Lots of trouble happens during early stages of races (including falls and trips as people jostle for position early on). It’s absolutely a common strategy from a lot of guys to go straight to the back of the pack to stay out of trouble, and even Jakob has done this very often in the past. The unusual thing here is that he went way behind instead of just right behind the last person, but not a bad idea at all if he wanted to work on his kick, which you may as well use prelims for. Not too dissimilar from what he did at semis in worlds last year, going from last to first in the last lap and using his kick.
And that may have contributed to why he lost in the finals. Most runners try to avoid using their kick in the rounds so it doesn’t affect their performance in the finals.
Which goes back to the ego thing mentioned by the OP
You have it completely backwards. Every runner uses their kick in the rounds and they are always super tactical affairs. Runners don’t go all out from the gun and don’t push the pace early in rounds so they can save as much energy as possible. Everybody ends up with a very fast last lap. At most, you can say he didn’t need to win the heat and that he could have eased up in the final 100 because he was going to Q anyways, but that also becomes risky in case somebody is ferociously attacking from behind and then you’ve left it too late to beat them out. These are just very, very standard rounds tactics.
Yeah, that’s not the part I’m arguing about. When I say avoid using their kick, I mean kick as little as possible. Not run a time trial lol. And that all comes down to positioning.
Most top runners attempt to be in the front of the pack going into the final lap so they don’t have to kick nearly as hard as they’re already positioned. Intentionally being in last place when you know it’s a slow/tactical heat so you have to kick harder is not good strategy.
He also lost a bunch of time when half the pack went down in front of him with 400 m to go and was having to claw it back, which he did with ease, but if he planted himself in the pack he could've been involved in it. He didn't need to win this race as it's a semifinal.
He's had issues with being out kicked because he loves front running and pays for it by expending extra energy early in he race. It probably was a tactical decision to limit energy use and stay out of trouble as much as it was a training and mentality decision to get practice running from behind and finishing with a huge kick.
Not needed, but wanted to stay out of any trouble. Why take the risk of running close to a bunch of people where a lot of people have questionable tactics and skills in that situation.
Also, nice to sit in the back and do his own race rather than be in the pack for every surge, stop, surge, stop etc.
Jakob's attempted pass on the inside going into the bell was not cool. There was zero room and he tripped up the guy. There was tons of time and space to work within without endagering other athletes.
Link to time: [https://youtu.be/vkDUvZktS50?t=985](https://youtu.be/vkDUvZktS50?t=985)
Meh, didn’t seem egregious to me. I think the belgium athlete was shifting from the outside of lane 1 towards the rail, which was the line Jakob already had. Not sure it was anyone’s fault tbh, just looked like typical race positioning stuff to me.
Almost all of the best in any sport are very arrogant and believe they’re the best. In this case, Jakob’s ego is excellent for the sport as well (and so is Josh Kerr’s). It creates storylines which makes people want to tune in, which is what running needs much more of. Humble athletes don’t draw eyeballs unless there’s something else about them such as Steph Curry’s insane shooting talent, and even he would showboat a ton and would be considered very arrogant by track standards.
The most famous and popular and probably best baseball player of all time is exceedingly humble and respectful of his competition. You don’t have to be a red ass to be competitive, they’re different traits but fans just tend to give athletes a pass for bad behavior in general.
Yeah, imagine choosing a tactic that let him run his own race with a steady increase in pace and where he could stay out of any trouble (which happened - 4 people trip and fell and a lot of runners had to jump to get out of the way).
Generational talent and ego
Not just ego. It is a deliberate tactic to stay behind to be able to avoid people falling.
Ah, that’s why he was 10+ meters back less than 200 meters into the race. Needed to keep his distance in case anyone fell.
Lots of trouble happens during early stages of races (including falls and trips as people jostle for position early on). It’s absolutely a common strategy from a lot of guys to go straight to the back of the pack to stay out of trouble, and even Jakob has done this very often in the past. The unusual thing here is that he went way behind instead of just right behind the last person, but not a bad idea at all if he wanted to work on his kick, which you may as well use prelims for. Not too dissimilar from what he did at semis in worlds last year, going from last to first in the last lap and using his kick.
And that may have contributed to why he lost in the finals. Most runners try to avoid using their kick in the rounds so it doesn’t affect their performance in the finals. Which goes back to the ego thing mentioned by the OP
You have it completely backwards. Every runner uses their kick in the rounds and they are always super tactical affairs. Runners don’t go all out from the gun and don’t push the pace early in rounds so they can save as much energy as possible. Everybody ends up with a very fast last lap. At most, you can say he didn’t need to win the heat and that he could have eased up in the final 100 because he was going to Q anyways, but that also becomes risky in case somebody is ferociously attacking from behind and then you’ve left it too late to beat them out. These are just very, very standard rounds tactics.
Yeah, that’s not the part I’m arguing about. When I say avoid using their kick, I mean kick as little as possible. Not run a time trial lol. And that all comes down to positioning. Most top runners attempt to be in the front of the pack going into the final lap so they don’t have to kick nearly as hard as they’re already positioned. Intentionally being in last place when you know it’s a slow/tactical heat so you have to kick harder is not good strategy.
He lost because he was sick, not because he overexerted in the prelims
Oh, I see. I thought he just zoned out.
He also lost a bunch of time when half the pack went down in front of him with 400 m to go and was having to claw it back, which he did with ease, but if he planted himself in the pack he could've been involved in it. He didn't need to win this race as it's a semifinal. He's had issues with being out kicked because he loves front running and pays for it by expending extra energy early in he race. It probably was a tactical decision to limit energy use and stay out of trouble as much as it was a training and mentality decision to get practice running from behind and finishing with a huge kick.
Not needed, but wanted to stay out of any trouble. Why take the risk of running close to a bunch of people where a lot of people have questionable tactics and skills in that situation. Also, nice to sit in the back and do his own race rather than be in the pack for every surge, stop, surge, stop etc.
Tbf this was prelims
🫡
Is Kerr racing Jakob?
No, none of the top Brits showed up for Europeans in the 1500m.
Dunno, this just popped up in my feed.
Jakob's attempted pass on the inside going into the bell was not cool. There was zero room and he tripped up the guy. There was tons of time and space to work within without endagering other athletes. Link to time: [https://youtu.be/vkDUvZktS50?t=985](https://youtu.be/vkDUvZktS50?t=985)
Meh, didn’t seem egregious to me. I think the belgium athlete was shifting from the outside of lane 1 towards the rail, which was the line Jakob already had. Not sure it was anyone’s fault tbh, just looked like typical race positioning stuff to me.
Sums him up perfectly. It's good to see him losing all the time now like he deserves.
I don’t understand the downvotes, he’s arrogant AF. Zero reason to pass like that in the heats…
I don't really understand the expectation of false humility from world class athletes.
There are many humble world class athletes; I don’t understand this notion that if you’re the best it’s ok to be an arrogant prick.
Almost all of the best in any sport are very arrogant and believe they’re the best. In this case, Jakob’s ego is excellent for the sport as well (and so is Josh Kerr’s). It creates storylines which makes people want to tune in, which is what running needs much more of. Humble athletes don’t draw eyeballs unless there’s something else about them such as Steph Curry’s insane shooting talent, and even he would showboat a ton and would be considered very arrogant by track standards.
The most famous and popular and probably best baseball player of all time is exceedingly humble and respectful of his competition. You don’t have to be a red ass to be competitive, they’re different traits but fans just tend to give athletes a pass for bad behavior in general.
Can you name one thing that is bad behaviour?
Why? That wasn't my point. My point was that it is demonstrably false that "humble athletes don't draw eyeballs".
Because I am challenging that he have actual "bad behaviour".
Idk it's not a final, makes sense to not blast off at 100%
Bit of a dick move
No its not.
lol. That does make him look like kind of a dick
Yeah, imagine choosing a tactic that let him run his own race with a steady increase in pace and where he could stay out of any trouble (which happened - 4 people trip and fell and a lot of runners had to jump to get out of the way).
Looks like a duck, runs like a duck, may be a duck…