Bol is better indoors than outdoors. That's why all these outdoor conversions don't apply. Her personal best at 200 and 400 is at least 2 tenths faster indoors than outdoors. Very rare. Part of that is emphasis. She loves indoor 400 and prepares for it. And a major part is that she has a difficult time pacing outdoor flat. She admits that and it's the reason she'll never switch to 400 flat as primary.
Note the two relay legs against Alexis Holmes. Bol had no idea how to pace the outdoor version with the lead but did it perfectly indoors.
The 47.60 is not worth discussing, no matter who we are talking about. I have no idea how breaking that record somehow became a topic the past two years. Sydney's 50.68 isn't in the same galaxy. The elite hurdlers don't lose anywhere near 3 seconds. Only the stumbling bumbling types lose that much and more compared to 400 flat.
Bol has worked on her speed and is more of a physical specimen these days. When she faced Shaunae Miller-Uibo at 2022 world indoors there was a marked gap in strength and raw athletic ability. Likewise when Bol faced Sydney. Bol is a later bloomer and more of a self made athlete than those two. But through dedication and an excellent training regimen she now looks the part and is entering her athletic prime.
I tend to underestimate Bol's upside, largely because I started seeing race videos when she was 16 and a lanky plodder. Tons of stamina but no speed at all. Amazing transformation. The best I've seen. But that lack of natural early speed is a limiting factor at 400 hurdles also. It's like swimming. Those records are not available unless you take it out at frenzied pace. That is not natural for Bol. By her own admission she likes to build into a race. Sydney ran 50.68 when she destroyed all prior norms over the early hurdles, all the way through 8. She actually slowed considerably from 8 through finish, compared to her prior best races. It was a necessary risk and she was rewarded.
Nobody in Europe pushes Bol hard enough to force her to run hard early in the race. And Bol doesn't get the opportunity to face Sydney in regular meets. Otherwise she'd adapt and begin taking it out faster.
I think Bol can shave a few more tenths at 400 hurdles. It will be interesting to see if the new speed emphasis translates to early season 400 hurdles. During the 51.45 Bol's closing stretch was by far the best she's ever had. She looked bouncy, eager and athletic. The issue is to take it out faster and then mirror that London finish.
You did not state a fact I did not know. F Bol is not sprinting 47.6 400m. I was trying to be polite.
Why? She can run at least 48.3/48.4 now, and she has a long career ahead
This is not the era of 1974 to 1979.
> Indoor tracks were 160 yards of wood with dead spots.
> Double peaking was not normal fifty years ago. Some T&F athletes double peak, peak for indoors and peak again for the summer.
Indoor arenas used to allow both cigar & cigarette smoking.
F Bol, doubtful to ever sprint f.a.t. sub-48 400m. If she does and she isn't past her 28th birthday, THEN we can have a 400m F Bol w.r. possibility discussion.
I expect Sydney to be fast on May 18 despite 2 years away from hurdles. Last year she was going out blazing in the 400 flat races. So fast that she had to tone it down. There's no reason to believe she's going to stray from early speed emphasis. And if she does that over the barriers it guarantees a fast time. The step pattern lends to discipline and all but removes the chance an athlete of Sydney's caliber will falter badly late.
I'm not doubting a prodigy. There's more chance she'll withdraw from the meet than not run an impressive race.
Bol is better indoors than outdoors. That's why all these outdoor conversions don't apply. Her personal best at 200 and 400 is at least 2 tenths faster indoors than outdoors. Very rare. Part of that is emphasis. She loves indoor 400 and prepares for it. And a major part is that she has a difficult time pacing outdoor flat. She admits that and it's the reason she'll never switch to 400 flat as primary.
Note the two relay legs against Alexis Holmes. Bol had no idea how to pace the outdoor version with the lead but did it perfectly indoors.
The 47.60 is not worth discussing, no matter who we are talking about. I have no idea how breaking that record somehow became a topic the past two years. Sydney's 50.68 isn't in the same galaxy. The elite hurdlers don't lose anywhere near 3 seconds. Only the stumbling bumbling types lose that much and more compared to 400 flat.
Bol has worked on her speed and is more of a physical specimen these days. When she faced Shaunae Miller-Uibo at 2022 world indoors there was a marked gap in strength and raw athletic ability. Likewise when Bol faced Sydney. Bol is a later bloomer and more of a self made athlete than those two. But through dedication and an excellent training regimen she now looks the part and is entering her athletic prime.
I tend to underestimate Bol's upside, largely because I started seeing race videos when she was 16 and a lanky plodder. Tons of stamina but no speed at all. Amazing transformation. The best I've seen. But that lack of natural early speed is a limiting factor at 400 hurdles also. It's like swimming. Those records are not available unless you take it out at frenzied pace. That is not natural for Bol. By her own admission she likes to build into a race. Sydney ran 50.68 when she destroyed all prior norms over the early hurdles, all the way through 8. She actually slowed considerably from 8 through finish, compared to her prior best races. It was a necessary risk and she was rewarded.
Nobody in Europe pushes Bol hard enough to force her to run hard early in the race. And Bol doesn't get the opportunity to face Sydney in regular meets. Otherwise she'd adapt and begin taking it out faster.
I think Bol can shave a few more tenths at 400 hurdles. It will be interesting to see if the new speed emphasis translates to early season 400 hurdles. During the 51.45 Bol's closing stretch was by far the best she's ever had. She looked bouncy, eager and athletic. The issue is to take it out faster and then mirror that London finish.
The only time Bol ran a serious 400 flat outdoor was at European Championships 2022, she ran 49.44 while her indoor best was 50.30. How do you explain that? She isn't good at pacing outdoor 400 because she runs only one or two per season. Last year her coach said she could run 48.5 in the outdoor 400 and 51.5 in 400h, so he doesn't think Bol is better indoors than outdoors
Why? She can run at least 48.3/48.4 now, and she has a long career ahead
This is not the era of 1974 to 1979.
> Indoor tracks were 160 yards of wood with dead spots.
> Double peaking was not normal fifty years ago. Some T&F athletes double peak, peak for indoors and peak again for the summer.
Indoor arenas used to allow both cigar & cigarette smoking.
F Bol, doubtful to ever sprint f.a.t. sub-48 400m. If she does and she isn't past her 28th birthday, THEN we can have a 400m F Bol w.r. possibility discussion.
Ok but Bol was running 49.4 outdoors when she couldn't even break the 50 barrier indoors. Now she runs 49.17 indoors, I think that means something
The 47.60 is not worth discussing, no matter who we are talking about. I have no idea how breaking that record somehow became a topic the past two years. Sydney's 50.68 isn't in the same galaxy. The elite hurdlers don't lose anywhere near 3 seconds. Only the stumbling bumbling types lose that much and more compared to 400 flat.
You can blame Coach Kersee for talking up Sydney's chances of breaking the world record.
Suggesting Bol is physically better suited to running 400m indoors is ludicrous. No 6'1 woman is suited to sprinting indoors. Similarly, she is not a 'better indoor runner' than outdoors. The fact that she focuses on the hurdles outdoors seems to have gone over some peoples heads. If she can run 49.17 INdoors, you can bet she can run a mid 48 OUTdoors, if she were to run that event regularly. Period.
Syd has a better chance of breaking the WR in the 400 than Bol does. But as mentioned, Koch was doped to the gills so I doubt it will happen.
Bol has a decent chance to take down Syd’s 400h record and the Syd would have a good chance to reclaim it.
yeah the 400m H has a much better chance of being broken by either of them rather than the 400m--both runs under 48s (47.6 and 47.99) basically run by men...could come close to the OR of Perec (48.25)...