BRANDON MILLER: absolute WORST tactic he could have attempted

lol! If Miller's job was "to make Hoey go out too hard" then OK he accomplished that. In the process he made himself go out too hard and cooked his real-time tactical awareness. Thus he not only experienced defeat by Hoey - and without costing Hoey the gold, importantly - but he also decimated his own medal chances which were realistically good beforehand.

You sound like Nixon Kiprotich and Jose-Luis Barbosa strategizing before the 88 Oly 800 final. "These ppl are fast what to do?" "Bro let's go harder than them all the way! From the gun!" "Ok bro I'm with u let's work together! How about giving them 23.5 at 200! R u in?" "Yaa!"

They did. They lost. Big time.

Miller would do well to study the race and learn like a grasshopper lol!

Crestan was the one who applied maximum tactical nous at all times and was rewarded accordingly. Especially considering when Crestan was asked after the heats how he would handle Hoey with tactics he said "I'm not sure." Although, I will credit Miller with making the race entertaining for viewers. It was surely less of a Hoey-led procession than many expected. Including me.

Millers race was not at all suicidal until he opted to go to the lead and push hard from 350 in to 500. Making it competitive to the first 100 was a good thing, I really don’t think that was his problem at all. His next objective was to get ahead of Crestan and he just got carried away running for gold aMF blowing by Hoey instead of doing what Gourley did in the 1500 for instance.

Agree 100%. I don’t blame him for affecting Hoey in any way, since each of them should be aiming to run the race that gives them the best chance to win, but Miller surging in the 3rd 200m, particularly after such a fast opening, made zero tactical sense and almost definitely cost him a medal.

I'm not responding to anyone in particular but anyone who say Miller did what was best for him to win, is RUBBISH. Miller had ZERO chance of beating Josh Hoey this indoor season and guess what he DIDN'T but he did probably cost himself a medal and a bigger payday. Now he should see how much they give him for that tactical move at the bank 🏦.

Is it really “going for the win” if the move is stupid and has 0% chance of working? Its not choosing gold or nothing, its choosing nothing. Your chances of winning are maximized by running smart not by making crazy moves

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PERFECTLY said.... I'm not being funny or sarcastic when I say I now question Brandon's mentality, no reason to run so stupidly. Run like you did at USA and hope to stay closer til the last 200m. He should have thought this is an international field and a stupid move can do just what it did- leave him off the podium.

Brandon said he was running for Gold, yeah okay with .05 % of succeeding. He's a jokester that Brandon guy 🤣😂🤣

No one on this thread has run in the world championships and certainly not won a medal at a world event. (Probably haven’t coached an athlete who has either). One thing a world class athlete understands is you don’t win by sitting back and letting another runner dictate the race. Brandon gave it his best shot. Did what he thought he needed, at moment, to win the race. I applaud him. Keep it up. Push through. Can’t wait to see him at the next event.

Where is Danny?
If Danny was not in China he should be let go immediately.
Both Beasts 800 athletes have a ton of heart and need coaching immediately following a tough race like this. Sending an assistant coach to the WC does not cut it.
These athletes are so close but missing the little things.

To clarify, are you suggesting Miller's mindset going into the race should have been thinking he had no chance to win and just aim for second/third? If so, I don't agree with that at all. Although Hoey has been in finer form than Miller this indoor season, Miller has had the more successful career while being 2 years younger. Miller is an Olympian; Hoey is not. Miller was justified going into that race thinking he's good enough to win it. His execution was erroneous, but his mindset was correct.

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Posters slay me bringing up previous years stats especially when related to a person on a whole NEW level (Josh Hoey). Maybe a lot of you don't care for Josh Hoey but my thoughts weren't on Hoey not winning it was on Brandon finally having a chance to medal. In an attempt to do what he had VERY little chance of achieving, he destroyed his chances at a higher finish.

There is no shame when you come across an athlete who at the time is just fitter, faster, and stronger that you then run the race to ensure your highest placing and not BLOW it going for what was unattainable for him.

I think Miller is very talented but I haven't seen that he's got much tactical sense. Whether that can be learned or not, I'm not sure.

Miller likeky didn’t care who won as long as it wasn’t Hoey..,

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You are either a teenager or elderly man who never ran track. One thing a sane ATHLETE realizes IS THAT you don't magical beat a FASTER and STRONGER runner just because you want to and try to run said runner into the ground after an already very fast 400m.

I promise you when he made his move I was baffled and then he really hadn't fully passed Hoey when he cut in. What was the reason for the huge injection to only lead for half a lap???? 🥱 Was there a bonus for leading at 450m?

You’re wrong- that’s literally the game plan for how you win. So he didn’t give it his best shot

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Nznnx

So Cole Hocker didn't win Olympic Gold 🥇 by allowing Jakob to dictate 95% of the race? Maybe Brandon Miller should have tried to do a Cole Hocker and not a Emmanuel Wanyonyi. I'm upset because someone in his circle/camp should have told him tuck in behind Hoey and make ONE big move over the last 75 to 100 meters.

Millers a no-hoper. Nothing expected of him, not a big name and not known outside America. Nothing wrong with trying to make a name for himself. He could have ran a more normal race and probably finished last anyway

Brandon rolled the dice on a different tactic to try and beat Hoey. I admire his audacity, confidence and effort. It didn't work out, but at least he didn't let Hoey do what he had been doing all year long, leading from the gun and outrunning everyone. Who knew how Hoey would respond? Anything can happen when the deck gets shuffled. Hoey responded and performed very well. Fantastic. However, Brandon went for the gold and there is NEVER anything wrong with that.

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Yes there is when the person you competing against has shown he is head and shoulders above you off SNY pace. I completed against a guy named Philemon Hanneck back in the 90th, who decided he would quadruple in the 800, Mile, 3000m, and 5000m and won all but placed 2nd in the 800m. Everyone tired to run him in the ground and failed, the one person who beat him sat on him til the last 50m and made one BIG move at the end.

Yes Miller should have run SMARTER in 2nd and made ONE homestretch move and DEFINITELY got a medal and BIGGER check.

He did not set off at world record pace. You can't just take the 1st 200m x 4 as the 1st 200m is nearly always run faster than the rest of the pace. He was probably just trying to disrupt Hoey who likes to front run