Let’s say that you could somehow compel the top 5 male ITU triathletes to race the top 5 decathletes in the world in a 1,500 meter race. I know that would never happen but who do you think would win?
some of the best decathletes are mainly strength/power based and more or less suffer through the 1500. So i would have to root for the triathletes.
1500 meter is the last event in a decathlon. They train specifically for the event and triathletes don’t. I would have to imagine the decathlete would win.
that’s easy, Lance Armstrong.
According to Wikipedia:
Record for decathlon 1500 m is 3:58.7 (Robert Baker). World record is 3:26 (Hicham Guerrouj).
Could the best ITU athletes run sub 4:00?
Guys…have you watched the decathlon during the World Champs or Olympics? These guys are running like 4:30 for the 1500 (i’m sure there are some that could be faster). Even rested, they can’t run under 4:00 I would think.
An ITU guy could run under 4:00 EASILY.
Drew
But is Robert Baker the best decathlete ever or just the owner of the fastest decathlon 1,500 “split”?
I’m talking about the best decathletes overall, not just the fastest at the 1,500.
Okay, a very select few (maybe only 1) can run under 4:00. ha! I stand by my statement that top ITU guys could EASILY run under 4:00.
Drew
Brian Clay ran 5:01 to win gold in Beijing…
I got served. Triathlete would win.
I had no idea how bad decathletes suck at running.
Ya, the body type that usually makes someone faster at the sprints, throws and jumps is not the body type that makes for a fast 1500 runner. Now try to put a triathlete in just about any of the other events in a Decathlon and it’s a totally different story.
I believe the obvious answer is Chuck Norris
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The triathletes would stomp them, even Ironman guys can run low 4 minutes…A more fair race between the two would be the 400 or 800, one of those would be the equalizer between strenght/speed and endurance…
Agreed on the 400…I think the 800 is starting to skew back to the triathletes pretty heavily.
Drew
Wasn’t he ahead by a lot so he took the 1500 as a ‘victory lap’ I think if pressed, he could run it a lot faster.
Well, his personal best is 4:39…so faster yes, but that isn’t even close to what good high schoolers run. For the record, he is an AMAZING athlete and I don’t want to sound like I’m putting him down. I think most decathletes will agree the 1500 is not a strong event for them.
Wasn’t he ahead by a lot so he took the 1500 as a ‘victory lap’ I think if pressed, he could run it a lot faster.
Yes that’s true but a “victory lap” for Jan Frodeno would have been at a 4:30 pace.
that’s easy, Lance Armstrong.
no, no. You are mistaken my friend:
Chuck Norris
Yeah I believe the world record in the decathlon was only 4:20ish for 1500 … not that fast
Yeah decathletes don’t train that much for the 1500 (or so my friend at my local gym says, who was a decathlete in college). Decathletes who are good 1500m runners are probably not good decathletes. (This may be a generalization, but from the decathlons I’ve watched, it seems the decathletes who win the 1500 are the ones who were in 20th or so place before the 1500). Jared Shoemaker probably could run a faster 1500 in the middle of a 5k race than any decathlete running a straight 1500.