McSweyn is back

Tricky spot since he is essentially Jakob lite... I guess he can still do the 1500/5000 double and make both finals

I agree that he probably won't bother with running the 10000 at the olympics, but I still hope he runs one sometime to get the Aussie record and run under 27.

But his problem is that whatever he runs, he's just going to be an also ran in the final. His PR is not fast enough to run away from the field in any event, and he would have to sit behind Ingebrigsten in the 1500 and hope that the other runners drop off the fast pace. Even if he runs 12:50 this season, there would still be plenty of guys who could run away from him in the last 200 of a 5000 at 12:50 pace and beat him.

At his best, he could be a medal contender in the right race, but he also could figure in the race results when he is in top form by setting the pace for Jakob before he inevitably gives way.

Agreed. In one of the other threads about LA someone commented on how they loved how Stewy "conserved energy" in the first 200. It's actually the opposite. He lacks the leg speed of any of his rivals, and so is always last off the line. He then needs to continue his sprint from 200-300 to get to the front.

He's a fantastic athlete, but unless he starts working on absolute top end speed (which Bideau won't do), he's always going to be an "also ran". Tokyo was set up about as well as it possibly could have been for him to medal in the 1500m (others taking it out super hard), and he got rolled due to lack of closing speed.

He won't be on the 1500m team - he will only be on the 5000m team.

I’m not sure. 2021 played out absolutely perfectly for him and he was 7th being unable to hold the pace. 2022 not bad either and not close. He’s sadly just kinda a tweener. Not strong enough for the all-out 5000 and not shifty/speedy enough for the tactical 1500 or 5000. In the 3,000 he’d have a better shot, but not a championship distance obviously.

If he goes 5000 only, I’d be concerned about him advancing the final. If the other bubble guys are names like Teare, Nur, Almgren, Flanagan, I’m probably trusting them over him

Stewy's ideal race is one that's paced really fast and he can sit right behind the pacer before taking over when they drop. He will never be competitive at championships because he doesn't have the kick for neither 1500/5000.

I wouldn’t count him out yet.

In 2021 I think he was a bit cooked by that part of the season. In 2022 and 2023 he dealt with long covid, injuries and other illnesses. If he can get back to his pre-Olympic form in 2021 and a few others mistime their peak, he could have a shot at sneaking through for a medal in the 15 or 5k.

Love Stewy and great to see he is back to his better than his previous best. The only problem is that so many other athletes have improved even more during that time and now he is a distant number in the field rather than in the top few. Fingers crossed he will keep improving and bridge that gap the has been created.