Thank you Evan Jager Thread!

Inspirational statement run by Jäger....USA has another big dog going to the show in Bejing. Just don't trip in that race....quickest way to go from medal contention to agony of defeat highlight reel....ala Lolo Jones.....Hoping all that trippin' stuff is out of your system. That was your mulligan so let's go after it and bring home some hardware....I am amped up for WC....Bring it on.....

I looked back at that thread today and what I said was rather that we should not get ahead of ourselves and wait until he had shown signs that he could run 8 flat or 7:59 first. With his 8:04, we had that, but the 3:32.97 said that he was ready THIS YEAR to go under 8. This race shows that he can go 7:53 in cool conditions.

We basically have a 3:50 miler with great endurance and form running the steeple. Only great things can happen. Despite what any of us think he's capable of now, my only concern is that Jager will focus exclusively on the WC and Olympics, without regard for chasing fast times. He is probably in peak form right now w/his mile and steeple performances. I hope 8:00 doesn't haunt him now, although a gold medal would be more coveted.

I think he probably would've run like 7:57-high yesterday and could run low 3:49 in Europe, but he needs to give himself more opportunities. Maybe next year...

I timed him as just over 1 second ahead of Birech at two different lines on the backstretch and 1.5-1.6 seconds ahead to the last barrier (mid-jump). Then Jager was down just over 2 seconds and started back up a good deal slower, obviously, than he was running. So, he was actually increasing his lead a bit on Birech at the last barrier. Birech closed the last bit well but still subtract the two seconds down and you get 7:58. If Jager had maintained his lead on Birech of 1.5-1.6 seconds, subtract that from 7:58 and you get 7:56 something. If he had a hard kick in him (kind of doubtful as his legs were clearly tightening up), 7:55 was a possibility. It'd be nice to see him take some shots at more pr's in other races before the champs and maybe a shot at the steeple record at Brussels after the champs, if not at Monaco (where the temps might not be favorable). Gold is definitely a possibility but he can't let it come down to a sit and kick, as Birech and Kemboi are both superior kickers.

We can argue all day long as to what he would've run. Birech closed really fast because Jager fell. Otherwise, I doubt he breaks 7:59, probably finishes in the low 7:59s. It's all speculation. I think to say Jager would've run 7:57-high is fair.

It would be nice if he still had the fitness to chase a fast time again after the WC. Something tells me it isn't going to happen. I also agree he should run over distance, because 12:50 is also in his grasp.

Even though he's a known entity now, if he goes out and runs 7:55 or better next year, he puts a target squarely on his back. Better to lay low and not show his fitness in my mind. What's ironic is that even though this guy is a steeple medal threat, he would probably be a podium threat in the 5,000 as well, maybe the top threat.

Sagarin wrote:

Even though he's a known entity now, if he goes out and runs 7:55 or better next year, he puts a target squarely on his back. Better to lay low and not show his fitness in my mind.

.

Better to never accomplish anything, rather than have a target on your back?

That is wrong, a typical loser attitude.

It is far better to run the best that you can, whenever you have the best chances to do it.

zero threat in any race that you have to close in under 55 to win. when was the last time a steepler ran a 53 second closer?

Anyone know where I could find the U.S. Record progression?

uote]jjjjjj wrote:

Webb had already run sub 3:50 several times when he ran 3:30 over Baala in Paris in 2007. But it is where he showed that he could break the AR and was a threat to win at world's. I didn't realize that Cherono's record (why call him by his bought and paid for Middle Eastern name?) was just .01 ahead of Brimin Kipruto's time in 2011 (of course, the drug cheat Brahim Boulami ran 7:53.17 WR (and 7:55), subsequently annulled). I think this performance makes Jager #13 all-time performer (39th performance), and if he hadn't stumbled, he'd have been somewhere around 4th-8th all-time performer and top 14 performance. So, if you figure that he was on target for 7:55-57 until the last landing on a very hot day in Paris, then he does in fact have an excellent chance at the world record of 7:53.63, as Malmo predicted, at a place like Rieti. He's great for the sport.

All-time men's best 3000m steeplechase

1 7:53.63 Saif Saeed Shaheen QAT 15.10.82 1 Bruxelles 03.09.2004

2 7:53.64 Brimin Kipruto KEN 31.07.85 1 Monaco 22.07.2011

3 7:54.31 Paul Kipsiele Koech KEN 10.11.81 1 Roma 31.05.2012

4 7:55.28 Brahim Boulami MAR 20.04.72 1 Bruxelles 24.08.2001

6 7:55.72 Bernard Barmasai KEN 06.05.74 1 Köln 24.08.1997

7 7:55.76 Ezekiel Kemboi KEN 25.05.82 2 Monaco 22.07.2011

8 7:56.16 Moses Kiptanui KEN 01.10.70 2 Köln 24.08.1997

14 7:56.81 Richard Matelong KEN 14.10.83 2 Ad-Dawhah 11.05.2012

17 7:57.29 Reuben Kosgei KEN 02.08.79 2 Bruxelles 24.08.2001

23 7:58.41 Jairus Birech KEN 14.12.92 1 Bruxelles 05.09.2014

31 7:59.08 Wilson Boit Kipketer KEN 06.10.73 1 Zürich 13.08.1997

38 8:00.09 Mahiédine Mekhissi-Benabbad FRA 15.03.85 2 Saint-Denis 06.07.2013

43 8:00.45 Evan Jager USA 08.03.89 2 Saint-Denis 04.07.2015[/quote]

Nudge wrote:

Anyone know where I could find the U.S. Record progression?

9:08.4 George Lermond Jun 18, 1932 Cambridge, MA (unofficial WR)

9:14.5 Joe McCluskey Jul 16, 1932 Stanford, CA

9:08.2 Harold Manning July 12, 1936 New York, NY

9:06.4 Horace Ashenfelter Jun 28, 1952 Olympic Trials Los Angeles, CA

8:51.0 Horace Ashenfelter Jul 23, 1952 Olympic Games prelim Helsinki FIN

8.45.4 WR Horace Ashenfelter Jul 25, 1952 Olympic Games final Helsinki, FIN

8.40.8 Philip Coleman Aug 02, 1958 POL vs USA Warsaw, POL

8.38.0 George Young Jul 16, 1961 USSR vs USA Moscow, USSR

8.34.2 George Young Oct 15, 1964 Olympic Games Tokyo JPN

8.32.4 Pat Traynor Aug 17, 1967 GER vs USA Dusseldorf, GER

8.30.6 George Young Jun 21, 1968 AAU Nationals Sacramento, CA

8.26.4 Sid Sink Jun 26, 1971 AAU Nationals Eugene, OR

8.23.2 Douglas Brown May 11, 1974 Tom Black Classic Knoxville, TN

8.22.54 George Malley Jun 11, 1977 AAU Nationals Westwood, CA

8.21.55 Henry Marsh Jul 05, 1977 DN Galen Stockholm, SWE

8.19.29 Douglas Brown Aug 18, 1978 ISTAF Berlin, GER

8.15.68 Henry Marsh Jun 28, 1980 Olympic Trials Eugene, OR

8.12.37 Henry Marsh Aug 17, 1983 ISTAF Berlin, GER

8.09.17 Henry Marsh Aug 28, 1985 Koblenz, GER

8.08.92 Daniel Lincoln Jul 14, 2006 Golden Gala Rome, ITA

8:06.81 Evan Jager Jul 20, 2012, Herculis Monaco

8:04.71 Evan Jager Sep 5, 2014, Bruxelles BEL

8:00.45 Evan Jager Jul 4, 2015, Saint-Denis FRA

bravo Jager - great to see an American up there fighting at the highest level. Especially after a rough year or two a couple seasons ago.

I wonder if he'll stay with the steeple - Americans who do well enough in other events tend to drop the steeple as soon as they can. Jager can pick his event here - if he medals and breaks 8 this year I bet he switches to the 5k...

Sagarin, 7:57 high seems awfully pessimistic.

He hit the ground, rolled, got back up, and still ran 8:00.4

7:57 low at worst. He was on the ground over a second, then had to get back up, get up to speed while extremely fatigued, and finish without a prayer of hitting top speed.

Anyway, I'm in agreement with everyone -- such an exciting race. Really hope he gives at least one more shot at a fast 3k steeple before world's. I would also pay good money to see him and Rupp head's up in a DL 5k.