Put Kerley on the 4 x 4

Absolutely

Agree

Holloway and Bednarek would be great also.

Thats a solid squad , but you can give ross a relay heat to preserve the other runners legs. He's going to be on teams in the future mine as well get some experience.

I really don't think Kerley is going to split a 43. If he wants a spot, he should run a 400 in practice (maybe he has already). Or coaches should have him run off with whoever they would be removing. If he hasn't been doing endurance training, he is going to look amazing until the last 50 meters, and he'll tank hard. Unless he has been training the 400 this whole time as a relay option.

Also we don't know if Ross made a mistake, or is simply burned out. If Ross still has his 43.75 when he is trying, he destroys Kerley at the moment. Kerley ran 43.5 or whatever when he was in peak 400 shape. He is not in that kind of condition right now.

Agreed.

His endurance might not be the greatest right now due to his focus on the 100/200 but if Grant Holloway can pull off a sub 44 split in college as a 110 hurdler I think that Fred Kerley can do it in the Olympics.

If Kerley was running the 200, it would be more likely that he is in 400 shape. Of course, I don't know what 100 training looks like vs 100/200 training at the highest levels. Maybe they should be the same, considering the greatest sprinter ever was fastest in both of them at the same time.

I really believe that Kerley, Holloway, Benjamin, and Bednarek would put up the best 4 splits. The other guys look flat.

The only difference is Grant had already run a few 400s in meets which is training in and of itself. I'm guessing Kerley hasn't touched anything longer than a 300 in practice (a total guess).

But as a coach that's not a risk you'd ever take. Bednarek hasn't run a 400 since 2018 or 2019. Norman and cherry are proven, along with Ross (assuming it was his effort that killed his race and not burn out). Those guys take gold without being challenged. No sense to risk it putting in guys that haven't run 400s or trained for it in a few years.

Dutch Sprinter wrote:

But as a coach that's not a risk you'd ever take. Bednarek hasn't run a 400 since 2018 or 2019. Norman and cherry are proven, along with Ross (assuming it was his effort that killed his race and not burn out). Those guys take gold without being challenged. No sense to risk it putting in guys that haven't run 400s or trained for it in a few years.

if Ross has already shown that he isn't motivated enough to run through the line then putting him in a race for a team medal isn't a risk I'm willing to take.

But everyone let's up at the end, which I think was his mistake. We don't called anyone else unmotivated who does this exact same thing. Coach will know the situation best and adapt if necessary.

Kerley would be my choice as well. He still has that 400 background, he did run 44.60/44.74 within ten days of each other before switching back in mid June. Very few can match his relay experience. Plus the 4 x 100 is not the same day so no problem there. Assuming they get that far which is never certain.

I'm not even sure about Ross in a prelim, his lack of effort and what seemed to be a "oh well" interview would lead me to think he's not mentally ready to run.

Dutch Sprinter wrote:

But everyone let's up at the end, which I think was his mistake. We don't called anyone else unmotivated who does this exact same thing. Coach will know the situation best and adapt if necessary.

Not when you're close to getting an auto qualifier. Remember he had to make up some track when they came off the turn. I think he was upset at his race and gave up. And his interview seemed pretty carefree considering he got eliminated.