I find it remarkable she was first an 800m specialist with a PB of 1:59.24 back when that was a big deal. She ran in many Diamond League 800m races. Now 10 years later she is a great marathoner. It raises interesting questions about the physiology of running and what can be expected in terms of potential over various distances.
Yeah, and Hassan is a 1:56 800m runner. It's funny how Assefa always brushes off the idea that she's ill matched against Hassan in a kick by saying that she was an 800m runner. In Paris, she said she lost because she was pushed. Yesterday, she said it was because her hamstring was hurt. No, Tigist, you lost because you only had the talent to be, at best, a national class 800m runner-- and Hassan has one of the greatest kicks of all time. It is so sad when people make up excuses like this. Delusional!
Wtf are you talking about bitter Betty? Who hurt you? Assefa has been training exclusively for the marathon for the last decade, while Hassan won medals in the 1500 as recently as 2023. Of course she’s going to have a better kick. The delusional one is you for being bitter and thinking you know better than these world class athletes. Get a life
Assefa is outmatched by Hassan in a sprint but far more competitive than any other marathoner would be. I'm glad Obiri was also in the mix in Paris, to flick aside the absurdity of her supposedly lethal kick.
Assefa really looks strong and athletic. That jumped out at me even more in London than during Paris. She's also got a more competitive attitude than most of the top European women.
Assefa is outmatched by Hassan in a sprint but far more competitive than any other marathoner would be. I'm glad Obiri was also in the mix in Paris, to flick aside the absurdity of her supposedly lethal kick.
Assefa really looks strong and athletic. That jumped out at me even more in London than during Paris. She's also got a more competitive attitude than most of the top European women.
I wish Obiri had done London instead of Boston TBH
That london field got hyped then watered down quickly, I still think that Peres Jepchirchir woulda been there at the end to defend her WR.
Wtf are you talking about bitter Betty? Who hurt you? Assefa has been training exclusively for the marathon for the last decade, while Hassan won medals in the 1500 as recently as 2023. Of course she’s going to have a better kick. The delusional one is you for being bitter and thinking you know better than these world class athletes. Get a life
Seems like the bitter one without a life is you. The athlete I favor is Olympic champ. The one you seem to favor is not. And if you think that that's the only reason why Hassan outsprinted Assefa, you're just as deluded. Super sad.
No, Tigist, you lost because you only had the talent to be, at best, a national class 800m runner
Do you realise that Tigst Assefa was only 17 years old when she ran 1:59.14?
Do you realize she ran track until she was 22? Regardless, it's arrogant of Assefa to act like she has as good of a kick as one of the greatest kickers ever. You are dismissed,,
Yeah, and Hassan is a 1:56 800m runner. It's funny how Assefa always brushes off the idea that she's ill matched against Hassan in a kick by saying that she was an 800m runner. In Paris, she said she lost because she was pushed. Yesterday, she said it was because her hamstring was hurt. No, Tigist, you lost because you only had the talent to be, at best, a national class 800m runner-- and Hassan has one of the greatest kicks of all time. It is so sad when people make up excuses like this. Delusional!
Your point about Tigist in Paris is fine. However, your second point about London yesterday is nebulous and doesn't make sense. You indicate you don't realize that Tigist won London yesterday.
It could just be poor writing. When you say, "Yesterday blah blah...." do you mean, "Yesterday, while answering a question about getting second in Paris, Assefa made the excuse that she lost to Hassan because her hamstring was hurt"? That would be clearer if that's what you meant.
Yeah, and Hassan is a 1:56 800m runner. It's funny how Assefa always brushes off the idea that she's ill matched against Hassan in a kick by saying that she was an 800m runner. In Paris, she said she lost because she was pushed. Yesterday, she said it was because her hamstring was hurt. No, Tigist, you lost because you only had the talent to be, at best, a national class 800m runner-- and Hassan has one of the greatest kicks of all time. It is so sad when people make up excuses like this. Delusional!
I think you misread the race recap. Assefa's comment about her hamstring was in reference to last year's London Marathon, not the Olympics. She said:
“Last year I did have some problems with the cold. My hamstring tightened up toward the end of the race. This year the weather suited me really well.”
You're correct that Hassan is a better kicker than Assefa. That's why it was wise on Assefa's part to push the pace and break Hassan. Her strategy worked. In yesterday's race, Assefa didn't need to outkick Hassan because she beat her by over 3 minutes.
Congratulations to Assefa on winning the race and breaking the women's-only world record!
I find it remarkable she was first an 800m specialist with a PB of 1:59.24 back when that was a big deal. She ran in many Diamond League 800m races. Now 10 years later she is a great marathoner. It raises interesting questions about the physiology of running and what can be expected in terms of potential over various distances.
Shes the first sub 2 minute 800m runner to have held the Marathon WR. Equally impressive is Siffan was a 1:56.81 as recently as 2017 and now sits in the All Time Top 10 in the 1500, 10000m, and marathon less than 8 years later.
Yeah, and Hassan is a 1:56 800m runner. It's funny how Assefa always brushes off the idea that she's ill matched against Hassan in a kick by saying that she was an 800m runner. In Paris, she said she lost because she was pushed. Yesterday, she said it was because her hamstring was hurt. No, Tigist, you lost because you only had the talent to be, at best, a national class 800m runner-- and Hassan has one of the greatest kicks of all time. It is so sad when people make up excuses like this. Delusional!
A 1:56 from 2017. 8 years ago. 24 years old.
Obviously Hassan clearly has incredible speed and range. But demeaning a (former) marathon WR-holder simply because her 800m PR at age 22 isn’t as fast is pretty stupid. Just silly.
She has lost to Hassan in a marathon once. By by 3 seconds. Even Assefa’s slowest marathon time is still faster than all but 1 of Hassan’s.
Do you realise that Tigst Assefa was only 17 years old when she ran 1:59.14?
Do you realize she ran track until she was 22? Regardless, it's arrogant of Assefa to act like she has as good of a kick as one of the greatest kickers ever. You are dismissed,,
No, she didn’t run track until she was 22.
According to her stats on her WA profile, she was originally a 400m runner. Aged 12, she ran a stunning 56.70 and kept running the 400m until she was 15 (PB 54.05). She moved to the 800m when she was 16 years old. Aged 17 she ran eight 800m in one season, all of them between 1:59.24 (PB in Lausanne DL) and 2:01.34! Definitely world class talent. To compare with, the all-time best for a 17 year old girl is 1:57.86. The next year she already apparently struggled with injuries and only finished one race in a very poor time (2:06.71 in Lausanne). She was 19 years old for her last track season in 2016, without matching her pre injury level with a SB of 2:00.21 at the Rio Olympics. She never competed again on the track after Rio.
The thread was about "the physiology of running and what can be expected in terms of potential over various distances", but you derailed the discussion by bringing up out of the blue her kick and the perceived rivalry with Sifan Hassan.
Why not appreciate the achievements of both these two incredibly talented athletes?
I find it remarkable she was first an 800m specialist with a PB of 1:59.24 back when that was a big deal. She ran in many Diamond League 800m races. Now 10 years later she is a great marathoner. It raises interesting questions about the physiology of running and what can be expected in terms of potential over various distances.
Interestingly, all three 2024 Olympic marathon medalists have an incredible range and were very strong 800m runners: Hassan 1:56, Assefa 1:59 at age 17, and Obiri 2:00 at the beginning of her career.
All three also have a running style that departs from the usual running economy of pure marathon specialists.
I wonder whether this is just pure coincidence to have those three "outliers" at the same time or whether we will see similar patterns in the future.
Gebrselassie, Bekele and Kipchoge were excellent 1500m runners too, but their range didn’t extend to the 800m. Their running economy is more in line with the one of a typical marathon runner too.
Yeah, and Hassan is a 1:56 800m runner. It's funny how Assefa always brushes off the idea that she's ill matched against Hassan in a kick by saying that she was an 800m runner. In Paris, she said she lost because she was pushed. Yesterday, she said it was because her hamstring was hurt. No, Tigist, you lost because you only had the talent to be, at best, a national class 800m runner-- and Hassan has one of the greatest kicks of all time. It is so sad when people make up excuses like this. Delusional!
Your point about Tigist in Paris is fine. However, your second point about London yesterday is nebulous and doesn't make sense. You indicate you don't realize that Tigist won London yesterday.
It could just be poor writing. When you say, "Yesterday blah blah...." do you mean, "Yesterday, while answering a question about getting second in Paris, Assefa made the excuse that she lost to Hassan because her hamstring was hurt"? That would be clearer if that's what you meant.
my sentence is grammatically correct and the meaning is clear. the extra clause is not necessary. poor writing? no. poor reading comprehension
This post was edited 45 seconds after it was posted.
To run that fast, you need that kind of leg speed. I would think that is bare minimum. You can't run that kind of marathon time off super endurance along. Maybe in mid 2:20s but not 10 minutes faster.
Interestingly, all three 2024 Olympic marathon medalists have an incredible range and were very strong 800m runners: Hassan 1:56, Assefa 1:59 at age 17, and Obiri 2:00 at the beginning of her career.
And the podium finish was exactly in the order of their 800m PB. When Obiri made the move with 1km to go, I thought she would lose. If she had confidence in her kick, she would have waited until the last moment. She knew the other two had more speed, and thought she needed to go first.
European women marathon running isn’t very impressive.
It has been ages ago since there was an impressive runner who was born in Europe.
I am not sure what your point is. Europe hosts less than 10% of the world’s population and Paula Radcliffe, all-time #6, is the only non East Africa born marathon runner in the all-time top 40. Not sure what PB an athlete should run to be "impressive” by your metrics, but you could probably have made the same comment for pretty much anywhere.
