Cam Myers, Sam Ruthe, Drew Hunter, Alan Webb have this in common.

Regardless of how developed they are, you can't predict what Myers or Ruthe will do in the future (or Quincy Wilson or Cooper Lutkenhaus for that matter).

Myers/Ruthe could run 3:24/3:25 in their prime, or never reach that level since they peaked early. There's no crystal ball that will predict their future successes or failures, though running fast times at a young age is indicative that they'll probably run faster at typical peak running age (i.e: from age 21 to 26). Jakob is a prodigy that has lived up to his projected potential, while Nijel Amos never really topped his London 2012 800m of 1:41.73.

Well done on interviewing yourself and uncovering this completely baseless reckon on Cam Myers' & Sam Ruthe's future ceilings.

Jakob is also his actual age…

Thanks for mansplaining how puberty works and that some kids start it earlier than others.

To be fair, Webb and Hunter were training like pros as high schoolers. Hunter was already running 75-80 miles per week. I know there are plenty of people that run a lot when they’re young and continue to improve, but plenty don’t. It’s a bit of a crapshoot. A big part of it is the ability to increase training load beyond their high school level. Both Webb and Hunter struggled with this. They both faced injuries as they tried to progress training. We saw same glimpses of future potential. Webb obviously had a much higher peak, but Hunter ran 3:35 and 13:20 back when both of those times were fast, especially for Americans.

Ruel Newbury is going to totally change american running and set all the records on fire.

Your list of runners is inept because Webb was always muscular but continued to improve. The other mentioned really aren't relavent to American running.

Drew hunter came very close to crashing nico youngs party at the last olympic trials. As much as many of you hate to admit it, drew is the best runner in America who is not an olympian.

I'd agree that it never felt like Webb "developed too early" or anything, he had the highest floor of any American ever based on his HS times but still managed to improve as a pro.

Not sure what you mean by Hunter nearly crashing Young's party though. Hunter was nowhere near the Olympic standard or a requisite ranking. If he kicked past Young at the end of the OT race to take third in, what, 27:50 or something, he still doesn't take Young's Olympic spot.

They look like 25 old men. Not like boys. Jakob Ingebrigtsen still looked like a boy @ 14-15.

With all respect, i dont think he will progress too much in the coming 10 years. A solid final contender n solid 3.30 runner.

Why everyone needs to calm down about these crazy times by juniors. But I think you are being a bit unfair.

I think the difference with Cam Myers and Alan Webb is that their junior times were world class (at the time for Webb).

Sam Ruthe would need to drop 4 seconds to even make NCAAs, and Drew Hunter today might get like 3rd in the NCAAs 10k or 5k.

Webb doesn't really fit, he was just plagued by injuries after high school. Yes he was super fit in HS, as is anyone with a ton of dedication. He had a swimming background so was strong and fit, then switched fully over to running in 10th grade and was totally dedicated to the craft. Though he certainly did not train like a pro in HS, he just trained like a super serious top HS athlete. Sure I guess he LOOKED older than some other prodigies because he was muscularly very fit, but so are plenty of other HS athletes that do more strength based sports.

The common factor between each of those athletes mentioned is they all have ran elite times as a teenager and were/are somewhat tall. From a biological standpoint reaching adult height at an early age can be one indicator of physically maturing faster than peers but there are a other variables as well. I’d argue training age, muscular maturity, and height (at a young age) are going to be good indicators of an athletes potential to improve going forward compared to their youth times.

However it is also worth noting that some world class distance athletes are around 5’4-5’7 as an adult. For example, a youth athlete in that height range who has already reached their max adult height will stand out less than one who is as tall or taller than adult athletes (like the athletes mentioned) and could have less room to grow.

Not to ramble too much but I do personally believe that this sport has a slight bias when it comes to athletes running fast in their youth who are tall and somewhat muscular. The truth of the matter is the distance events at championship races like worlds and the Olympics are filled with athletes of various heights and weights.

I would argue that statistically the median elite distance athletes are 5’6-5’10 and 120-140lbs. This is just a rough estimate.

Going by that figure, youth athletes (or an adult athlete for that matter) exceeding that height figure or build is an outlier. I believe that progress is not linear and most youth athletes that run quickly and don’t improve as much as we hope did not acclimate great to a new coaching or living situation. Life is more than just running and other things can get in the way of it.

White / western 2020s mid-distance runners tend to be taller - Hocker is 5'10 and he's the short one. Nuguse is 6'1 (Ethiopian parents), along with Kerr and Jakob.

Webb maxed at 60 miles HS. And that was during cross country season. Definitely would not classify as training like a pro.

I’d pick Parker Wolfe, Ethan Strand, Cooper Teare, Dylan Jacobs as all better runners that aren’t Olympians.

Much better runners actually.

Cam Myers ran 3.47 and you compare him to Drew Hunter 3.57? Sit down boy. Drew is a nobody compared to this guy.

Why did Webb start coaching at such a low level?

Wouldn't you think he could be at a major D1 school instead of the places he has coached?

Any thoughts as to why?

Cooper teare is significantly better then him.

Being a very talented and gifted runner does not mean you know how to coach. I get sick and tired of this assumption.

I think the best coaches come from mid-level athletes, who were not always the best, especially in college, but worked hard at not only their fitness, but at understanding their sport better. The only way they were going to maximize their lack of high end ability was to maximize all the little things the best kids didn't have to do because they were just gifted enough to get away with it.

Not even close.

1) Ever heard of Chris Solinsky or Donovan Brazier?

2) If you are only talking active pros, Cooper Teare is younger and better and still not an Olympian. Teare has run 3:32/12:54. Hunter has run 334/1308