No so fast. He didn't do well in these WC, but he's coming off of injury. Next year will be a better indicator of if he's done or not. I, personally, don't think he's done.
Honestly I was impressed he was able to run 13:02, he looked so terrible in his 1500m prelim. I think he was actually racing himself into shape during the championships. Too bad the 5k didn't have prelims + semi + final, he might've actually been in it for a medal if it did!
So he couldn’t even run the week before the first round of 1500s and has had 6 mos of feeling ok then setbacks. What was the point of risking his whole career when he knew what shape he was in? Even being a Jakob fan, I’ll say that seems like a dumb move.
So he couldn’t even run the week before the first round of 1500s and has had 6 mos of feeling ok then setbacks. What was the point of risking his whole career when he knew what shape he was in? Even being a Jakob fan, I’ll say that seems like a dumb move.
You run and race until you can't.
JI might not have been in the best shape and he might have had some flare-ups but he didn't seem to be in any pain during his races.
He came through these WCs better than Kerr did so I say good for Jingy.
So he couldn’t even run the week before the first round of 1500s and has had 6 mos of feeling ok then setbacks. What was the point of risking his whole career when he knew what shape he was in? Even being a Jakob fan, I’ll say that seems like a dumb move.
You run and race until you can't.
JI might not have been in the best shape and he might have had some flare-ups but he didn't seem to be in any pain during his races.
He came through these WCs better than Kerr did so I say good for Jingy.
Totally agree. There is no World Champs next year (nevermind that new mini-meet Coe is creating that will be in Budapest) so it’s a long time between that sort of major, and though he wasn’t fully fit, if he thought it wouldn’t risk injury I’d say it’s worth it. It then even provides a basis if he is sidelined in another year and has a better sense of how rest, recovery, and preparation should look.
Watching that last lap I too was impressed he was less than 4 seconds back.
It says a lot about how impressive he generally is that many of us thought he would still contend in these two events after so much downtime and no tune-up races.
The man woke up from the dead, put running shoes on, and ran faster than any other Norwegian has ever done in the 5000m.
That says a lot about Jakob, but a lot more about the gap to the #2 Norwegian. Even though he knew he had no chance of winning he still ran a tactically astute race and put himself in contention, instead of just lingering off the tail and never closing the gap that appears when the guy you're drafting behind starts fading.
Totally agree. There is no World Champs next year (nevermind that new mini-meet Coe is creating that will be in Budapest) so it’s a long time between that sort of major, and though he wasn’t fully fit, if he thought it wouldn’t risk injury I’d say it’s worth it. It then even provides a basis if he is sidelined in another year and has a better sense of how rest, recovery, and preparation should look.
Watching that last lap I too was impressed he was less than 4 seconds back.
It says a lot about how impressive he generally is that many of us thought he would still contend in these two events after so much downtime and no tune-up races.
You may be surprised with new meet.
Bigger prize money.
Good location.
Right spot on calendar after DL final.
Top 16 on world with no regard to country.
Only 3 days with semi/final.
This is basically what critics of current world and Olympics have been hoping for.
and yes. Jakob was impressive to be competitive with little training and no racing post injury.
So he couldn’t even run the week before the first round of 1500s and has had 6 mos of feeling ok then setbacks. What was the point of risking his whole career when he knew what shape he was in? Even being a Jakob fan, I’ll say that seems like a dumb move.
He explained why in the video linked in the first post. He said he knew there were risks but he was much happier to be in Tokyo competing than watching it on TV at home. And he said he's very positive now and his achilles feels good.
Totally agree. There is no World Champs next year (nevermind that new mini-meet Coe is creating that will be in Budapest) so it’s a long time between that sort of major, and though he wasn’t fully fit, if he thought it wouldn’t risk injury I’d say it’s worth it. It then even provides a basis if he is sidelined in another year and has a better sense of how rest, recovery, and preparation should look.
Watching that last lap I too was impressed he was less than 4 seconds back.
It says a lot about how impressive he generally is that many of us thought he would still contend in these two events after so much downtime and no tune-up races.
You may be surprised with new meet.
Bigger prize money.
Good location.
Right spot on calendar after DL final.
Top 16 on world with no regard to country.
Only 3 days with semi/final.
This is basically what critics of current world and Olympics have been hoping for.
and yes. Jakob was impressive to be competitive with little training and no racing post injury.
He showed up to avoid reduction in his contract. Going a season without competing is auto reduction in his contract - most usually 20-25%. Nike cut Felix for not racing during her pregnancy so even elites get whacked if they don't compete.