J.Simpson front runs to a Silver Medal. More "sacrificial lamb" nonsense.

That Kenyan girl coming of the last curve behind them in third (I think) had awful form, waving her arms all over the place and wobbling like an alcoholic on her way home from a party. That's what really BAD core and shoulder stability looks like - don't they have gyms in Kenya?

Reminder: She lost to a 3:56 runner.

I have to say that this was a rare exception where front running paid off.

The key was that she was within herself and not pushing at PR pace.

It also helps to be flat out better than most of the field.

She made some nice moves to force athletes wide to try and pass her and covered the moves.

She lost to someone she was supposed to lose to and beat everyone else.

The slow leading didn't hurt.

tek k wrote:

she would have won gold if she didn't run out front like an idiot!

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How would you go about proving that???? She ran a fantastic race!

And by the way, she has a very very beautiful running form....so smooth and yet powerful!

Look at the Monaco DL race again. This worked not only for Simpson, but also Martinez, Rowbury and Anderson.

Peter Andersson wrote:

That Kenyan girl coming of the last curve behind them in third (I think) had awful form, waving her arms all over the place and wobbling like an alcoholic on her way home from a party. That's what really BAD core and shoulder stability looks like - don't they have gyms in Kenya?

This is exactly right. I used to run professionally and I'd say that running is 10% mental and 95% to 100% core.

If there was even just one pilates studio in Nairobi, I GUARANTEE you that Kenya could become a powerhouse in middle distance and distance running on the international scene.

She had a WC gold and a silver.

What other american distance runner can say that?

Truth! wrote:

Montesquieu wrote:

There's no question whatsoever that Simpson can run 3:58. If some of those other women can run it, surely so can she. But does anyone else think that Aregawi looks a bit, but only a bit, Caster Semenya-ish?

More than a bit Caster Semenya-ish. I was thinking the same thing as they were doing the intros.

In that case, Allyson Felix looks like a neanderthal.

Truth! wrote:

Montesquieu wrote:

But does anyone else think that Aregawi looks a bit, but only a bit, Caster Semenya-ish?

More than a bit Caster Semenya-ish. I was thinking the same thing as they were doing the intros.

She's a woman, as you can see from this interview:

But she obviously has a solid share of male hormones in her body (either naturally or artificially).

not a gay issue wrote:

She had a WC gold and a silver.

What other american distance runner can say that?

Benard Lagat.

It turned out really well for Montano and Solomon and Chepseba.

Heats are a different story. There are multiple winners for each heat. There is only one winner in a final.

ttc wrote:

...the usual nonsense...

Are you really as stupid as you portray yourself to be on these boards? Or is it all just an act in order to annoy people?

The front running didn't work out for Chepseba, who at 3:29 should have been able to lead and still have strength to finish well against the lesser runners.

But I don't think he was mentally tough enough to handle it.

Simpson is a better racer.

And I think the depth is better and margin for error is smaller with the men.

Chepseba was thrown off by Kiplagat not doing his part on the first lap.

I didn't watch enough of the races to comment on them all but I did see the women's 1500 final. While Simpson was in front, it seemed to me like she was there because there was a pace that she refused to run slower than. Remember, AREGAWI led at 1200m. This led to the race being honest rather than fast.

In my opinion, Simpson's only chance to win the race was to make the race as fast as possible after the rounds and semis. It would have been a slim chance (and if it failed certainly would have left her behind Cain) but better for winning than the plan she executed. It is this all or nothing choice that is made by the most competitive people that can lead to the most exciting races. However, Simpson never went for it and relied on the fact that what she was doing would be "fast enough" but not so fast that she had a chance winning or of being a "sacrificial lamb"

This type of race plan is an amazing example of what a professional runner can do near their limits and certainly supports the idea that leading can be more about controlling the race than sacrificing anything. However, this was not at all like the Ethiopian's pacing a 26:3X on the slim chance that one of them would PR and Mo would not.

TTC, you still think leading is the best strategy? It appears that it failed more athletes than it worked out for, yet you came on here beating your chest with your sample size of one.

I'm not here to prove you wrong, I just want to hear your side of something that you feel passionately about that I am on the opposite side of the fence.