HOLY SHI*: UT freshman Jonathan Jones who ran 44.63 this year ran 1:48.16 at age 17!! And started his career as 1500/3k guy

Is he competing for BAR at 2019 W.C?

Coe started off as a junior running 3k's and by the time he was 19 he had only run a handful of 800's and then bam 1:41.

Would be interested to know what Jones could do as a 800m runner as if he ran 1:48 at 17 his natural progression by 21-22 could be around the 1:42-1:143 range.

That would be true, since there seem to be so many blacks in sprinting.

coahc wrote:

Coe started off as a junior running 3k's and by the time he was 19 he had only run a handful of 800's and then bam 1:41.

Would be interested to know what Jones could do as a 800m runner as if he ran 1:48 at 17 his natural progression by 21-22 could be around the 1:42-1:143 range.

You must not have had your morning coffee yet there in U.K.

Facts regarding Coe:

Coe was a 50.xx or 51.xx 400m person at age 17 and 49.xx 400m at age 18.

Coe ran 1:41.xx 800m at age 24 going on age 25.

Coe and Jonathan Jones are nothing alike.

Maybe because this is let's run, all athletes even hammer throwers and 60m indoor sprinters are evaluated by how well one races 800m and longer events. Jonathan Jones is a 400m specialist now. I hope he races more 200m races than 800m races since Jones' success as a 400m athlete is correlated more with 200m performances than 800m performances.

If I recall, Jonathan Jones' 800m time at age 17 was ahead of Coe's 800m time at age 17. Jones is not going to train in a manner going forward to attempt to get his 800m time down any time soon. I am sure Jones has sub-44 400m goals.

Well a few observations: if Jones has run 3:55 for 1500m he is on a different planet than most 400m runners. I can assure you that if he has done that his best event is 800m.

Yes he may be a 44.63 runner but 3:55 indicates an aerobic system that would make him ideally suited to the two lapper. Remember the Cuban Alberto Jaunterona.

Coe ran very few 800's as a junior and 50-51 as a 17 year old is average at best.

Jonathan Jones already has the qualifying time for 2019 W.C. for 400m but you think he should alter his training and train for 800m. Since Jones has been in college he is improving as a 400m athlete. While training as a 400m athlete, Jones has leveled off as an 800m runner. A 3:55 1500m does not tell me Jones should stop training as a 400m athlete. A 3:55 1500m tells me Jones may be able to handle a higher volume of training than other 400m men. That 3:55 1500m was over 2 years ago. I am certain since Jones is setting personal bests in both 200m and 400m this season, Jones is training as a sprinter, which is smart. As a 400m athlete, Jones can choose exactly how fast he wants to race the first half of races. As a 400m athlete, Jones does not have to worry about getting boxed in, never has to worry about racing extra metres. Juantorena did not make it 1972 Olympic finals, 400m. If he would have made it to finals in 1972, 400m, Juantorena never would have added another event, IMO. I believe Juantorena added 800m due to lack of confidence in 400m.

No. I guess you didn't read all the way to the bottom of the article:

rojo wrote:

Most 44 second 20 year olds don't begin their careers as xc runners.

The 800/1500 times I see for him on tilastapaja are as follows:

2016 1:48.16/3:57.19

2017 1:50.51/3:55.08

His DOB is 6 February 99. So at age 17 the now 44 second runner was a 1:48 800 guy and a 4:16 miler.

Sounds pretty similar to Donovan Brazier, no? Wasn't he running XC, the mile, 800 and 400 in high school?

Checked his athletic.net account and he did XC in 9th grade, so unless he did track in junior high that means he started out doing XC. Ran 21:00 in his first 5k race, then ended up at 17:38 by the end of the season.

At age 17 Brazier ran 49.59 for 400, 1:48.61 for 800 and 4:15.25 for 1600.

Had Brazier focused on the 400 his PR would likely be better than 47.02.

i know everything ever wrote:

rojo wrote:

Most 44 second 20 year olds don't begin their careers as xc runners.

The 800/1500 times I see for him on tilastapaja are as follows:

2016 1:48.16/3:57.19

2017 1:50.51/3:55.08

His DOB is 6 February 99. So at age 17 the now 44 second runner was a 1:48 800 guy and a 4:16 miler.

Sounds pretty similar to Donovan Brazier, no? Wasn't he running XC, the mile, 800 and 400 in high school?

Checked his athletic.net account and he did XC in 9th grade, so unless he did track in junior high that means he started out doing XC. Ran 21:00 in his first 5k race, then ended up at 17:38 by the end of the season.

At age 17 Brazier ran 49.59 for 400, 1:48.61 for 800 and 4:15.25 for 1600.

Had Brazier focused on the 400 his PR would likely be better than 47.02.

This is a more apt comparison. Very impressive by Jonathan Jones, more than anything though, it tells me that he has the capacity to do the work of a very high level 400 or 800 runner. I'm stoked for him no matter what he runs, as long as he's having fun doing it.

Another thing to remember is that age is just a number, some athletes are fully developed and physically mature at 15, I know others, myself included, who didn't stop growing until they were in their early 20s. Not saying that is or isn't the case here, but I tend to roll my eyes when people start comparing athletes down to how many years and days different they are.

coahc wrote:

Coe started off as a junior running 3k's and by the time he was 19 he had only run a handful of 800's and then bam 1:41.

Would be interested to know what Jones could do as a 800m runner as if he ran 1:48 at 17 his natural progression by 21-22 could be around the 1:42-1:143 range.

Definitely a super exciting prospect at 400 meters, and maybe eventually 800 meters. The cool thing is he can specialize at 400 meters for 2020-2021... and then maybe re-evaluate where he's at after that. This kid has already proven the toughness and ability in training that IF he doesn't get to sub 44 by 2021, he would likely entertain the idea of moving up to the 800 meters. What holds most 400 meter runners back from even considering moving to 800 is a lack of any background in middle distance related training or racing. Jones already has that background and wouldn't face that challenge. Good luck to him, sounds like a big time talent who also puts in the work to be truly great.

He’ll never beat Norman or Lyles. At 800 he could be the best in the world.

Looks like we have another Cliff West.

West was Golden West mile champ in 1969. Ran the 1500 at Cal Bezerkly where he was mostly average.

Quit running after College, then made a comeback at 400m in 1977. Didnt make it out of the semis at AAU Nationals....46 point...but fast enough to be invited on the US team in the relays. He ran two 200s that Summer, his best was 20.9!

In the professional era I'm pretty sure he would have been one of our best ever at 800m.

rojo wrote:

Most 44 second 20 year olds don't begin their careers as xc runners.

Hookem wrote:

"It’s been a year of learning for Jones, who started as a cross country and 1500/3K runner when he first joined the track team as a 14-year-old volleyball player in Barbados. At 16, he quit volleyball to pursue track full-time in hopes of earning a college scholarship. By 17, he was the No. 2-ranked youth athlete in the world for the 800, clocking 1:48.16. A year later, he ran 46.92 in the 400."

Read the great article on him in the Austin American Statesman by Johanna Gretschel.

https://www.hookem.com/story/texas-track-star-jonathan-jones-little-different-generation-millennials/

The 800/1500 times I see for him on tilastapaja are as follows:

2016 1:48.16/3:57.19

2017 1:50.51/3:55.08

His DOB is 6 February 99. So at age 17 the now 44 second runner was a 1:48 800 guy and a 4:16 miler.

there is no reason why you can't drop down.

what happens is they force the distance training on you as you mature, and you adapt to that. so the speed is compromised.

so you create your reality where you get slower.

it is a good idea to have cross country and then try and do the 400, as you have a fitness base and a real chance to last those last 100m.

some guys with the good 800 and ok speed, not all of them want to move up, but move down.

coaches are brainwashed in to moving up all the time.

very dumb

That's really impressive. 1:48.16 would make him one of if not the fastest high schoolers in the US on a given year.

44.63 puts him on a different planet than most 800m runners also. Nobody can say if this kids best distance is 400m or 800m. But putting on 20lbs of BW might really interfer with his ability to run a fast 800m.

The US prep WR for 400 is sub 45, but for 800 it's not even sub 1:46. So that 1:48 was actually a lot better than it looked; if he'd been doing 400 then, he'd probably have been pretty close to where he's at now already.

The gap in US prep records is clearly due to the school athletic system prioritizing sprint-double points and mid-d double points. Other countries blow the US prep 800 record out of the water; even if you think some of them are age cheats, at least some are legit.

Bad Wigins wrote:

The US prep WR for 400 is sub 45, but for 800 it's not even sub 1:46. So that 1:48 was actually a lot better than it looked; if he'd been doing 400 then, he'd probably have been pretty close to where he's at now already.

The gap in US prep records is clearly due to the school athletic system prioritizing sprint-double points and mid-d double points. Other countries blow the US prep 800 record out of the water; even if you think some of them are age cheats, at least some are legit.

'Roids work much better for the 400. Even heavy cheating kids don't, or at least didn't have access to EPO for a better 800. That's for the pros.

YMMV wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

The US prep WR for 400 is sub 45, but for 800 it's not even sub 1:46. So that 1:48 was actually a lot better than it looked; if he'd been doing 400 then, he'd probably have been pretty close to where he's at now already.

The gap in US prep records is clearly due to the school athletic system prioritizing sprint-double points and mid-d double points. Other countries blow the US prep 800 record out of the water; even if you think some of them are age cheats, at least some are legit.

'Roids work much better for the 400. Even heavy cheating kids don't, or at least didn't have access to EPO for a better 800. That's for the pros.

EPO is not difficult to source. You might also like to read recent press about the abuse of EPO in sub-elite athletes.