didn't faze them. So Ahmed faded to 6th; 5th, 6th what's the difference unless Nike had some bonus for finishing in a certain spot?

Funny how the country that considers Steve Prefontaine's style of running to be iconic (isn't there a Nike slogan based on it?) that they would get so excited over this. And Pre was 3 or4 years younger than Fisher and actually went for the win.

With all due respect to Pre, the competition is much tougher now. It’s also about expectations and potential. This is Fishers third 10,000 and he has room to get better just like Ahmed did. I agree Ahmed ran a gutsy race, but the exciting thing is Fisher doing this at 24, and perhaps getting on that Mo Ahmed trajectory. You might not like the style of racing but I think Fisher is near flawless at maximizing what he’s got in a scenario where he’s not the best in the field. Mo as good as he is makes tactical errors even in his best races. So I think you combine Fisher’s intelligent tactics with improving fitness and he could be a medal contender. It’s a loaded 5k-10k group so it’s an uphill climb and he might end up like Teg and come close but not quite get there. Or he can get to 12:4x/26:4x fitness and he will be someone they don’t dismiss.

khcglhc wrote:

OTQ in 2022 or bust wrote:

Lol stop trying to act like Canada is relevant on a world stage. Theres a reason he left that sh*thole and raced for team USA

Not exactly sure this is answering my question.

Where did the first US born runner finish?

On a related note. How many US born runners qualified for the steeplechase final?

(Don’t worry, I will be asking the same question after the qualifying round of the 5000m)

+1. Hey I'm Canadian and I love that Mo Ahmed went for the win. Unfortunately he fell short but Grant knows he doesn't have the pedigree of a Mo Ahmed (yet) and despite that he did better than anyone could have expected. I mean this field was crazy with all the Ethiopians and Ugandans easily sub 26:50 and he beat all the Kenyans and this is his 3rd 10k! Props to him. I think Mo might beat him in the 5000 though.

With regard to Pre everything is relative. They ran 13:26 in Munich which was only about 13 seconds off the existing WR at that time. So they were going somewhat close to anything ever run before. Plus you had 2 current WR record holders in the race in Viren and Pootymans plus the 1968 Gold Medalist Gammoody. It was about as tough of a field that there was.

I think it's been brought up that at least two of the guys ahead of Fish were only 20 or 21. And in 3 years there will be more younger Africans out and about. I don't see this as any kind of breakthrough in the event, in fact Rupp had the more impressive race and that didn't turn out to be any kind of breakthrough. Other than the outlier Rupp Americans pretty much finished where they usually finish.

John Wesley Harding wrote:

byu shorts wrote:

When the testing is all said and done be he will have a medal. 🏅

Dude’s a member of the Flying Burrito Brothers and ran unexpectedly well—he’s as suspect as anyone who beat him!

Great reference to the Flying Burrito Brothers! Love it, although wonder how many on here know who they were?

I just don't understand why there was no water and ice given during the race. In the Triathlon there was a station. Here in a closed stadium, the race was just about who survives the heat and humidity better. This race would look different with water stations.

Ridiculous!

I hope they don't repeat the same mistake with the women.

henryr wrote:

I just don't understand why there was no water and ice given during the race. In the Triathlon there was a station. Here in a closed stadium, the race was just about who survives the heat and humidity better. This race would look different with water stations.

Ridiculous!

I hope they don't repeat the same mistake with the women.

Those guys wouldn't have taken it anyhow. They're not going to slow down to grab a drink in the middle of an Olympic final.

Pablo Nurmi wrote:

henryr wrote:

I just don't understand why there was no water and ice given during the race. In the Triathlon there was a station. Here in a closed stadium, the race was just about who survives the heat and humidity better. This race would look different with water stations.

Ridiculous!

I hope they don't repeat the same mistake with the women.

Those guys wouldn't have taken it anyhow. They're not going to slow down to grab a drink in the middle of an Olympic final.

The pace was slow, so I bet some of them would have, even if just to cool themselves and not drink.

henryr wrote:

Pablo Nurmi wrote:

Those guys wouldn't have taken it anyhow. They're not going to slow down to grab a drink in the middle of an Olympic final.

The pace was slow, so I bet some of them would have, even if just to cool themselves and not drink.

The problemo obviously would be they're running in a pack so there are too many guys bunched together and someone tries to bust out to get a drink and interferes with others. Just not a practical idea.

If they get dehydrated, just let them pass out and haul 'em off the track heehee

Pablo Nurmi wrote:

henryr wrote:

The pace was slow, so I bet some of them would have, even if just to cool themselves and not drink.

The problemo obviously would be they're running in a pack so there are too many guys bunched together and someone tries to bust out to get a drink and interferes with others. Just not a practical idea.

If they get dehydrated, just let them pass out and haul 'em off the track heehee

Check here around 15:40-15:50 on the youtube video:

In beijing they gave water. In both the pace was much faster. I am sure Woody and other would take a spunge at least

Compared to the other US based runners he did OK, but man be lost perhaps his only career opportunity to medal on the world stage. He really should have been able to kick with these guys. It was fast enough to break up the pack a little, but slow enough that he might have been able to medal if he had been able to react to the first last lap move. He will look back at this as his best opportunity missed. I doubt that any WC or olympics will be set up this well for his abilities.

henryr wrote:

Pablo Nurmi wrote:

The problemo obviously would be they're running in a pack so there are too many guys bunched together and someone tries to bust out to get a drink and interferes with others. Just not a practical idea.

If they get dehydrated, just let them pass out and haul 'em off the track heehee

Check here around 15:40-15:50 on the youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xWbnuv2QwI

In beijing they gave water. In both the pace was much faster. I am sure Woody and other would take a spunge at least

No no no...first the leaders weren't interested, the only one who grabbed a sponge was a back of the pack American (figures) heehee