Borza just ran 1:44.38

yes i know that...

He came around the last turn in the 4th lane, too. Fast.

I don't think this performance (from the 4th lane) is surprising, given that: 1) he is the reigning Olympic champion; 2) is incredibly talented; and 3) has a habit of running races from way back that makes him often beatable when his fitness and talent reflect that he should not be.

he is amazing!

and not get smoked by symmonds

Symmonds has no chance against borza

Waste of talent. He ran 1:42.47 when he was 21, faster then Coe and Kipketer at that age - and he laid back in that one, kicking like a madman and catching Bucher close to the finish. He could have run 1:41, maybe even had the WR, but he's wasted his potential. Yeah, he has a Gold Medal from the Oly's - but never reached his potential in his event.

Borza wow wrote:

Symmonds has no chance against borza

Umm... what?

Symmonds has beaten borzakovsky.

Also a good run for Reed in this race.

1 Borzakovskiy Yuriy RUS 1:44.38 10

2 Al-Azemi Mohammad K KUW 1:44.55 8

3 Reed Gary CAN 1:44.66 7

4 Bogdanov Dmitriy RUS 1:44.72 6

5 Milkevics Dmitrijs LAT 1:44.78 5

6 Koech Justus KEN 1:44.86 4

7 Kombich Ismael Kipngetich KEN 1:45.15 3

8 Kamel Youssef Saad BRN 1:45.27 2

9 Chepkirwok Abraham UGA 1:45.28

10 Chehibi Mouhssin MAR 1:45.52

11 Papadópoulos Efthímios GRE 1:50.98

Tangui Sammy KEN DNF

Bud - I see your point - but in watching him I am mesmerized by his talent - and astounded that he insists on running routinely so far from behind. This is not to say that he should be a front runner - but it sure would make sense in terms of both his winning races and running faster times if he would exert the effort to position himself the first 400 other than in dead last - oftennecessitating a lane 3 or 4 sprint around the field. As you point out, it is not for lack of talent.

And while on the point, is Kipketer the smoothest most efficient 800 runner ever? Likely so.

Reed could have run faster - bad positioning meant he was stuck behind Al-Azemi Mohammad on the finishing straight. He tried to pass him on the inside of lane 1 and ended up running on the grass for a couple of strides.

Bud Hopkins wrote:

Waste of talent. He ran 1:42.47 when he was 21, faster then Coe and Kipketer at that age - and he laid back in that one, kicking like a madman and catching Bucher close to the finish. He could have run 1:41, maybe even had the WR, but he's wasted his potential. Yeah, he has a Gold Medal from the Oly's - but never reached his potential in his event.

I completely agree. He obviously has (or had) great talent, but his competitive style is infuriating. Some argue that his even-paced running means that he's efficient. I disagree. He falls back so far at the start that he does not benefit in the slightest from drafting. Then, when he finally wakes up and decides to run, he has to plow through the entire field, often going out into the 3rd lane to get around everyone else. If someone of Kipketer's ability was running today, he'd never win a single race on the circuit.

i think its sorta strange that everyone always tells highschoolers to run even splits to get good times but when a professional does you guys all call him stupid

Seems that 800m potential is reached by positive splitting rather than negative or even splitting.

hmmmm wrote:

i think its sorta strange that everyone always tells highschoolers to run even splits to get good times but when a professional does you guys all call him stupid

"Everyone?" Most fast 800 times come from a faster first lap (sometimes significantly so) than the second. Look at Borzakovsky's competitive record last year: he ranked 8th globally. Now look at how the guys ranked 1 to 7 typically ran their 800s. Few, if any of them, did it by strolling the first 300.

i'd rather be a "waste of talent" and win olympic gold than hold the world record in the event.

what the F does "waste of talent" mean?

- borza has a 142 and gold medal to his name

if you ask me, YOU are a waste of talent.

Bud Hopkins = waste of talent... hahah.