Who thought 4:03.74 would win?

[eldrick]

I suspect that all of the women in that field are capable of sub 2:00 800's and I also suspect that they have a good strength background. Otherwise, they wouldn't be amongst the top 12 in the world toeing the line

that's a big stretch

jamal & willard are 1'57 & 1'58, but few of the others have <2'00pbs

obviously they may not race it much, but out of 12, i'd suspect not more than 5 or 6 are capable of <2'00 if they raced 800s all year

rough rule of thumb is 800 time is 0.5 of their 1500pb

you'd have to see how many have gone <4'00 & those are your likely candidates for <2'00 for those who haven't done it

Willard's performances to date really aren't that "special" with regard to her speed or strength background. Over racing, however, would definitely have an impact on how an athlete handles the rounds at worlds.

1'58 is damn special for a 3ksc gal !!!

it's also damn special for any elite 1500 gal in this day & age

[rgjp]

Many people speculated that a sub 2 800 and steeplechase background would make Willard a favorite in Berlin.

It didn't happen. Just goes to show you that ANYTHING can happen at this level. Speculation aside, the results in Berlin prove my point.

ALL of these women are world class and capable of great things. They all have superior speed and they all have great strength. Perhaps they haven't focused and/or competed much at the shorter or longer distances so the times listed for their best performances at those distances aren't indicative of what they can do. But trust me, they would not be in the World Finals if they didn't have world class speed and strength.

By the way - below are the best marks for the finalists at 800 / 3000 in case you're interested.

Burka - 2:07 / 8:25 (one of the favorites with a 2:07 800 PR???)
Jamal - 1:57 / 8:28
Dobriskey - 2:02 / 8:47
Rowbury - 2:00 / 8:55
Fermandez - 2:00 / 8:46
Wurth - 1:59 / 8:54
Willard - 1:58 / 8:58
Chojecka - 1:59 / 8:31
Evdokimova - 1:58 / no 3k time noted (has run 3:57)
Gezahegne - no 800 time / 9:19
Rodriguez - 2:01 / 8:35
Selsouli - no 800 time / 8:29 (has run 4:00)

[tandfman]

Burka - 2:07 / 8:25 (one of the favorites with a 2:07 800 PR???)

She was 17 at the time she ran that 2:07. She hasn't run an 800 in competition in more than 5 years. That PR means nothing.

[rgjp]

That's my point. Even though a handful of the finalists have not YET broken 2 for 800m, doesn't mean they aren't capable. More than likely, in all of these cases, they simply haven't put forth the effort to tackle that event in earnest!