Drafting, pacing, priming—potential factors for winning the 1500 m men final at the 2024 Olympics
摘要
Considering the season bests before the Olympics as well as individual critical speed, the question arose as to why the obviously fastest runner of the 2024 season, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, did not become Olympic champion over 1500 m. Besides the fact that the winner of the race improved his personal best by a huge jump of 2.9 s, the answer may lie in race tactics favoring a win by Cole Hocker.
MethodsTo answer this question, a race and performance analysis of Cole Hocker (winner), Josh Kerr (second place), and Jakob Ingebrigtsen (fourth place; world lead 2024) as well as a literature search were carried out to narratively review potential factors influencing middle-distance race performance in elite athletes that may be modulated by tactical decisions.
ResultsBased on the data of Kyle (
On the home straight, Cole Hocker outpaced Ingebrigtsen (13.84 s) by almost a second in the last 100 m with 13.05 s, probably—in addition to his top form—because of his well-preserved anaerobic capacity and avoidance of premature fatigue through drafting, a smoother start, and saving extra distance by also running the last curve on the inner bend.