Josh Kerr Explains Why U.S. 1500m Running Is Soft

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[wazzu]

100% Agree with Kerr about USA 1500 M runners.

[Jadon]

I don’t think Josh was alive the last time GB won a 1500 gold

[trevorturner]

Back in early high school I always sucked at the mile and was better at the 2 mile. I thought the reason was because I had no speed. It wasn’t until my senior year that I realized that I just wasn’t racing it right. I never pushed the pace which is what races like the mile/1500 need. Second meet of the season my senior year I took the lead from the start and ended up breaking 5. Every race after that for the mile (not really the 2 mile) I would use that same strategy and would PR at almost every meet for the rest of the season. Was under 5 for the rest of the season for sure. I had a bigger PR in the mile from my junior to senior year than I did in the 2 mile and considering the difference in the distance is very impressive I think. I ended up having a 16 second difference. From 5:06 the previous year to 4:50 by the end of senior year. I’m in college now and ever since then is always how i race the 1500. It’s a risky move to go out hard but that is the best option in my opinion

[christianpastrana]

Not racing at the world championships is weak no matter the country you represent if you qualify

[notorious]

He is right about a previous generation to some degree, but Hocker and Teare run much more aggressively than the guys he’s calling out

[aidancort]

I think it's especially true on the men's side, we've seen so much more grit coming from U.S female runners especially in the 1500 compared to the guys

[declanmulligan]

Kerr should bring this up with his teammates at the Brooks Beasts

[kczcb]

I honestly wish hocker would’ve ran in Belgrade in at least the 1500. At this pace he won’t run against Jakob and the best till prefontaine. Granted he might be running less races after a year of team running at Oregon. Looking forward to hockers progress during the outdoor season

[gregoryluna]

Something is going on with American high school milers. So many going under four minutes. Shoes, training, diet, social media or whatever. Much different than 70s-80s when my team just ran hard and a lot.

[massimopicca]

As an American I 100% agree. I don’t like tactical races and hockey and teare are exactly what we need

[Trailcat]

With the way the mile has went so far indoors, plan on those times to start changing.

[FRCPb]

And here we are at the World Championships, with a single American in the 1500m final. Josh called it.

[dcnole]

Some people will be inclined to dunk on Kerr for this clip after what just happened in Paris, but he was right at the time he said what he said here. We had a bunch of guys who were super proud to run 3:36 and call themselves top 1500 runners. It wasn't good enough, and we were a non-factor on the world stage. It took a new generation to push things with a new attitude, and now we have 3 young guys finishing in the top 5 of the Olympic final finishing while running running 3:27-3:28. Attitude changed. Results changed. Kerr was right. (It is just ironic that the new attitude US team just swiped his Olympic gold medal and outnumbered him on the podium.)

[troys]

And what does that make Kerr when he lost to another American in the NCAA 1500m final in 2018, after Kerr set the 1500 record earlier that year?

[wyattallen]

I just don’t agree with the fact that everyone thinks every race has to be a time trial now for it to not be soft. Why is it now that everyone cares about fast times? In the past it’s always been about how you compete in championships and now time trials are what make you elite? Come on now

[shangrilaeldorado]

Hocker and Teare can beat Kerr...and Kerr is basically an American-trained runner.

[primoshe]

listen... i'm no expert in track and field... but my take on the u.s. 1500 runners dogging it or being soft as kerr terms it is that they all know by now that it's futile for them to run hard in this event because teare and hocker are coming in to dominate this distance for the u.s. team for yrs to come... good shows... be well...

[OCJoker]

Races are too tactical in the US. Peuple care more about winning than fast times. Mo Farah is a good example for Great Britan. None of his timss were earth shattering ; he just knew how to be tactical and outwit his complétion.

[rtSfe]

To be fair, he did say with exception to Cole Hocker.

[reiseleitercostarica]

Just to remind everybody that only Ryan Cruiser won a gold medal in individual male track and field events in Tokyo Olympics. So it's not just 1500m runners that are behind the rest of the world. There is a crisis in male Track and Field athletics in USA.