so what's the men's POY now?

[pickle47]

I am having a hard time according Rudisha special consideration for leading the OG 800 start to finish. That's the way he runs the race every time! Has he ever sat back the first lap and then moved to the front at 600m? Not in the last few years. He was never going to do anything BUT lead wire to wire. Sorry, that's like giving Filbert Bayi kudos for going out in 53. It's his MO. The fact that it was the OG might have made his stomach churn a little bit more at the start, but who went to the line with more confidence this year than Rudisha? No one.

As for the 110H record being 'soft' because the right parties didn't get in the 'right' race...name another event where the principles race each other more consistently. You never hear about hurdlers ducking one another. On the contrary, much has been written about their relatively aberrant penchant for hammering each other week in, week out. There were plenty of fast races over the last few years (decades) and many, many opportunities to go deeper into the 12.8s. Look at how the men's 100m mark went down in the 1980s and 90s. A hundredth here, two hundedths there. It took a Bolt to move it down a tenth or more in one fell swoop. That's how the short sprint events progress, and the records are not therefore soft.

[lionelp1]

I am having a hard time according Rudisha special consideration for leading the OG 800 start to finish. That's the way he runs the race every time! Has he ever sat back the first lap and then moved to the front at 600m? Not in the last few years. He was never going to do anything BUT lead wire to wire. Sorry, that's like giving Filbert Bayi kudos for going out in 53. It's his MO. The fact that it was the OG might have made his stomach churn a little bit more at the start, but who went to the line with more confidence this year than Rudisha? No one.

As for the 110H record being 'soft' because the right parties didn't get in the 'right' race...name another event where the principles race each other more consistently. You never hear about hurdlers ducking one another. On the contrary, much has been written about their relatively aberrant penchant for hammering each other week in, week out. There were plenty of fast races over the last few years (decades) and many, many opportunities to go deeper into the 12.8s. Look at how the men's 100m mark went down in the 1980s and 90s. A hundredth here, two hundedths there. It took a Bolt to move it down a tenth or more in one fell swoop. That's how the short sprint events progress, and the records are not therefore soft.

Sorry you are having a hard time, but really that is the most weird post, first paragraph, I have read even for this Forum. Fancy going to the line knowing you are better than the other guys ....like every great champion maybe. Like Bolt, like Bekele for years, like.... so many its not worth adding them all up.

[mump boy]

Apparently we are supposed to mark athletes down for being better than everyone else !!

[Dave]

Some are arguing that Rudisha had no rabbit. Wouldn't 3 guys under 1:43 constitute some help with pacing?

[Conor Dary]

Some are arguing that Rudisha had no rabbit. Wouldn't 3 guys under 1:43 constitute some help with pacing?

Not if they are all behind him.

[berkeley]

Has there been in the modern OG an athlete at middle distance who has won, leading from gun to tape.??

I can't think of one. That's definitely a point in favor for POY. The closest I can think of was Cruz, who was always very close to the lead - but sitting on the leader's shoulder is clearly much easier than leading. Keino led for the last 850m of his Mexico 1500 ... but lagged near the back for the first lap.

[EPelle]

Though the question raised was about which middle distance men have raced gun-to-tape in modern Olympics, it's worth noting that Paula Ivan ran wire-to-wire in that brilliant w-1500m in Seoul. She ran a fast time (3.53,96 OR) and won gold.

[Conor Dary]

Has there been in the modern OG an athlete at middle distance who has won, leading from gun to tape.??

I can't think of one. That's definitely a point in favor for POY. The closest I can think of was Cruz, who was always very close to the lead - but sitting on the leader's shoulder is clearly much easier than leading. Keino led for the last 850m of his Mexico 1500 ... but lagged near the back for the first lap.

In that race, Keino had his own personal rabbit in Ben Jipcho.