Nikki Hiltz sabotaged her potential US competitors!

Any athlete who is chasing a standard in a race with a rabbit to enable achievment of said standard, should be smart/brave enough to go around a slower runner.

Just my 2 cents.

NFW wrote:

I always get a good laugh from people saying that one person made the whole field slow down in a distance race.

...It ain't a one lane track.

Gotta disagree with that somewhat.

Pushing to the outside (and back) to overtake means increased energy expenditure from acceleration, wind drag, and extra distance traveled.

Even so, by the time you might notice and respond to the race being off your pace, damage may be irreversible.

And that assumes you're not boxed in the pack.

When seconds or split seconds matter, pace laid down of person on point can shape or control the race.

This effect amplifies further if teammates collaborate to run tactically.

Ernest wrote:

NFW wrote:

I always get a good laugh from people saying that one person made the whole field slow down in a distance race.

...It ain't a one lane track.

Gotta disagree with that somewhat.

Pushing to the outside (and back) to overtake means increased energy expenditure from acceleration, wind drag, and extra distance traveled.

Even so, by the time you might notice and respond to the race being off your pace, damage may be irreversible.

And that assumes you're not boxed in the pack.

When seconds or split seconds matter, pace laid down of person on point can shape or control the race.

This effect amplifies further if teammates collaborate to run tactically.

I have said they can't slow a distance race by an appreciable amount by themselves, and your statement doesn't convince otherwise. Certainly they can cost you a couple tenths as you have to go around. These women didn't go around. Not Hiltz' fault. There was ample opportunity to do so.

I didn't see the race but it happens all the time. A respected runner in the field moves up to the front and slows the pace and people are afraid to pass. I'm not saying they can't pass but they are afraid to do it. Runners get paranoid about passing at the wrong or convince themselves this person is running the right pace. Even for pros they can't always judge pace of a half lap down to the second.

Agree... there is definitely a mental aspect at play... not situational awareness and reaction... but head games... you see this a lot in cycling and triathlon.

Making your move is all about timing. Taking the lead too soon isn't just extra energy passing... leading it out means extra energy every step.. by the final lap you could have a fork in you already... and if you have a kicker on your shoulder, you might not see it coming... recall Bannister/Landry in the "Miracle Mile".

Dictating pace and Team Tactics are part of the game.... with multiple Finalists in events 1500m to 10K, Kenyans have famously and successfully "manipulated" many big races.

OP suggests Hiltz shaped the race. IMO, it's possible.

Did Nikki Hiltz OBSTRUCT anyone from passing her?

Confuzzled wrote:

NFW wrote:

Anyone else pick up on what she pulled last night?

Race goes out with her teammate performing rabbiting duties, she shoots straight into 2nd place, and then proceeds to pump the breaks and creep through the 2nd lap in 69 seconds.

She was behind the rabbit and somehow made the rabbit slow down? That's some otherworldly power. She should use that power instead to just win every race she enters.

I have not seen the race in question (only place I see it is FloTrack, which requires a subscription).

But her post-win interview is here:

So the rabbit was fine, but she slowed the field running second and not keeping well back of the rabbit?

"We went out slow and I think that was my fault. I was on the rabbit and I didn't want to go with her because (laughs), I don't know, I hate going with the rabbit... I think we went through at 68 that first lap."

What was she thinking? We can only speculate, but she already had her standard and there seem to be benefit in keeping others from getting it if jockeying for Team selection?

Ernest wrote:

So the rabbit was fine, but she slowed the field running second and not keeping well back of the rabbit?

Edit: ...she slowed the field running second and keeping well back of the rabbit?

(remove "not")

Lol Hiltz was gonna win this race regardless of how fast they went out. Put over a second on Quigley in the last 100. Plus she already had the standard, so why is this her problem?

The suggestion, which seems probable to me, is she deliberately slowed the first lap to hold back the field so as to keep others from getting a solid shot at a qualifier, knowing she already had hers.

It wasn’t until the first lap split was shown the field clued in and scrambled.

By then the damage was done, someone on the cusp wouldn’t be able to make up that much lost time after putting up a 70ish first lap.

Ernest wrote:

The suggestion, which seems probable to me, is she deliberately slowed the first lap to hold back the field so as to keep others from getting a solid shot at a qualifier, knowing she already had hers.

It wasn’t until the first lap split was shown the field clued in and scrambled.

By then the damage was done, someone on the cusp wouldn’t be able to make up that much lost time after putting up a 70ish first lap.

That’s ridiculous

ThatAverageRunner wrote:

Ernest wrote:

The suggestion, which seems probable to me, is she deliberately slowed the first lap to hold back the field so as to keep others from getting a solid shot at a qualifier, knowing she already had hers.

It wasn’t until the first lap split was shown the field clued in and scrambled.

By then the damage was done, someone on the cusp wouldn’t be able to make up that much lost time after putting up a 70ish first lap.

That’s ridiculous

Her interview starts with this... “we went out slow and I think that’s my fault...”

How many of that field might turn in a qualifier off a 68/69 first lap ?

Hiltz already had the standard, so she clearly wasn't running for time. Why should she be expected to run hard from the gun when she could easily win it in a tactical race? If the other women wanted the standard, they should've moved past her and gone for it. I can't blame her for not wanting to kill herself start to finish when she didn't need to.

Ernest wrote:

The suggestion, which seems probable to me, is she deliberately slowed the first lap to hold back the field so as to keep others from getting a solid shot at a qualifier, knowing she already had hers.

It wasn’t until the first lap split was shown the field clued in and scrambled.

By then the damage was done, someone on the cusp wouldn’t be able to make up that much lost time after putting up a 70ish first lap.

They should have been clued in a lot sooner than that considering the rabbit was well out in front from the beginning and kept looking around to see where everyone was, even in the first 100. Hiltz was not even leading most of the second lap. Finally, at around 1:45 in Jones made a strong move to push the pace but it was way too late.

Bottom line, it should have been apparent to everyone that the pace right from the beginning was way too slow and no one made any attempt to stay with the rabbit. The idea that this was a plan by Hiltz to keep her competitors from getting a qualifying time seems absurd. Assuming Houlihan and Simpson are healthy there is realistically one spot up for grabs and nothing that happened in that race would have any impact on who makes the team

Let's assume it us true. Good for her. She is smart and competitors are dumb. I congratulate her.

Ernest wrote:

ThatAverageRunner wrote:

That’s ridiculous

Her interview starts with this... “we went out slow and I think that’s my fault...”

How many of that field might turn in a qualifier off a 68/69 first lap ?

None of them, which is why they should have gone around. They know the difference between 64 pace and 69 pace, and they know what it looks like to be running with the rabbit. Hiltz didn't stop anyone from going for it; they stopped themselves.

NFW wrote:

Anyone else pick up on what she pulled last night?

Race goes out with her teammate performing rabbiting duties, she shoots straight into 2nd place, and then proceeds to pump the breaks and creep through the 2nd lap in 69 seconds. The end result was that people like Dani Jones, Karisa Nelson, and Elise Cranny never had a shot at qualifying.

She rarely runs so close to the front in previous races, so the intent was fairly evident.

Calculated or shady move?

It’s sad if Hiltz would treat a race like a competition instead of a cooperative endeavor where she helps the other racers to succeed. What’s the world coming to?

Ernest wrote:

The suggestion, which seems probable to me, is she deliberately slowed the first lap to hold back the field so as to keep others from getting a solid shot at a qualifier, knowing she already had hers.

It wasn’t until the first lap split was shown the field clued in and scrambled.

By then the damage was done, someone on the cusp wouldn’t be able to make up that much lost time after putting up a 70ish first lap.

I doubt she slowed down accidentally, but why do you insist it was to keep others from getting a qualifier?

Since the outcome of the race was pretty much certain be it started, she could have been trying out new race tactics. And now she knows she owns the rest of the runners in that race who were too scared to pass her. That is on them, not her.

Your other nonsense about reasons they wouldn't pass is like I said, nonsense. Or that they might not know the pace was slow, further nonsense. These are professionals, it's their job to know the pace, plus the gap between the pacemaker and Nikki might have been a good indication.

I was supporting OP's position that Hiltz' race strategy may have cost someone a Qualifier.

The consensus seems to be "yeah, so what, that's racing".

And also, that at this level, if someone missed a qualifier from a too-slow start that is on them - because even if they didn't sense the wrong pace, they should have clued in by seeing the rabbit gap the field and then immediately passed, instead of sitting back and waiting on the first split call. (I didn't see the race or splits, so will assume the rabbit did their job).

Also seems reasonable... I don't have a lot of track racing experience, so defer to the "experts".