It seems like most elite middle distance and distance runners favor squats over deadlifts. Does that make sense?

Yes, squatting 1.5x is totally possible for male distance runners. I was capable of that while in good middle distance shape. But that's really not feasible at all for people who run longer than, say, 800m. The vast majority of professional, male distance runners can not even come close to sniffing a 90 degree backsquat with 1.5x BW. I'm sure a few can. I bet there's plenty who can't even hit depth with 135. Joe Smoe hobby jogger who runs a 16 or 17 minute 5k can certainly achieve that much easier than a professional, that's because they only run 30-50mpw and can dedicate more gym time.

The advice I've always heard is 1.5x–2xBW squat is a good general standard for sprinting.

I remember Salazar saying that when he first started coaching Mo Farah, Farah was pathetically weak. He said that heavy deadlifting played a major role in Farah's rapid improvement under Salazar.

I find it hard to believe this is what he was doing:

Image:gaponez.com/wa-data/public/shop/produc...

Oops! My favorite racing flat from 1980 : )

I always thought of deadlifts as a total body strengthener mainly used to help you with other lifts. So if your goal is to be a better body builder it’s important.

This came out in 2017, maybe he was doing different stuff a few years earlier. The squats are all he's doing for legs/glutes, and at low weight (not even body weight) and only 6 reps, about half to 2/3 depth.

Mo was clearly a doper so I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about what he did or didn't do in the gym. Strength work and supposedly speeding up his easy runs were amon the bogus reasons given to explain away his ridiculous improvement from also-ran to "all-time great" in his late 20s.

Harry Jerome is cited as the first sprinter to work with weights, for his rehab from a devastating leg injury. His trainer limited Harry to no more than 1/3 body weight (~165 lbs in Harry's case.) So Harry never lifted more than 55 lbs for any lift. Finished 3rd in the 100m at 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Andre DeGrasse can barely lift anything over 50 lbs. Seems to be doing pretty well but according to your definition is not an athlete. So the reigning Olympic 200m champion is not an athlete. LOL.

I could cite other examples but since two points make a line this is enough.

Don't quit your day job.

DeGrasse can lift way more than 50lbs. Idk if you're being serious or not but here's a vid of him lifting. But you are right, he's clearly not a super strong guy compared to other sprinters. He could definitely squat 1.5x his body weight if he gave it a go. Anyway, just goes to show that there's a million different ways to train and they can all work under the right circumstances.

The empty bar is 45 lbs, so I doubt you know what 50 lbs is, leave alone what Degrasse or for that matter any 12-year old can lift.

Wow, he can Olympic Lift 95 lbs and Military Press 125 lbs!!! Thank you for the link, my point is proven.