Was curious on this guy and did some research on him, everything I've found seems to indicate that his 800m PR in HS was only 2:05. He just ran 1:50 to win U20s as a freshman at UMaine. Is this progression possible or am I missing something here? It appears that he didn't run much in HS.
Best I can find online for him is 2:05 as well. 51 low in the 400.
The coach up there at Maine is good, he coached Riley Masters.
This should get more attention. Rojo, send someone out to interview this kid or his coach.
This article seems to confirm everything. He was mainly focused on soccer in HS and this is essentially his first year of serious training.
He ran 1:50.16 all the way back on Mar 1st, so his 1:50.67 is not a PB
Interesting paragraph from that article:
"In the winter of his senior season, Olivier, who was planning on attending UMaine, struck up a conversation with coach Mark Lech and asked if there could be a spot for him on the roster. Lech liked the combination of Olivier’s 400 speed and 6-foot-5, 150-pound build for the 800, but told him there was a caveat — he had to run cross country."
He ran 2:00ish in the 4x8 in hs pretty consistently.
If he wa a 51 guy with little training and hitting 2:00 on relay legs, his progression isn't terribly surprising.
You know what is most significant about this? All those "Hi, I ran 4:30/2:05 in high school, can I run D1?" threads now have a specific example of a D1 school that will apparently take relatively slow walk ons.
Half of the America East schools would take basically anyone as a walk on. 4:30 would guarantee that you'll at least race in the home meets
Drainthefecesswamp wrote:
You know what is most significant about this? All those "Hi, I ran 4:30/2:05 in high school, can I run D1?" threads now have a specific example of a D1 school that will apparently take relatively slow walk ons.
Sort of, but this is different. Most 2:05/4:30 guys chirping in a D1 coaches ear have been running since MS and followed a pretty standard progress curve to get to those times. In other words, their trajectory is easier to nail down and their upside is would be harder to bet on. But... I'd say most D1 programs not in the top 10-20 nationally would let a kid walk on and train with the team for some amount of time to see if they shake into a 25min 8k freshman with some training.
The difference with this kid and why he's getting the nod is that he DOESN'T have the history and step-by-step progression that some might see as a limiting factor for long-term upside. Post-Wheating, I'm sure coaches are more keen to give a chance to a tall, athletic guy who has shown raw speed - 51s 400m with limited training. That's not inherently scholarship material, but as this guy has proved now at U20, the raw basics show a massive potential with applied training.
Dave Devine has written a FANTASTIC article about his rise from 2:05 to US Jr champ in 1 year.
https://www.dyestat.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=news&news_id=581123
Olivier just qualified for the 800 final at the Pan Ams. Hope he medals...and PRs!! Great story.
Results below. He was the third auto qualifier out of heat #2 in 1:52.
I am also a freshman at a small D1 school in the northeast and have had a chance to talk to him. A super nice kid and genuine love for the sport. Happy he has come this far and excited to see what he can do.
Makes you wonder how fast Jeremy Wariner and Matthew Boling would be in the 800m if they ran Cross Country.
I had a teammate who ran 49.6, man, for the 440. That was in 1975 Jack! His best time for the 880? 2:04, but he only ran it once. He definitely was built on the slight side and could have easily done what your guy did. IF he was willing to switch
events.
[quote]BETTYBLUE wrote:
Was curious on this guy and did some research on him, everything I've found seems to indicate that his 800m PR in HS was only 2:05. He just ran 1:50 to win U20s as a freshman at UMaine. Is this progression possible or am I missing something here? It appears that he didn't run much in HS.[
It looks like this guy has Jim Ryun ability.
I did know a guy, not sure if he was U20 or not but at most was 21, who had a similar large progression. He was a slow walk-on who had not been doing that well at 1500m/5000m for a couple years. Don't know what his PR was when he started his amazing year but it was over 2:00. He ran 2:02 or 2:03 for a PR in the first indoor meet. Dude PRed in every race of the year (somewhere around 8-9 races in a row) and ended the season at 1:49 high. He ran low 1:50s and 1:49 the year after that but never improved any more after that (to be fair he graduated and probably just quit running since he had other things going in his life)
Glad he finally hung up the spatula to concentrate on running
Or if Usain Bolt ran longer intervals to run the 400? Have to have the ambition to run long/middle distances.