Alyssa Montano - Shaking My Head

Her 1500m time sucks.

She got pipped at the line by the defending champ, someone running a 2 second PR, and her gold-medal-threat domestic rival. I wouldn't say that's a terrible strategy.

Nobody thought that Brenda and Alysia both would get a medal (too much difference in style). This time it was Brenda. I'm happy for her and for the US.

A Duck wrote:

You're an idiot. That's a freaking myth. Every athlete is different. Was it exactly the time a 52.09 400 runner should go out after heats and semi's???????????????

The proof is in her RESULTS. SPLAT.

How is 1:57 a bad result for a runner with a 1:57 PR?

93%/88% was devised by the very same guy who just coached Martinez to a medal. You should stick to events you know about, as I warned you before. And try to calm down.

alanson wrote:

Nobody thought that Brenda and Alysia both would get a medal (too much difference in style). This time it was Brenda. I'm happy for her and for the US.

You mean like Rudisha and Kitum couldn't get a medal last year? There are different paths to Rome.

Alysia has been within a dive of a medal at least twice now. She is so close that any optimization of her race modeling can give her that medal. Do an 800 at semi intensity, then 2 days later run a race-paced 800 with cones on the track to adjust the pace, something like 5%, 8%, 11% slower than 400 capability over several weeks, and see what gives the optimal time.

If she ran the same time she ran in Deagu, she would have had the silver in Moscow.

i'd like to see her coast the first 300-350, and hammer the last 450-500.

she could run a final 500 ball's out with anybody.

I'd like to see her run at least a 4:10 1500.

Her 4:24 is embarrassing, and that's why she fell apart down the stretch.

Wigins, if that was optimal pace for her, why is she always the only one out there at 56 seconds?

I want to root for her, I really do. I dig the flower, I love that she is a groovy artist, she is fun to listen to...but a pro runner who runs so stubbornly wrong...I can,t get excited about her.

She can pull that at usas b /c she is a really good runner, but not at worlds.

Why do people keep saying that her first 200m was 26.0?

Did anyone even look up her splits?

http://dt9guucc6nuua.cloudfront.net/competitiondocuments/pdf/4873/AT-800-W-f--1--.RS7.pdf?v=1542739635

200m: 26.91

400m: 56.12

One day, it'll all fall into place and Alysia Montano will be your world, or even Olympic, champion. She's been so close three years in a row now. I have to admit, it was heart-breaking to watch.

Marta L wrote:

The "dive" was pitiful.

Did she think she was the wabbit?

To all you morons who are arguing about whether she dove, I don't get it. Who gives a shit if she dove or not.

Gutsy run. But she drifted out of lane one towads the end and this let a hard charging Martinez come through.

Otherwise she would have had bronze.

Tough fourth place finish. So she lost it at the end. She gave everything she had.

pedrosa wrote:

If she (and her coach) think that time trialing gives her the best chance of a medal then fair enough. But she has to be fresh for the final. There's no excuse for the way she runs the rounds.

In her heat most of the girls had never even broken 2 minutes. If she can't beat this level of athlete off a slow pace then she needs to have a serious look at her training.

A+

This comment is right on. Very poor coaching costs this tough and talented runner. Alyssa, get a new coach who can prepare you to run the heats properly and how to race. The Johnny Gray / Solomon style of racing (time trialling) will not work as well as learning how to race.

A bit off-topic but I thought the Kenyan woman who won, Sum, looked like a female Wilson Kipketer. What a beautiful runner (and woman).

What do we know about her? I'd never heard of her before this meet.

Look I think the raections here are in general a bit over the top.

First of all you have to give some credit to Montano for doing what she did - it takes guts. I mean there are threads on the boards hammering the 1500m guys for being 'pussies' for not taking it out and no one can accuse her of that.

In saying that I am also of the belief that if you are going to run from the front as she did you have to still do it with a measure of control AND with some respect to the situation.

By this I mean if you want to stretch the field in 56.06 at the bell, running 26.80 for your first 200m isnt probably the smartest way to do things - the girls know you are going to take it on so you have the power to dictate the race the way you want to right from the start. Even David Rudisha excercises excellent control and pace judegement running 49.5 from the front.

Second point is the comments about 'things going really well in practice training for the final 50m' confuse me and show some real inexperience from her side and her coaches.

Just because she is solo time trialling 6-700m in training - probably at 1.55 pace with high knees in the last 50m doesnt mean that should be relied on as your only 'option' or 'tactic' to happen at the world championships after 2 tough rounds, 10 days of using mental and nervous energy and knowing you have 7 other world class runners all hunting you down in the final 400m.

She is still young and hopefully this is a good lesson for her and her coach. Its not too late to adjust things and think a bit more about how to be a genuine medal threat in the years to come. One thing is clear though - to adopt such tactics again would be pointless - she clearly is not good enough to simply play the war of attrition game.She is good enough to be a medalist come Rio.

So go easy, lets see how things play out in the next few seasons.

Montano was clearly the fittest, fastest athlete in the field. If she runs a reasonable race, she wins hands-down; however, 26.91 for the first 200 essentially finishes her race.

If she hits 400 in 28-flat and 400 in 56-mid or 56-high, she goes 1:56.xx and wins convincingly. That's still getting out plenty fast for an 800. Have we ever seen her try to run reasonable splits in a championship race?

I would agree she was the fastest - being 'fittest' means many things when it comes to a world championships. It not just physical fitness that matters - there are so many factors that come into play which are nearly impossible to train for. I don't agree it's as simple saying if she even splits 56 mid in the first lap she wins easy but at a minimum she gives herself a better shot than employing the predictable tactics she (and Duane Solomon btw) did in that final.

Rankings wrote:

One day, it'll all fall into place and Alysia Montano will be your world, or even Olympic, champion. She's been so close three years in a row now. I have to admit, it was heart-breaking to watch.

No. She runs like a lunatic.

Bad Wigins wrote:

You think 1:57 is slow for her, or what?

She had no chance against a fit Savinova, the Kenyan PR'd by 2 seconds and Martinez was about equal. She ran the best race she could, but others were better.

.

I agree with this. She was only 0.6 second slower than he pb in a championship 800 race. Sure, it's possible that if she had been 0.6 slower at 400 she might have prevailed? But how do we know that?

Interesting how many argue that a faster pace in the 5000 for the Kenyans would be better against Farah...and some want Montano to slow the pace for better chances?