Nuguse and some others in the field are very capable, but Ritz has blown smoke a fair amount in the last couple of years. Anyone remember him pumping up Klecker for the 1/2 American Record?
Ritz is just engaging in coach speak. He knows damn well that Nuguse is not going to get the mile world record. But he cannot say that. So he says something safe. I can respect that.
Nuguse and some others in the field are very capable, but Ritz has blown smoke a fair amount in the last couple of years. Anyone remember him pumping up Klecker for the 1/2 American Record?
This perfectly sums up Ritzenheins knowledge of the 1500/mile - as evidenced by how effective he is coaching it for anyone other than Yared Nuguse, who is so talented I feel like high school gym teacher that discovered him could have coached him to a 3.43 mile.
Ritz is just engaging in coach speak. He knows damn well that Nuguse is not going to get the mile world record. But he cannot say that. So he says something safe. I can respect that.
Does everyone agree with this? 19 upvotes to 0 downvotes? Nuguse broke the mile WR indoors this year, why would his coach write off the outdoor WR? The WR is 3:43.13 and Nuguse already ran 3:43 high at this meet 2 years ago. I get that we're still a month away from USAs, but this field is loaded, and random 18-31 year olds are already dropping 3:27s like there's no tomorrow. Plus Dathan said "they", so unless Yared became non-binary recently, he's saying it's possible that someone breaks the WR. Kessler, the guy who broke the WR behind Nuguse indoors, is in the race and in great form based on that 1k TT they just did. Plus Hocker, the guy who beat them both at the Olympics and ran 7:22i is in the race. Plus Habz, the 31 year old who just ran 3:27 is in the race. I think 3:44-45 is a far more likely winning time, but a WR isn't crazy talk at all.
Nuguse tapped out indoors in trying to re-break the record, he needed to draft off of Jakob to break 3:44 previously, and he hasn't shown that kind of late season form yet this outdoor campaign. Hence, the skepticism. However, I would think that the record is in play with this field and what we saw in Paris. Habz's time there was equivalent to about a 3:44 flat. The 1500m wr is still considerably superior to the mile record. I don't think they'll get it but they are going to have a parade of sub-3:48s and probably a winning 3:44-45.
Nuguse tapped out indoors in trying to re-break the record, he needed to draft off of Jakob to break 3:44 previously, and he hasn't shown that kind of late season form yet this outdoor campaign. Hence, the skepticism. However, I would think that the record is in play with this field and what we saw in Paris. Habz's time there was equivalent to about a 3:44 flat. The 1500m wr is still considerably superior to the mile record. I don't think they'll get it but they are going to have a parade of sub-3:48s and probably a winning 3:44-45.
I have predicted in another thread that they hardly will go faster than 3:45 and slower if the weather is hot and/ or if there is wind.
The pacemaking also needs to be good. It was bad when Jakob and Nuguse dipped under 3:44 in 2023.
Nuguse tapped out indoors in trying to re-break the record, he needed to draft off of Jakob to break 3:44 previously, and he hasn't shown that kind of late season form yet this outdoor campaign. Hence, the skepticism. However, I would think that the record is in play with this field and what we saw in Paris. Habz's time there was equivalent to about a 3:44 flat. The 1500m wr is still considerably superior to the mile record. I don't think they'll get it but they are going to have a parade of sub-3:48s and probably a winning 3:44-45.
I have predicted in another thread that they hardly will go faster than 3:45 and slower if the weather is hot and/ or if there is wind.
The pacemaking also needs to be good. It was bad when Jakob and Nuguse dipped under 3:44 in 2023.
The high for Eugene on Saturday is forecasted to be 83 degrees, so not a factor.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
The weather forecast two days out is for sunny and about 78--probably a bit warmer than that down on the track. That's at the upper end of what could be considered optimal, but it was 85 when Jakob Ingebrigtsen set the 3000m world record, and given that they aren't running rounds in the heat, the temperature might be ideal. Wind will be key.