Erdman was blown away by Hasay on the last lap, so clearly the latter was stronger. Hasay went with the braid, so clearly by my reckoning Salazar signed her for the performance and she did great here, a smart race. But the early pace was quite a bit too fast for her in this heat, indeed too fast for her in perfect conditions.
As for the comment about this being a slow, tactical race, it was slow by international (=Ethiopian/Kenyan) standards but certainly not tactical. Too bad about Goucher going for the win and blowing up. She has heart but at this stage should have been more cautious and taken more risks at world's, not a qualifying race. She could still make the team if she runs an A qualifier and neither Hasay, nor Erdman runs the B, right? Then it would be Flanagan, Hastings, and Goucher?