burns energy at the start to lead, settles back to the middle, gets routinely boxed in from 800-300m from the line, and falters with a failing kick. Happens 9/10 times in races that don’t matter and in global finals. Discuss
burns energy at the start to lead, settles back to the middle, gets routinely boxed in from 800-300m from the line, and falters with a failing kick. Happens 9/10 times in races that don’t matter and in global finals. Discuss
6 years? How about ever?
I’ve never ever seen a guy of his level (the ability and tools to win almost every race he’s in right now), either win races by far too tight margins or conversely lose them with performances exactly like that one.
And the races he does win he is the beneficiary of other guys making dumb errors themselves - case in point Nico Young at US indoors in the 3000.
No disrespect to Josh Kerr (who I picked to win for this EXACT reason) but how could anyone watch that race and walk away saying Hocker wasn’t the best physical talent in the field? But this just happens so often now and with the exact same script it’s almost comical now. I was laughing as this race unfolded and saw Hocker getting himself shuffled back for the umpteenth time in a big final.
He’s the worst tactician I’ve ever seen of any level of talent. Like who is worse? Seriously someone give me a name.
I mean, we don't know the counterfactual in these races. Unless you are a lot better than the 2nd-best guy, you need to time your one move correctly. Especially indoors.
burns energy at the start to lead, settles back to the middle, gets routinely boxed in from 800-300m from the line, and falters with a failing kick. Happens 9/10 times in races that don’t matter and in global finals. Discuss
Beamish is pretty terrible tactics-wise in 90% of his races. Maybe worse than Nordas but has a massive kick so has gotten lucky a few times in some big races. I don't equate winning every so often with having good tactics. Love the guy, but for example today, where was he? Why?
burns energy at the start to lead, settles back to the middle, gets routinely boxed in from 800-300m from the line, and falters with a failing kick. Happens 9/10 times in races that don’t matter and in global finals. Discuss
6 years? How about ever?
I’ve never ever seen a guy of his level (the ability and tools to win almost every race he’s in right now), either win races by far too tight margins or conversely lose them with performances exactly like that one.
And the races he does win he is the beneficiary of other guys making dumb errors themselves - case in point Nico Young at US indoors in the 3000.
No disrespect to Josh Kerr (who I picked to win for this EXACT reason) but how could anyone watch that race and walk away saying Hocker wasn’t the best physical talent in the field? But this just happens so often now and with the exact same script it’s almost comical now. I was laughing as this race unfolded and saw Hocker getting himself shuffled back for the umpteenth time in a big final.
He’s the worst tactician I’ve ever seen of any level of talent. Like who is worse? Seriously someone give me a name.
Ethan Strand is worse, watch NCAA's from last year
burns energy at the start to lead, settles back to the middle, gets routinely boxed in from 800-300m from the line, and falters with a failing kick. Happens 9/10 times in races that don’t matter and in global finals. Discuss
6 years? How about ever?
I’ve never ever seen a guy of his level (the ability and tools to win almost every race he’s in right now), either win races by far too tight margins or conversely lose them with performances exactly like that one.
And the races he does win he is the beneficiary of other guys making dumb errors themselves - case in point Nico Young at US indoors in the 3000.
No disrespect to Josh Kerr (who I picked to win for this EXACT reason) but how could anyone watch that race and walk away saying Hocker wasn’t the best physical talent in the field? But this just happens so often now and with the exact same script it’s almost comical now. I was laughing as this race unfolded and saw Hocker getting himself shuffled back for the umpteenth time in a big final.
He’s the worst tactician I’ve ever seen of any level of talent. Like who is worse? Seriously someone give me a name.
This cannot be a serious take. 3 WC Golds and an OG Gold all in the same event. Ran the 3rd fastest 1500m all time pre-super spikes. Dozens of wins under his belt
burns energy at the start to lead, settles back to the middle, gets routinely boxed in from 800-300m from the line, and falters with a failing kick. Happens 9/10 times in races that don’t matter and in global finals. Discuss
There’re levels to this. Getting to the finals in 2021 and 2023 indicates he is far from the worst tactically as he was at only 3:30-1 fitness in those moments. Making USA teams in every year besides the injured one too.
Guys like Habz, Katir, Kipsang, Komen, Hoare, Phanuel Koech, Mills, Nuguse are actually worse tactically they just get forgotten because you don’t expect gold/they get bounced in the semis.
Id say Hocker is actually more erratic than anything tactically.
This cannot be a serious take. 3 WC Golds and an OG Gold all in the same event. Ran the 3rd fastest 1500m all time pre-super spikes. Dozens of wins under his belt
It's absolutely a serious take. We're talking about tactics. Did you ever watch the guy run? He'd often put himself in very tough spots but he was just better than everyone else so he still won. Watch the 2016 Olympic final again.
And #3 time in history has zero to do with tactics.
burns energy at the start to lead, settles back to the middle, gets routinely boxed in from 800-300m from the line, and falters with a failing kick. Happens 9/10 times in races that don’t matter and in global finals. Discuss
I think his tactics were fine, I just don’t think he was good enough to win today. Kerr was clearly better today.
burns energy at the start to lead, settles back to the middle, gets routinely boxed in from 800-300m from the line, and falters with a failing kick. Happens 9/10 times in races that don’t matter and in global finals. Discuss
There’re levels to this. Getting to the finals in 2021 and 2023 indicates he is far from the worst tactically as he was at only 3:30-1 fitness in those moments. Making USA teams in every year besides the injured one too.
Guys like Habz, Katir, Kipsang, Komen, Hoare, Phanuel Koech, Mills, Nuguse are actually worse tactically they just get forgotten because you don’t expect gold/they get bounced in the semis.
Id say Hocker is actually more erratic than anything tactically.
Agreed. Hocker didn't run well tactically in the USA 1500 or tonight in Torun but it's prisoner of the moment to call him the worst tactician ever. He takes some risks by wanting to stay glued on the rail and it doesn't always work.
This cannot be a serious take. 3 WC Golds and an OG Gold all in the same event. Ran the 3rd fastest 1500m all time pre-super spikes. Dozens of wins under his belt
It's absolutely a serious take. We're talking about tactics. Did you ever watch the guy run? He'd often put himself in very tough spots but he was just better than everyone else so he still won. Watch the 2016 Olympic final again.
And #3 time in history has zero to do with tactics.
Kiprop toyed with fields because he was a flagrant doper. When he wasn’t allowed to dope we all saw what happened (2016, 2012).
I’ve never ever seen a guy of his level (the ability and tools to win almost every race he’s in right now), either win races by far too tight margins or conversely lose them with performances exactly like that one.
And the races he does win he is the beneficiary of other guys making dumb errors themselves - case in point Nico Young at US indoors in the 3000.
No disrespect to Josh Kerr (who I picked to win for this EXACT reason) but how could anyone watch that race and walk away saying Hocker wasn’t the best physical talent in the field? But this just happens so often now and with the exact same script it’s almost comical now. I was laughing as this race unfolded and saw Hocker getting himself shuffled back for the umpteenth time in a big final.
He’s the worst tactician I’ve ever seen of any level of talent. Like who is worse? Seriously someone give me a name.
You’ve lost your mind on this one. Hockers tactics are frustrating. He often has too much left. So did Nick Willis but since he was considered lucky to get a medal nobody complained. Even today it was better than Yared’s today or Yareds in Glasgow/Budapest. Compare Hockers tactics to runners who die completely in the last 200 of finals/semis and that is way worse. Or ones who run the entire race in lane 2/3 with nothing moves. We have high expectations for him, but someone like Nordas is waaay worse tactically.
It's absolutely a serious take. We're talking about tactics. Did you ever watch the guy run? He'd often put himself in very tough spots but he was just better than everyone else so he still won. Watch the 2016 Olympic final again.
And #3 time in history has zero to do with tactics.
Read the bold sentence again….
Hocker clearly isn’t better than everyone else, which is why he can’t keep using the SAME IDENTICAL TACTICS and still expect to win. It doesn’t work for him, because he keeps losing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.
Hocker is not fast enough to race the same way as Kiprop. Obviously. So no, Kiprop was not a worse tactician than Hocker. Find someone else as an example. Until then, Hocker is the worst tactical distance runner in the past 6 years. Stay on topic.
I’ve never ever seen a guy of his level (the ability and tools to win almost every race he’s in right now), either win races by far too tight margins or conversely lose them with performances exactly like that one.
And the races he does win he is the beneficiary of other guys making dumb errors themselves - case in point Nico Young at US indoors in the 3000.
No disrespect to Josh Kerr (who I picked to win for this EXACT reason) but how could anyone watch that race and walk away saying Hocker wasn’t the best physical talent in the field? But this just happens so often now and with the exact same script it’s almost comical now. I was laughing as this race unfolded and saw Hocker getting himself shuffled back for the umpteenth time in a big final.
He’s the worst tactician I’ve ever seen of any level of talent. Like who is worse? Seriously someone give me a name.
Ethan Strand is worse, watch NCAA's from last year
That’s one race - and Strand does not have the ability or tools Hocker has. Hocker does this now every single race.
I don’t even see how those two are comparable on this level right now tbh.