It's interesting that people here are bothered by an athlete's criticism of his competitor, yet criticize that athlete themselves. If Josh hasn't had enough wins against Jakob to justify his criticism then LetsRun message board posters definitely do not.
I suppose it's a fair point. We've all seen the races. But, I mean, it's not necessarily revelatory analysis. The easy flip side is that Kerr has a "major weakness" if the pace is going under 3:29. All of which is to say Jakob likes running fast, which we knew.
It’s not Jakob’s fault that there aren’t enough people that can run close to as fast as him so he’s forced to use pacers to run the times he wants to run. Yes he doesn’t have the best kick so he’s going to get beat in some races without pacers. He has won European championships. Not many other races besides Olympics and world champs without pacers. Jakob will always be first or second in any 1500 he runs and it’s not even his best event. He’s forced to lead a non paced race though which leads him susceptible to being out kicked. If Yared would step up and lead at a sub 3:28 pace, we’d have another story. Kerr can finish anywhere from first to eight in any 1500 runs.
Also, Kerr is a dumb*ss for saying Jakob has yes men around him. We have no idea if that’s true but even if it is, Jakob pretty much openly admits he can get out kicked so as cocky as he is, he knows his weaknesses. He might not work on his kick because he might not think it’s worth the risk/ increased recovery times from his standard training but if he doesn’t, it’s a thought out decision. Not because he’s in denial of his weaknesses.
Middle distance running is too honest for "yes men" to be of any worry.
It's worse in team sports where over the top players are deluded into thinking they've still got it because their entourage are 100% yes men.
For someone like Jakob losing hurts way more than winning feels good, so he'll be alright and on track. The things that could impact his performances are injuries, disease, and legal/family drama.
Flawed argument. It's like saying "If you don't play in the NFL, you shouldn't comment on an NFL player's recent remarks."
Also, it's a bit hypocritical for you to post that given your feedback over the years.
Please, recognize your behavior before criticizing someone else when you have commented on elite athletes' behavior and choices in the past.
Would you want anyone to be rude to you about your personal bests because of your comments or how you never received a Power 5 athletic scholarship in T&F?
That argument on these boards gets old after awhile. Be considerate.