2015 Men's AOY speculation

[Dave]

I'll go with the following:

1) Farah
2) Eaton. Multis just don't compete enough.
3) Bolt. 2 gold medals but not much quality otherwise.
4) Taylor. brilliant year but some losses.k

How do I fix the title?

[Zap]

I'd have to go with Kiprop. Eaton next. No way for Farah.

[odelltrclan]

I'd have to go with Kiprop. Eaton next. No way for Farah.

No way, as in total domination of major distance titles is not worthy of consideration? Outside of Usain Bolt, IMO Farah is the next best attraction in the sport for "must see" action.

[Zap]

No way, as in total domination of major distance titles is not worthy of consideration? Outside of Usain Bolt, IMO Farah is the next best attraction in the sport for "must see" action.

I like Farah, but his times are so slow compared to the best ever in his events. Which suggests a weak era. Something like Greg Rutherford dominating the LJ right now, when all the jumps are tiny marks.

Kiprop got scary close to El G's WR and dominated all season,. He had a great year. Eaton, obviously, broke his own WR. Taylor was in WR form all year. Even Bolt in a limited season had times that were far more impressive than anything Farah did. Joe Kovacs in SP was far more impressive than Farah.

[Zap]

Farah is an attraction for Brits, but outside of there fans are more interested in the Genzebe's and Shelly's and now Dafne's of the world.

[Dave]

I am confused by the lack of love for Mo Farah. Double golds in Beijing. Top 3000 and 10000 times in the world. 4th best 1500 time. Not sure why there are no 5000 times from Beijing at IAAF.

Still that is an impressive year by any standard.

If not Mo, then Eaton.

[t_monk]

Men: Eaton, Kiprop, Taylor, Farah, Bolt

The women is far more easy to predict though

[Zap]

I am confused by the lack of love for Mo Farah. Double golds in Beijing. Top 3000 and 10000 times in the world. 4th best 1500 time. Not sure why there are no 5000 times from Beijing at IAAF.

Still that is an impressive year by any standard.

If not Mo, then Eaton.

It's not a lack of love for Mobot. I'm a big fan, I love what he brings to track, a very colorful character. But let's be reasonable. Should Ruhtherford be mentioned in this discussion? Of course not, so why should Farah?

[odelltrclan]

It's not a lack of love for Mobot. I'm a big fan, I love what he brings to track, a very colorful character. But let's be reasonable. Should Ruhtherford be mentioned in this discussion? Of course not, so why should Farah?

You comparison of Rutherford to Farah borders on being ludicrous. Rutherford has won 2 titles (to his credit) but he has also performed well below championship level on many occasions since Farah has been at the top.

Farah has competed at the highest level in a number of events and on the road. He has now won 3 separate double championships and 7 overall global championships in a row. He has been virtually unbeatable during this period of time. And people like to claim his times are slow. Yet his 10k win (in hot humid conditions not conducive to fast times) was the 3rd fastest in WC history.

I would also not consider the competition in the 5k and 10k to be on par with the LJ over that time span. Whether Farah has gone uber fast is one thing, but he has competed against sub 12:50 guys and against different strategies and no one can find the answer to beat him.

Maybe he does not have the year to beat Eaton or Taylor (though Eaton is a tough choice for only having to have completed one decathlon this year) but what he has done over since 2011 has been nothing short of amazing and it is unfortunate he may not get an AOY award.

Also, to suggest that only Brits care is far, far from the truth.

[26mi235]

The notion that Farah is not AOY material because his PRs are not those of a prior era that has a bit of a cloud over it is another ludicrous idea. While not ludicrous, Ruidsha has not had remotely the season that Farah has had, and his times are way off being fast for the event. Farah has losses that are in races that improve his case -- the very fast 1500, which is a very long ways from his 5000/10,000 main events. It is easier to double in the 5000, 10,000 than the 800/1500, but not really by that much (especially with 1500/800 < 2).

I cannot judge the throws adequately, so those aside, I would have

Farah and Eaton and Taylor (he had by far the hardest direct competition of the three, so his losses are not bad, especially when he went over 18 in one and was close in another).

Bolt had two very good races, but not only did he not really beat anybody except in those races, he actively ducked almost the entire season. He did not have the best season among male sprinters.

[Zap]

The notion that Farah is not AOY material because his PRs are not those of a prior era that has a bit of a cloud over it is another ludicrous idea. While not ludicrous, Ruidsha has not had remotely the season that Farah has had, and his times are way off being fast for the event. Farah has losses that are in races that improve his case -- the very fast 1500, which is a very long ways from his 5000/10,000 main events. It is easier to double in the 5000, 10,000 than the 800/1500, but not really by that much (especially with 1500/800 < 2).

I cannot judge the throws adequately, so those aside, I would have

Farah and Eaton and Taylor (he had by far the hardest direct competition of the three, so his losses are not bad, especially when he went over 18 in one and was close in another).

Bolt had two very good races, but not only did he not really beat anybody except in those races, he actively ducked almost the entire season. He did not have the best season among male sprinters.

Wow! a "bit of a cloud over it"? What cloud is that? A coach who has been outed by his own athlete as a drug dealer? Oh no, that would Farah's coach, wouldn't it?

[18.99s]

Men's AOY = Farah. That's an easy choice for me.
But men's POY = Eaton.

[Zap]

Men's AOY would go

1. Kiprop
2. Eaton
3. Taylor
4. Bolt
5. Kovacs

I would even put Van Niekerk and Yego over Farah. Sorry, Brits

[26mi235]

Yego has way too many losses and to think that Farah is not even on the board is, will, silly. A silliness that, I think, we can see because if he ran a 12:39 or a 26:29 in a no-count race it seems like your criteria would shot him to the top. Yet, by the T&FNews criteria would make relatively little difference. In a few months we will see that those that have the best background will not come out with a ranking that is all that close to yours.

[Tuariki]

I'll go with the following:

1) Farah
2) Eaton. Multis just don't compete enough.
3) Bolt. 2 gold medals but not much quality otherwise.
4) Taylor. brilliant year but some losses.k

How do I fix the title?

Bolt - 2 golds - but not much quality??
Farah - 2 golds as well, but in your opinion presumably a lot of quality compared to Bolt?

9.79 = 1280 points
19.56 = 1290 points

1290 points = 12:38.55 (5000) = 26:20.97 (10000)
Farah WC = 13:50.38 (5000) = 27:01.13 (10000)

Farah's best 5000 for 2015 = 13:11.77 =1167 points
1167 points = 10.12 (100m) = 20.34 (200m)

Farah's best 10000 for 2015 = 26:50.97 =1241 points
1241 points = 9.90 (100m) = 19.87 (200m)

So, based on the above, I don't know how you managed to convince yourself that Bolt's were not quality performances but Farah's were.

Pawel Fajdek was undefeated in 17 competitions.
His best throw of 83.93 = 1243 points.

Unless I have screwed up my numbers, I think Bolt has demonstrated he probably deserves to be ranked top of the heap for 2015.