Matthew Fisher

Running 125miles in Oct for #TinyTickers 🏃🏼‍♂️Oxford, from Durban, via Cape Town. Husband/Son/Brother/Dreamer/Writer/Superfan. Acquired taste. Aweh 🎣

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

@Cheeku218 @SabeehaMajid Gibbs mostly opening the batting and playing 47 matches that's a wild stat!

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

@DeadlineDayLive 1hb

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

@bensmithrugby This guy's only focused on the algorithm

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

@BradMayorFPL Start 2 of Rodon, Diouf, Xhaka or Sarr? 1 FT

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

My HT Bok ratings
Ox - 6
Marx - 2
Tdt - 3
Eben - 6
Lood - 6
Psdt - 7
Marco - 5
Siya - 5
GW - 5
Pollard - 7
Moodie - 4
DDA - 6
Kriel - 3
Kolbe - 5
Willie - 2

#NZLvRSA #RugbyChampionship

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

Loving this Shukri Conrad era so far 🔥boys are having fun out there, long may it continue!! Talented and dynamic squad with good leadership. Guys playing for each other and the badge 🇿🇦 congratulations on the series win #ENGvSA #ProteaFire

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

Not sure if @ProteasMenCSA are looking for some shirt inspo 🔥

[The Sole Supplier @thesolesupplier]

art you can wear. power you can feel. 🔥

The adidas AS Roma 25/26 third jersey is out nowart you can wear. power you can feel. 🔥

The adidas AS Roma 25/26 third jersey is out nowart you can wear. power you can feel. 🔥

The adidas AS Roma 25/26 third jersey is out nowart you can wear. power you can feel. 🔥

The adidas AS Roma 25/26 third jersey is out nowart you can wear. power you can feel. 🔥

The adidas AS Roma 25/26 third jersey is out nowart you can wear. power you can feel. 🔥

The adidas AS Roma 25/26 third jersey is out now!

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

Yet somehow, England's Bazzy consequence of trying to out flat pitch the flat pitchers leads a 2nd (draw)string bowling attack to render this glutonous 5 match series all square (2.5m pls), a Bradman record overtaken, has me puffing my chest that the Proteas are the moral winners

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

This #ENGvIND series has intruded my summer. Its mostly bored me, more so even than the Ashes. Supporting the global bully as a moral underdog against the nation that taxes me, yet was home to my greatest moment as a Protea fan just weeks ago, has been tiring to say the least. 🧵

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

The media simps to Ben Stokes' limps, while Ravi Jadeja outperforms (and out-shit houses) him quietly. Unshaken, unstirred. I never appreciated Kallis as much as I could and should have, I'm sorry.

There's no debate.

The missing handshakes imo were for Joe Roots innings 🤝💯

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

A few thoughts and a breakdown of Faith Kipyegon's sub-4 minute mile attempt. Let's dive deep.

Why'd she fall short?

8 seconds was too much. All the big boosts (shoe tech, bicarb, etc.) had already been used. So the largest boost she'd get would be pacing/drafting.

In her official WR, she had pacing to just past halfway. In this event, she'd get it the entire way around. That would give her ~2 seconds.

The Nike folks were hoping optimizing pacing with 11 pacers would do more... But it's just not what we've seen in the real world, as I outlined in my pre-race breakdown.

In my pre-race breakdown, I basically called it on the nose, that she'd go for it and fade. I thought 4:05 mid, and she faded a touch more than I guessed. But any seasoned coach would have guessed about the same.

The mile is a tricky beast to master.

The race itself:

You could tell by 400m she wasn't going to get close to sub 4. Why? She was 60.2 at 400m.

I texted my group chat and said "too slow" and that she wasn't coming close, because it told me...she was pressing to ride that line. And sub 60s was not where that line was going to be.

Her splits (roughly from youtube video)

400- 60.2
800- 2:00.7
1200- 3:01.9
Mile- 4:06.4

You could start to see her straining on the 3rd lap to try to stay close...Which is HARD to do. The 3rd lap is the worst. You are far enough out where it's starting to hurt a lot, but not close enough to the finish where you can taste it. So it took a lot of effort to push hard that 3rd lap.

And that's partially why you saw the bear jump on her back the last 200 meters. Once that bear gets you, you are attempting a controlled deceleration. Every step you're fighting not to lose more speed/power. And ironically you have to relax and not tense up to do so. It's a hard place to be.

That's the mile. It's riding a very tight line of what you can just barely handle and stay smooth at, while not accumulating so much fatigue, and dipping into your reserves so that your body has nothing to give in the last 400-200m.

If she even split it and went 61.x every lap, she probably could have run 4:04 high- 4:05 mid today.

Which I think tells us good pacing/drafting gives her 2 seconds. Which lines up with everything we know.

What will it take for a female to go sub 4?

The problem for Kipyegon is that the gap between her 800 and mile just isn't large enough. While she doesn't run many 800s, her best is probably 1:54 high/1:55 low.

Even the most endurance based men who go sub 4 are at least 1:53 low. And that is very rare. 1:52 is generally the requirement, and the faster you are the more cushion.

The slower your 800, the better your endurance. But that only compensates to a point.

The women's 800m WR is 1:53 by someone who was almost certainly doped to the freaking gills.

That means we need to somehow have some improvements that get the women's 800 to be faster...with someone who also has world class endurance.

So your 400/800 types like an Athing Mu won't do.

That's the challenge. It'll eventually get there. But the women's 800 hasn't seen a legit attack on a world record, even with some phenomenol young athletes with supershoes and bicarbonate.

That's the hurdle.

So what?
Kudos to Kipyegon for going for it. That's hard...

It's an impressive feat to see someone just lay it on the line.

What we learned is that we're still a ways off. And we likely need some more training progress and a new breakthrough (shoe tech, bicarb or nutrition advancement, etc.) to get there.

Pacing/Drafting helps. But it's on the level we've seen in normal races (a few seconds), not the magnitude that was hoped for or hypothesized before.

It's interesting that Nike couldn't come up with a further jump in breakthrough shoe tech or optimized it individually to Kipyegon. I think part of the reason is we know some people respond better to the new super shoes...but we have no idea why. Researchers haven't tied it to any biomechanical marker.

The clothing junk was marketing nonsense.

And if I'm honest, the broadcast was cringe. More infomercial than serious breakdown of an attempt. Would have loved more depth and analysis versus the fluff we got. I understand why: It's one big Nike commercial. They need the return. But the gravitas of an effort like this from Kipyegon deserves serious coverage.

Women will eventually get there. That's the nature of sport. It gets better.

I do hope though that we see the first women get under 4 in a normal competition. So that there are no what ifs, caveats, or asterisks. It's just the barrier breaker being immortalized like Bannister.

There you go. Kudos to Kipyegon on the effort.

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

Two legends discussing the WTC Champions 2025 🏆 current and future hall of famer 😍🔥 epic to see @gradecricketer in the flesh too 👌🏼

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

The moment it happened - well done @ProteasMenCSA so proud!! Pandemonium at Lords 🔥

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

Never in doubt! 🥹🔥🏏🏆🇿🇦 #ProteaFire #WTC2O25Final

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

Bedingham needs to rekindle his old county form, otherwise the prudent option of de Zorzi at 3, Mulder at 6/7 might look better in hindsight.

Patterson for reliability. Ngidi and Bosch arguably have higher upside, but Aussie targets. KG & Jansen are the strike bowlers anyway.

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

Predicted lineup for @ProteasMenCSA #WTCFinal
1. Markram
2. Rickleton
3. Mulder
4. Bavuma
5. Stubbs
6. Bedingham
7. Verreyne
8. Jansen
9. Rabada
10. Maharaj
11. Patterson

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

@bourgelouss @DeadlineDayLive + Doue 50 = 230

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

All this talk over Hendrikse when the ref missed two scrum penalty tries, a knock on advantage kicked away, let alone not sending a munster front rower to the bin. Should never have gone to pens. #SHAvMUN

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

@djbhashkar @Werries_ Look out for this banner at the WTC Final

[Matthew Fisher @mulletfish]

Yellows yellows yellows 💛 very diligent performance by the U's vs Sheffield United. Deserved goal in the first half after being in top. Held off well in the second. #oxfshu