Wednesday's Liévin World Indoor Tour Track and Field meet is absolutely stacked with Mondo Duplantis, Grant Holloway, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and Gudaf Tsegay, b...
Solid 3K start list. Krop/Fisher/Ndikumwenayo/Katir/Girma/Bekele the headliners. Girma is an animal indoors and has already run 7:30, so ill go with him for the win.
As an American, would love to see Fisher work on racing tactics and positioning. Nobody is going to run away from him at Worlds, just needs to put himself in the right spots when the kicking starts. This is a good place to get your feet wet and be more assertive
With the fast times being run in the states, I wonder if Jakob will run this 1500 on pure hate to prove to everyone that he's still the guy on top of the mid-distance mountain. I sure hope so.
Assuming Jakob runs really really fast, I would also enjoy a delusional post-race interview where he talks about how "everyone doubted him" (just like Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Georgia football head coach).
That 7:30.54 SB listed is an error. Girma hasn’t raced yet in 2023, and that 7:30.54 was his 2022 SB run on Feb. 17 of last year. Still, with his previous indoor record he’s likely to contend for the win.
The top 14 3k times of the year so far were all run in the States, between BU Terrier and Millrose. Nobody else has broken 7:40 yet.
He has Sowinski so perhaps. It’s not a strong field, though. Ermias Girma is the only big talent in it, but who knows how fit he is. Habz is in good form so he could maybe run 3:33. Ditto Rozmys. Mechaal maybe, but he’s up there in age. If Jakob runs 3:32 or faster he should be well clear. Not sure Lemi, Zeleke or Grethen are fit just yet.
As for Fisher, great chance to mix it up with good competition. Girma is really good indoors and Krop is in solid shape (27:04 road 10K). Katir has a 3:35 unopposed, he’ll be formidable. Thierry N ran a 3:42 1500, so might not be ready. Bekele good 10K in December, Balew ok XC results. I figure Girma and Katir will be right there, we’ll see if Krop is sharp.
This post was edited 8 minutes after it was posted.
That’s an amazing 3k field. Fisher has a shot at the American record provided a few of the other guys are keen to run fast, but it’ll be good racing experience either way.
I’m surprised to see Ingebrigtsen on the 1500 start list. Wasn’t he injured or otherwise dealing with some setbacks in training? He’s said he won’t run indoors if he isn’t confident in his fitness, so I have to think he’ll be chasing his own world record. Anyone in the know have any info?
He’s been dealing with a sore throat. He posted a week ago that training has gone better and he’s doing better. So I guess we can presume he’s feeling good if not close to fully fit. Again a marginal field where 3:32-33 should get it done.
That’s an amazing 3k field. Fisher has a shot at the American record provided a few of the other guys are keen to run fast, but it’ll be good racing experience either way.
I’m surprised to see Ingebrigtsen on the 1500 start list. Wasn’t he injured or otherwise dealing with some setbacks in training? He’s said he won’t run indoors if he isn’t confident in his fitness, so I have to think he’ll be chasing his own world record. Anyone in the know have any info?
He’s been dealing with a sore throat. He posted a week ago that training has gone better and he’s doing better. So I guess we can presume he’s feeling good if not close to fully fit. Again a marginal field where 3:32-33 should get it done.
Too bad Jakob didn’t opt for the 3000. Maybe because of this illness. Was there initially a mention that the 1500 was to be a wr attempt? Maybe he’s not up for that yet given his minor setback.
The resignation of Mohamed Katir and Mario García Romo to play both the Absolute and the European Championships in Istanbul on the first weekend of March in search of a supposedly better preparation for the World Cup in Budapest in the second half of August, as El País announced , and the ascent of Adel Mechaal at 3,000m, avoiding the doubles and overexertion of other times, have decaffeinated the test.