Nuguse, Hocker, Kessler-Who has the brightest future?

Yared. I just do not understand this perception that he doesn't know how to race. He just got silver behind Kerr in 3000, against the world champ and indoor two mile world record holder at that. He already has two Diamond League wins from last year, including one over Kerr. He is the only man strong enough to go stride for stride with Jakob I til almost the end just outside of the world record. 3:43 is 3:43. I just don't think people are giving enough credit to how great that performance really is. If Yared goes up another level in outdoors, then he's in rare company with perhaps only Kerr or Jakob able to match him. The fact Yared is only in the middle of his second year as a pro is scary. He's already a legend right now in my book.

Nuguse though is like 2 notches higher on the fitness scale. who knows if Hobbs or hockey ever turns into sub 3:29 guy(feels like it). There is something about being at the top versus potential.

If Nuguse maintains this type of fitness for 4 years, I would be shocked if he didn’t have a couple of medals. But that is a huge if. Webb for example had the one monster year and was never the same dude before or after.

Of course we are also like 3 prodigies away from these guys finishing mid pack. We have teenagers making global finals and getting OC qualifiers. And there is always the random Kenyan/Ethiopian chance. In 4 years you might run 3:27 and get 5th…

Did you watch the race? People are not criticizing Yared for losing to Kerr. They are criticizing him for running a bad race and being in bad position basically all throughout it. He barely got 2nd despite having fitness that arguably rivaled or bettered Kerr.

his WC 1500 was similar. Cool DL wins. He was not a factor and lost to 2 guys he is fitter than. The consideration for being a good racer should be “how do you place compared to your fitness?” And for him it has been lower rather than higher.

Goose if he has the mongrel and the confidence.

I like Hocker though.

Fitness and talent can overcome a lot of race mistakes. Yared ran his world 3000 extremely poorly, just as he did the world 1500 final (as he would admit in both cases). He was just talented enough to pull off the finishes he did.

If hocker were competing a decade ago he would probably already be a global medalist outdoors, but I think his skillset is not a good fit for this era. He still might be able to pull a bronze by catching others who get greedy, but I think that is his max outdoors unless this "TT style 1500 final" phase ends.

Nuguse just isn´t on the same level as he finished 2023 in.

Let´s see if he can improve coming the outdoor season.

Don´t generalize too much from a random indoor 5000m.

If Nuguse improves from 2023 to 2024 he might break the 1500m and/ or the mile WR.

That would be difficult for Hocker and Hobbs to best.

Once hocker starts training at altitude like the rest of them it’s over

Nuguse’s lifetime earnings will likely exceed Hocker’s and Kessler’s by a large multiple. He is very intelligent, motivated, and an outstanding student with plans to go to dental school and become a dentist. He’ll be earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for the rest of his life. Honestly I think Hocker will end up with the most global medals over his entire running career, but if I don’t think the future Dr. Nuguse is too concerned about that.

Seriously? This is a talking point?

lifetime w2 earnings?

come on man!!👨

Big S. You’ll see!

Going strictly by age, Kessler since he's the youngest by a couple years. That said, he seems to be the frontrunner type. That type usually doesn't usually fare to well in a slow, tactical race. Kessler could find himself in that type of race in the Olympic Trials. How he does in that kind of race will be very telling for his future. Really, all three have question marks about ascending to the medal contender level.

Soemtimes you don't have to be fast, you just need to be the fastest when it matters. I see Hocker as a very intense competitor which sometimes counts more as stakes get higher. Nuguse has all the equipment and is already in the conversation. Kessler ran very impressively in the World indoor and wasn't much off gold. A very good talent and someone I'd like to see in a fast Monaco style race. All fine runners and a talented group for the USA. If I had to give an opinion, it would be Kessler with no disrespect to the others. I am looking forward to the Olympic 1500 with great interest.

Naguse and Kessler have brighter futures than Hocker for sure. We just saw that there's people that can kick as well or better than Hocker in a 3:36 type race early season (meaning 3:32-3:34 late season). Can Hocker outkick the field in a 3:30 race? That's what it's going to take to win, and I'm doubtful. Kessler might end up like Drew Hunter or he might be the next Jakob. He is the one that's hardest to predict. Naguse is one olympic medal away from having a good argument as the greatest American middle distance runner of all time. For example, Kessler could have an amazing career and still never touch any of Naguse's current times.