Has been consistently 3:29-3:30 for a few years, finally worked the over distance indoors and did very well at Euro indoors. Could he sneak in for a bronze at worlds?
I think it’s wild how little he gets talked about
Has been consistently 3:29-3:30 for a few years, finally worked the over distance indoors and did very well at Euro indoors. Could he sneak in for a bronze at worlds?
I think it’s wild how little he gets talked about
Sloedirt wrote:
Has been consistently 3:29-3:30 for a few years, finally worked the over distance indoors and did very well at Euro indoors. Could he sneak in for a bronze at worlds?
I think it’s wild how little he gets talked about
He’s certainly got a chance now that he could be strong enough to survive the rounds with some energy. The big four seem a level up, and we’ve seen Tim run 3:28-low etc Laros/Kessler are younger and such so that’s why Habz isn’t talked about. I’d certainly say Habz now is where Mario, Hoare, Kipsang and Nordas used to be as a dark horse guy. All haven’t looked like contenders yet. Komens a step behind last year with his injury and Reynold is tactically not running well. So Tim and Habz are in the group with Laros/Kessler to me.
What is different with Habz this year is his confidence and positioning. During indoors, he was consistently racing near the front and in the top 3 finishers. And in outdoors so far, he is looking to win the race, which I think is a new mindset shift for him.
Outdoors is just getting started and we are going to be having discussions like this each week. Next week is Oslo, with Myers, Laros and more.
The GST guys aren't the only contenders. And like I've said previously, let's see what happens when the GST guys are in a big field (Rome was 17 athletes!), it's not going to be easy to find the room for a strong finish like they are getting in GST.
For example, put Hocker in a fast race with Habz, Myers, Laros, Cheriyuot etc. who are all racing for the win, and all of a sudden Hockers strategic moves or options become limited. As we have seen in GST, he doesn't always make the smartest moves.
Wanyoni is going to win all 3 medals
Habtom Samuel?
I think Habz running the times he is at his age is what's most impressive. He's only 4 years younger than Centro and broke 3:30 at age 31, which is faster than Centro's 1500m PR. It is surprising to me too how he isn't being talked about everywhere
Jdnfngnv wrote:
Wanyoni is going to win all 3 medals
Rumors in Iten that Wanyuni is 'feeling the heat'.
Gordie3 wrote:
I think Habz running the times he is at his age is what's most impressive. He's only 4 years younger than Centro and broke 3:30 at age 31, which is faster than Centro's 1500m PR. It is surprising to me too how he isn't being talked about everywhere
Habz is running his fastest times ever at 31, but never broke 3:35 until he was 27. His aging curve is a complete statistical outlier. You know what that means.........
Good thing is that testing is rather stringent at major championships. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Habz didn't make the final and failed to break 3:35. At the European Championships in Munich in 2022, Habz finished 10th and failed to break 3:40. At the World Championships in Budapest in 2023, Habz did make the final but finished 11th in 3:33. At the European Championships in Rome in 2024, Habz finished 7th in 3:33. At the Olympics in 2024 in Paris, Habz didn't make it out of his heat with a 3:34.
He's a non-threat at Worlds. End of story.
Bob Sack wrote:
Habz is running his fastest times ever at 31, but never broke 3:35 until he was 27. His aging curve is a complete statistical outlier. You know what that means.........
Good thing is that testing is rather stringent at major championships. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Habz didn't make the final and failed to break 3:35. At the European Championships in Munich in 2022, Habz finished 10th and failed to break 3:40. At the World Championships in Budapest in 2023, Habz did make the final but finished 11th in 3:33. At the European Championships in Rome in 2024, Habz finished 7th in 3:33. At the Olympics in 2024 in Paris, Habz didn't make it out of his heat with a 3:34.
He's a non-threat at Worlds. End of story.
He got Silver and Bronze at European Indoors just this year, which you're conveniently leaving out. While I don't think he will medal this year, he is better-positioned to do so than any year but 2023 (when he ran 3:29.2). That year it seemed he misjudged his peak a bit, and he hadn't done as much in the 3,000 and up like this year. So we'll see.