Great Britain at the 2023 World Athletics Championships

[Grassmarket 3,412]

7 hours ago, mpjmcevoy said:

There seems something in the fact that the two wins, last year and this, were almost identical. Doesn't seem just race luck, seems like a brilliant plan worked out by Wightman pére last year and brilliantly copied by Kerr. It takes a certain confidence to run a sub 3:30 while relying on outkicking the fastest in the world.

Yeah, it was like Mo Farah who realised he would always win by being a guy who could run at a pace of sub 13:00 for 5000m - which lots of Africans could - and then sprint for 400m - which none of them could.

[mpjmcevoy 362]

8 hours ago, Grassmarket said:

Yeah, it was like Mo Farah who realised he would always win by being a guy who could run at a pace of sub 13:00 for 5000m - which lots of Africans could - and then sprint for 400m - which none of them could.

The really clever bit on Farah was that his tactic absolutely got into the heads of his rivals, and they fell into the trap again, and again, and again. They practically ran for him sometimes.  Really, Farah was basically a good 1500 metre runner who worked on strength endurance. He just hid the fact well.

 

Yep, that thinking goes all the way back to Coe. An 800 metre specialist, really, in season, but it was 1500 that he won at the big ones in'80 and '84 because he had the sprint of an 800m runner, and could live with a championship 1500 pace, whereas super kickers could take him in a championship 800. It used to be a truism that your best distance was your favourite distance + 1, but you need to get strong.

 

Conversely, Dave Bedford had the world record for 10K and could not win a gold. Great runner. no kick. If you are going to do it not kicking, you need to be a rudisha or Kipyegon that is so fast, so dominant, that you simply run your rivals off your wheels. Jakob is great, but he's not that great. 

 

Mu is possibly an example. Her strongest rival is obviously Keely. But her most dangerous one might be Moraa and her ferocious ability to accelerate for short period - if the big two haven't distanced her by 650, Moraa is very dangerous. That's the conundrum of W800 at the moment. Moraa is super clever/sneaky, borders on obstruction, and turns races into fights. It's a brilliant tactic v two runners who are basically a second an a half quicker than her. But it only works vs 1 of them at a time - she can't obstruct two simultaneously, and Mu is not afraid to go a la Rudisha (Keely is a more natural 'tucker' than Mu who front runs)

[mpjmcevoy 362]

Just now, mpjmcevoy said:

The really clever bit on Farah was that his tactic absolutely got into the heads of his rivals, and they fell into the trap again, and again, and again. They practically ran for him sometimes.  Really, Farah was basically a good 1500 metre runner who worked on strength endurance. He just hid the fact well.

 

Yep, that thinking goes all the way back to Coe. An 800 metre specialist, really, in season, but it was 1500 that he won at the big ones in'80 and '84 because he had the sprint of an 800m runner, and could live with a championship 1500 pace, whereas super kickers could take him in a championship 800. It used to be a truism that your best distance was your favourite distance + 1, but you need to get strong.

 

Conversely, Dave Bedford had the world record for 10K and could not win a gold. Great runner. no kick. If you are going to do it not kicking, you need to be a rudisha or Kipyegon that is so fast, so dominant, that you simply run your rivals off your wheels. Jakob is great, but he's not that great. 

 

Mu is possibly an example. Her strongest rival is obviously Keely. But her most dangerous one might be Moraa and her ferocious ability to accelerate for short period - if the big two haven't distanced her by 650, Moraa is very dangerous. That's the conundrum of W800 at the moment. Moraa is super clever/sneaky, borders on obstruction, and turns races into fights. It's a brilliant tactic v two runners who are basically a second an a half quicker than her. But it only works vs 1 of them at a time - she can't obstruct two simultaneously, and Mu is not afraid to go a la Rudisha (Keely is a more natural 'tucker' than Mu who front runs)

Probably worth noting Mageaan's progress on the same basis.

[mpjmcevoy 362]

10 hours ago, El Analyzer said:

Exactly same tactic, Jakob was focusing on beating world record and didn't prepare well for a tactic race

Wightman made a point in the studio (and I get the feeling the two (Jakob and Wightman) don't get on, btw):

 

Without a pacemaker in the race, Jakob is stuck not only taking the wind, but having to do all the thinking, and he struggles with that.

[Mkbw50 438]

Nicely done Hudson-Smith, although he seems a bit disappointed it's silver.

[mpjmcevoy 362]

1 hour ago, Mkbw50 said:

Nicely done Hudson-Smith, although he seems a bit disappointed it's silver.

That's a good thing. He's actually had a really bitty season, pulling up a few times with achilles tendonitis - to get himself in world silver, European record shape is little short of a miracle, but there was a gold chance here that might not be there in Paris.

 

That said, if he can do this off bits, he might go into Paris in very good heart.

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

So as much as I love the story of our sprinting accountant, I'm not sure that it was the smartest decision to put him into the last leg of the relay squad for the final of a World Championships when he will have had no prior experience and will have had limited time to train with the rest of the squad. 

 

I'm not saying that Amo Dadzie should not have been in the team - he did a great job getting GB into the final - but he should have been backed up by the more senior and experienced members of the squad and I think there were stronger quartets available to GB had proper management at UK Athletics been in place.