Birech was #1 in our world rankings last year but only 4th at Worlds. Then he was 2nd at the DL season ender. This year, he says he'll only do 3 DL races before the Olympics.Last year, he did 5 with two other steepeles before Worlds.Birech's pre-DL races in 20158:05.36 WL SB 1 Diamond Shanghai 17 May8:01.83 SB 2 Pre Eugene OR 30 May8:05.63 1 Bislett Oslo 11 Jun8:11.42 1 Mohammed VI Rabat 14 Jun7:58.83 WL SB (1) 1 Areva Saint-Denis 4 Jul8:16.92 1 Gyulai Székesfehérvár 7 Jul8:09.81 2 Sainsbury's London 25 JulThat is going to change this year.http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/03/23/birech-hopes-to-bag-olympic-games-medal-this-time-round_c1318133?page=0%2C0
The Star wrote:
The Commonwealth silver medalist said he will also limit his appearances to just four in the forthcoming IAAF Diamond Series to avoid burn-out ahead of Rio.
“I will start the Diamond League in Doha on May 6 and I will myself to only four races,†said Birech, revealing the others as Rome (June 2), Monaco (July 15) and then the Brussels series-ender after the Olympics (September 9).
“I am getting ready. I want to run faster this year,†added Birech. “I made some small mistakes (at the World Championships) by running in a group with slow pace and that cost me a medal placing.â€
General thoughts.
1) Less races is bad news for Jager. If Birech is on his game, he's tough to beat.
2) The fact that he realizes he is best suited in a fast race is good news for Jager. We wanted him and Jager to work together to push the pace.
If we were Birech, I would ask that one of the DL's not have a rabbit. Get used to going su-8 by yourself.