IAAF Track Works: Bolt-Gatlin-Farah-Thompson-Felix-Van Niekerk

Triathlon Forum
1

This IAAF World’s in London is supposed to be Bolt’s retirement party! The start list is up posted by season’s best that you can get from the IAAF page: https://www.iaaf.org/...reviews-2017-world-c

Just posting on some of my favourite events/atheltes that I am looking forward to:

100m F: Elaine Thompson should be the queen. Will Daphne Schippers (NL) be best of the rest?

100m: 21 year old Christian Coleman has run the season’s best with a 9.82. Andre de Grasse, a year older pushed Bolt “a bit” last year at Rio. The young guys are coming on strong. I still want Bolt to go out with this win. Let’s see. Gatlin on deck to push all these guys.

200m: Interesting that the fastest 200m times this year have been posted out of the continent of Africa: Van Niekerk 19.84 and Maklawa (from Botswana) 19.79. I am hoping our local boy Andre de Grasse can push these guys and Bolt for a medal

400m F: Is there a more technically beautiful runner than Allyson Felix. This seems like her race to lose

400m: I’m going for Van Niekerk all the way. Love this guy’s running form. Makwala from Botswana posted a 43.70 this year. These Afrcians are fast

4x100: Season fastest times don’t mean a ton since you never have the fast guys running together for their national team for the big meets. This should be the domain of a massive USA vs Jamaica smackdown…Great Britian and Canada have the two fastest times this year. Women’s competition should be a Jamaica vs USA. I love the relays (more so the 4x100, but 4x400m is awesome…look out for Botswana men in the 4x400 to post a sub 3 min time).

Jumping up to the 5000m, the Ethopians Edris and Barega posted 12:55 times this year. Will they take it out in a drag race and try to wear down Mo Farah, or let his sit in for a sprint and give him the win at home? Of course the problem with this plan is that Mo’s 5000m PB is 12:53…so he’s going to sit in on all you idiots and still try to outkick you. In the 10000m Mo has run the 3rd fastest time this season. Rupp is on deck in this event. From Canada, we have Mohammad Ahmad who has been close to the front with all these guys…let’s see what he can do in the 5k/10K double

OK, let’s get the banter going since the Tour and Wimbledon are over the Vuelta has not started, US Open is still on the horizon, there is no Euro or FIFA World Cup this summer, Swimming worlds are done today, gotta wait for doped out NFL and Euro Pro Football till Sep and otherwise I am stuck with Nascar and Baseball…well on a plus note Tim Raines hits Cooperstown today…GO ROCK!!!

2

I am really excited. I was watching pretty much every Diamond League meet in the past two years, checking letsrun daily etc. Swim worlds were beautiful, but watching sport is even greater when you know the protagonists.

As a slowtwitch fibre guy I have an aptitude for the endurance events. But I am also more and more interested in the sprint and field action.

While it is always a blast to see Farahs last lap, I am not sure if he can come through one more time. I mean in 8 times out of ten he will still do it. But still chances are intact for the africans. But it needs a gutsy race.
I hope one of the Robertson twins out of New Zealand can place high. They are cool guys with a crazy story.

Bolt, the showman, retires and the next big star could emerge at the exactly right time. Van Niekerk is a stud and a bit more calm than Bolt. I like him.

What can Jager do in the steeple. Monaco showed that he is a contender even for gold and end an incredible Kenyan streak. But everything needs to go according to plan. I like Jager too, but I am not sure what I should think of the latest fancy bear documenta. However, he did a gold Podcast with letsrun afterwards.

Will we see a crazy battle for the high jump victory? Talent is so high in this discipline at the moment that I think it’s only a matter of time until the world record falls.

And always interesting are the different body shapes of the athletes. From the tiny african runners and skinny high jumpers to the bully sprinters and big throwers. But sometimes you get to see even major differences in the same event.

3

I am really excited. I was watching pretty much every Diamond League meet in the past two years, checking letsrun daily etc. Swim worlds were beautiful, but watching sport is even greater when you know the protagonists.

As a slowtwitch fibre guy I have an aptitude for the endurance events. But I am also more and more interested in the sprint and field action.

While it is always a blast to see Farahs last lap, I am not sure if he can come through one more time. I mean in 8 times out of ten he will still do it. But still chances are intact for the africans. But it needs a gutsy race.
I hope one of the Robertson twins out of New Zealand can place high. They are cool guys with a crazy story.

Bolt, the showman, retires and the next big star could emerge at the exactly right time. Van Niekerk is a stud and a bit more calm than Bolt. I like him.

What can Jager do in the steeple. Monaco showed that he is a contender even for gold and end an incredible Kenyan streak. But everything needs to go according to plan. I like Jager too, but I am not sure what I should think of the latest fancy bear documenta. However, he did a gold Podcast with letsrun afterwards.

Will we see a crazy battle for the high jump victory? Talent is so high in this discipline at the moment that I think it’s only a matter of time until the world record falls.

And always interesting are the different body shapes of the athletes. From the tiny african runners and skinny high jumpers to the bully sprinters and big throwers. But sometimes you get to see even major differences in the same event.

On the body type front, the most interesting I find is actually in the 100m. You have skinny kids like deGrasse from Canada who look like they would not make their local highschool football team in ANY position and would be the geek in the corner sipping on a coke at the party, against guys like Gatlin who look like they can play running back in the NFL.

I also find the high jump and pole vault to be very interesting events for watching. Just the suspense especially in the pole vault.

OK, we have to fill the “gap” before Aru-Froome-Contador keep us entertained in the Vuelta. Track World’s takes me back to my roots, with the 1983 IAAF World’s in Helsinki. There was a young Carl Lewis warming up for the LA Olympics, and you had the team Great Britain 1500m smackdown with the likes of Coe and Ovett. Here is a video from the LA Olympics Finals. Between the three of them they had the 1500m world record holder, the 1980 Olympic World Champion and the 1983 Helsinki World’s champion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddrxCe3ZOOM

What is crazy is Mo Farah’s pb is 3:28 in the 1500m now!

4

This IAAF World’s in London is supposed to be Bolt’s retirement party! The start list is up posted by season’s best that you can get from the IAAF page: https://www.iaaf.org/...reviews-2017-world-c

Just posting on some of my favourite events/atheltes that I am looking forward to:

100m F: Elaine Thompson should be the queen. Will Daphne Schippers (NL) be best of the rest?

100m: 21 year old Christian Coleman has run the season’s best with a 9.82. Andre de Grasse, a year older pushed Bolt “a bit” last year at Rio. The young guys are coming on strong. I still want Bolt to go out with this win. Let’s see. Gatlin on deck to push all these guys.

200m: Interesting that the fastest 200m times this year have been posted out of the continent of Africa: Van Niekerk 19.84 and Maklawa (from Botswana) 19.79. I am hoping our local boy Andre de Grasse can push these guys and Bolt for a medal

400m F: Is there a more technically beautiful runner than Allyson Felix. This seems like her race to lose

400m: I’m going for Van Niekerk all the way. Love this guy’s running form. Makwala from Botswana posted a 43.70 this year. These Afrcians are fast

4x100: Season fastest times don’t mean a ton since you never have the fast guys running together for their national team for the big meets. This should be the domain of a massive USA vs Jamaica smackdown…Great Britian and Canada have the two fastest times this year. Women’s competition should be a Jamaica vs USA. I love the relays (more so the 4x100, but 4x400m is awesome…look out for Botswana men in the 4x400 to post a sub 3 min time).

Jumping up to the 5000m, the Ethopians Edris and Barega posted 12:55 times this year. Will they take it out in a drag race and try to wear down Mo Farah, or let his sit in for a sprint and give him the win at home? Of course the problem with this plan is that Mo’s 5000m PB is 12:53…so he’s going to sit in on all you idiots and still try to outkick you. In the 10000m Mo has run the 3rd fastest time this season. Rupp is on deck in this event. From Canada, we have Mohammad Ahmad who has been close to the front with all these guys…let’s see what he can do in the 5k/10K double

OK, let’s get the banter going since the Tour and Wimbledon are over the Vuelta has not started, US Open is still on the horizon, there is no Euro or FIFA World Cup this summer, Swimming worlds are done today, gotta wait for doped out NFL and Euro Pro Football till Sep and otherwise I am stuck with Nascar and Baseball…well on a plus note Tim Raines hits Cooperstown today…GO ROCK!!!
I think Bolt will win the 100, he always seems to peak at the right time. Don’t think he’s running the 200 though. Kwemoi will crush the 1500
Don’t think Rupp has a spot, hes only an alternate after his very disappointing performance during US 10k nationals, seems he’s having a tough time after moving to marathon. Believe SloMo will win the 10000 in a slow race as usual. Bekele dropped out of the marathon claiming he’s unfit, hopefully that means he will run Berlin instead and we will get an epic battle with Kipchoge and Kipsang.

5

Can’t wait for this to start!

Love watching athletics. I have followed Diamond league the past few seasons too. I believe i read bolt will NOT run the 200m (no idea why?). Other than that, i love the high vault competition. I think it started 3 years ago when Barshim and Bondarenko kept comming to each Diamond league race and aaaalmost beat the world record, damn it was so close on so many occasions, maybe it is finally time?
Marathon is also just fun because you just sit there thinking, how is it humanly possible to run this fast?!

6

Mo is so hard to beat because of his versatility. As mentioned above his 1500m is crazy fast and of course he can close the last 300-400m insanely. But he also has quite quick personal bests so you can’t expect to drop him easily. But a fast race would make it harder for him.

Jeez, I consider myself a decent runner with about 33ish 10k. But to watch track is quite frustrating. These guys jog around in 30s for 200m and I think, man, I would need to push all out to just keep up. Amazing.

7

Mo is so hard to beat because of his versatility. As mentioned above his 1500m is crazy fast and of course he can close the last 300-400m insanely. But he also has quite quick personal bests so you can’t expect to drop him easily. But a fast race would make it harder for him.

Jeez, I consider myself a decent runner with about 33ish 10k. But to watch track is quite frustrating. These guys jog around in 30s for 200m and I think, man, I would need to push all out to just keep up. Amazing.

From what I recall reading, Mo and Galen Rupp can do ~ 49 seconds per 100m. At the London Olympics Mo closed the last mile of the 5000m with a sub 4 and the last lap was 53 seconds. I remember watching it and thinking, “they’ve come a long way from Bannister when they beat Bannister inside a 5000m Olympic race with no pacers”.

8

Mo is so hard to beat because of his versatility. As mentioned above his 1500m is crazy fast and of course he can close the last 300-400m insanely. But he also has quite quick personal bests so you can’t expect to drop him easily. But a fast race would make it harder for him.

Jeez, I consider myself a decent runner with about 33ish 10k. But to watch track is quite frustrating. These guys jog around in 30s for 200m and I think, man, I would need to push all out to just keep up. Amazing.

From what I recall reading, Mo and Galen Rupp can do ~ 49 seconds per 100m. At the London Olympics Mo closed the last mile of the 5000m with a sub 4 and the last lap was 53 seconds. I remember watching it and thinking, “they’ve come a long way from Bannister when they beat Bannister inside a 5000m Olympic race with no pacers”.

Yeah absolutely. And it showes that track (and even Marathon) runners are far from slowtwitch only. They really need some fast firing fibres in their muscles too.

And we can relate to the times because we know what it takes to run a 50s 400. Let alone at the end of a race. But I guess for the average Joe it just looks like brisk running. Especially the africans float so beautifully that it almost looks like jogging in the early stages of race.

9

The guy that in my opinion could be very dangerous for Farah in the 5k is actually only running the 1500m (whom you rightfully said will crush it).

Ronald Kwemoi has a similar 1500m PB to Farah (3:28) but his time is more up to date. He is still very young but on fire. The 5000m pb is around 13:15 but I think he could go way faster as he has strong endurance. And in a sit and kick race he could give Farah a run for his money. But sadly we will never see that duel.

Btw I don’t want to see Farah lose. But I want to see a tight race.

10

The guy that in my opinion could be very dangerous for Farah in the 5k is actually only running the 1500m (whom you rightfully said will crush it).

Ronald Kwemoi has a similar 1500m PB to Farah (3:28) but his time is more up to date. He is still very young but on fire. The 5000m pb is around 13:15 but I think he could go way faster as he has strong endurance. And in a sit and kick race he could give Farah a run for his money. But sadly we will never see that duel.

Btw I don’t want to see Farah lose. But I want to see a tight race.
I agree, Kwemoi’s best distance might turn out to be the 5000m so too bad he isn’t running, he has a crazy kick and is one of the few who can outkick Mo. I do think Kwemoi has a chance for a wr in the 1500 soon, but would likely have to be a set up attempt.

11

I’m so gutted that David Rudisha is out with injurie. He was not up to full gears this season but I was hoping to see hin just show up at worlds and light maybe his last big firework.
What a race that was five years ago when he run WR in an olympic final with no rabbits and alone from the front. I still watch it on youtube from time to time.

So it’s the chance for the next stars. Can US based phenom Korir run to glory like his coach did? Or is it Amos to step up his game?

Btw. Kenyan Atheltics ridiculously screwed it with athletes selection. They can select four and Rudisha as reigning champ was (not so) obviously set. But then they did not just take the three fastest guys from the trials and handed out another wildcard. And at the end they failed to name a spare athlete. So now with Rudisha out there will only be three Kenyans in the race.

12

Ok so I just get this facebook message from one of my classmates from High School living in London saying he has an extra ticket for me for Bolt’s 100m retirement race on Sunday. The problem is that I am going on a short family vacation leaving on Sunday. I think my wife would kill me if I blow off the family vacation and get on an airplane to London tomorrow from Canada to make in time for Bolt’s retirement race on Sunday…why does life always work out this way!!!

13

I am hoping the distance events are fast from the beginning. I hate it when it is lake a basketball game determined in the last 400m If you know a guy like Mo is going to beat you if you all go slow why not go down fighting. Thats what Steve would do.

14

I am hoping the distance events are fast from the beginning. I hate it when it is lake a basketball game determined in the last 400m If you know a guy like Mo is going to beat you if you all go slow why not go down fighting. Thats what Steve would do.

I think the problem with fast from the beginning is everyone knows that the pace is not physiologically sustainable, so they sit back at the known sustainable place knowing everyone will come back. Let’s do the math. 5000m world record is 12:53. 60 second laps is 12:30. Anyone going out at faster than 62 seconds WILL blow up. It’s like Contador taking it out at record climbing place on Croix de Fer. They know he will move back on Telegraphe and Galibier. So the question is “how fast can they take it out”. I believe the answer is “no faster than 62”. The problem is that Mo will sit back and run 63-64 seconds knowing that only a few guys can sustain 62 and then use the other idiots to close the gap on them and then be in position to outkick!

15

This is it.

And noone wants to sacrifice himself for the group to beat Mo. Better fight for second than blow up at the end. Champuonship races are without rabbits, so the one who goes out and sets a hard pace will eventually get dropped by those sitting on the heels.
Kenyans could apply a team tactic like that or they could take turns attacking.
But again, who is going to sacrifice his race. And I think it would be similar like in the Tour. Podium contenders watch each other and close down every gap and Farah sits behind, laughing.

But yes, the only way to beat him would be to go out in suicidal pace. In Prefontaine style.

Btw. Above I wrote about Kwemoi being on fire. In Monaco he obviously had problems with his legs and had to be supported. Now I found out that he lost a week of trainig thereafter.
When he still feels the injurie that would be bad. But when he is fine now, that little break could be a blessing in disguise for the 1500m final. I think he trained bloody hard all seoson so a bit of rest could actually be good.

16

I am hoping the distance events are fast from the beginning. I hate it when it is lake a basketball game determined in the last 400m If you know a guy like Mo is going to beat you if you all go slow why not go down fighting. Thats what Steve would do.

I think the problem with fast from the beginning is everyone knows that the pace is not physiologically sustainable, so they sit back at the known sustainable place knowing everyone will come back. Let’s do the math. 5000m world record is 12:53. 60 second laps is 12:30. Anyone going out at faster than 62 seconds WILL blow up. It’s like Contador taking it out at record climbing place on Croix de Fer. They know he will move back on Telegraphe and Galibier. So the question is “how fast can they take it out”. I believe the answer is “no faster than 62”. The problem is that Mo will sit back and run 63-64 seconds knowing that only a few guys can sustain 62 and then use the other idiots to close the gap on them and then be in position to outkick!
But the world record is 12:37, so 60,5s laps. Would love to see the group go out hard, but I think there is a big chance they barely break 13. Mo has said thoug that we should expect something special in the 10000m so hopefully a fast time there.

17

I don’t know why I was thinking 12:53, but I think it is because this year’s season’s best was in that range…so revise numbers by 1 to 1.5 second per lap and we have the correct numbers.

Here are your top 50 all time. No one has broken 12:51 since 2013. Not sure if the runners got slower or all those fast times were before blood passport/ more stringent testing. We still have some top 50 times standing from the early 80’s too:

http://www.alltime-athletics.com/m_5000ok.htm

All-time men’s best 5000m

    1      12:37.35   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Hengelo                     31.05.2004         2      12:39.36   Haile Gebrselassie             ETH     18.04.73    1      Helsinki                    13.06.1998         3      12:39.74   Daniel Komen                   KEN     17.05.76    1      Bruxelles                   22.08.1997         4      12:40.18   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Saint-Denis                 01.07.2005         5      12:41.86   Haile Gebrselassie             ETH     18.04.73    1      Zürich                      13.08.1997         6      12:44.39   Haile Gebrselassie             ETH     18.04.73    1      Zürich                      16.08.1995         7      12:44.90   Daniel Komen                   KEN     17.05.76    2      Zürich                      13.08.1997         8      12:45.09   Daniel Komen                   KEN     17.05.76    1      Zürich                      14.08.1996         9      12:46.53   Eliud Kipchoge                 KEN     05.11.84    1      Roma                        02.07.2004         10     12:46.81   Dejen Gebremeskel              ETH     24.11.89    1      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         11     12:47.04   Sileshi Sihine                 ETH     29.01.83    2      Roma                        02.07.2004         12     12:47.53   Hagos Gebrhiwet                ETH     11.05.94    2      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         13     12:48.09   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Bruxelles                   25.08.2006         14     12:48.25   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Zürich                      18.08.2006         15     12:48.64   Isiah Koech                    KEN     19.12.93    3      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         16     12:48.66   Issac Songok                   KEN     25.04.84    2      Zürich                      18.08.2006         17     12:48.77   Yenew Alamirew                 ETH     27.05.90    4      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         18     12:48.81   Stephen Cherono                KEN     15.10.82    1      Ostrava                     12.06.2003         19     12:48.98   Daniel Komen                   KEN     17.05.76    1      Roma                        05.06.1997         20     12:49.04   Thomas Longosiwa               KEN     14.01.82    5      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         21     12:49.28   Brahim Lahlafi                 MAR     15.04.68    1      Bruxelles                   25.08.2000         22     12:49.50   John Kipkoech                  KEN     29.12.91    6      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         23     12:49.53   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Zaragoza                    28.07.2007         24     12:49.64   Haile Gebrselassie             ETH     18.04.73    1      Zürich                      11.08.1999         25     12:49.71   Mohammed Mourhit               BEL     10.10.70    2      Bruxelles                   25.08.2000         26     12:49.87   Paul Tergat                    KEN     17.06.69    3      Zürich                      13.08.1997         27     12:50.16   Sileshi Sihine                 ETH     29.01.83    1      Bruxelles                   14.09.2007         28     12:50.18   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Zürich                      29.08.2008         29     12:50.22   Eliud Kipchoge                 KEN     05.11.84    1      Bruxelles                   26.08.2005         30     12:50.24   Hicham El Guerrouj             MAR     14.09.74    2      Ostrava                     12.06.2003         31     12:50.25   Abderrahim Goumri              MAR     21.05.76    2      Bruxelles                   26.08.2005         32     12:50.38   Eliud Kipchoge                 KEN     05.11.84    2      Bruxelles                   14.09.2007         33     12:50.55   Moses Masai                    KEN     01.06.86    1      Berlin                      01.06.2008         34     12:50.72   Moses Kipsiro                  UGA     02.09.86    3      Bruxelles                   14.09.2007         35     12:50.80   Salah Hissou                   MAR     16.01.72    1      Roma                        05.06.1996         36     12:50.86   Ali Saïdi-Sief                 ALG     15.03.78    1      Roma                        30.06.2000         37     12:51.00   Joseph Ebuya                   KEN     20.06.87    4      Bruxelles                   14.09.2007         38     12:51.21   Eliud Kipchoge                 KEN     05.11.84    1      Ad-Dawhah                   14.05.2010         39     12:51.32   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Saint-Denis                 08.07.2006         40     12:51.34   Edwin Cheruiyot Soi            KEN     03.03.86    1      Monaco                      19.07.2013         41     12:51.44   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Roma                        14.07.2006         42     12:51.45   Vincent Chepkok                KEN     05.07.88    2      Ad-Dawhah                   14.05.2010         43     12:51.60   Daniel Komen                   KEN     17.05.76    1      Stockholm                   08.07.1996         44     12:51.95   Thomas Longosiwa               KEN     14.01.82    5      Bruxelles                   14.09.2007         45     12:51.96   Albert Rop                     BRN     17.07.92    2      Monaco                      19.07.2013         46     12:51.98   Saif Saeed Shaheen             QAT     15.10.82    2      Roma                        14.07.2006         47     12:52.26   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Oslo                        27.06.2003         48     12:52.29   Issac Songok                   KEN     25.04.84    1      Roma                        08.07.2005         49     12:52.32   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Zürich                      28.08.2009         50     12:52.33   Sammy Kipketer                 KEN     29.09.81    2      Oslo                        27.06.2003
18

I don’t know why I was thinking 12:53, but I think it is because this year’s season’s best was in that range…so revise numbers by 1 to 1.5 second per lap and we have the correct numbers.

Here are your top 50 all time. No one has broken 12:51 since 2013. Not sure if the runners got slower or all those fast times were before blood passport/ more stringent testing. We still have some top 50 times standing from the early 80’s too:

http://www.alltime-athletics.com/m_5000ok.htm

All-time men’s best 5000m

    1      12:37.35   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Hengelo                     31.05.2004         2      12:39.36   Haile Gebrselassie             ETH     18.04.73    1      Helsinki                    13.06.1998         3      12:39.74   Daniel Komen                   KEN     17.05.76    1      Bruxelles                   22.08.1997         4      12:40.18   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Saint-Denis                 01.07.2005         5      12:41.86   Haile Gebrselassie             ETH     18.04.73    1      Zürich                      13.08.1997         6      12:44.39   Haile Gebrselassie             ETH     18.04.73    1      Zürich                      16.08.1995         7      12:44.90   Daniel Komen                   KEN     17.05.76    2      Zürich                      13.08.1997         8      12:45.09   Daniel Komen                   KEN     17.05.76    1      Zürich                      14.08.1996         9      12:46.53   Eliud Kipchoge                 KEN     05.11.84    1      Roma                        02.07.2004         10     12:46.81   Dejen Gebremeskel              ETH     24.11.89    1      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         11     12:47.04   Sileshi Sihine                 ETH     29.01.83    2      Roma                        02.07.2004         12     12:47.53   Hagos Gebrhiwet                ETH     11.05.94    2      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         13     12:48.09   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Bruxelles                   25.08.2006         14     12:48.25   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Zürich                      18.08.2006         15     12:48.64   Isiah Koech                    KEN     19.12.93    3      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         16     12:48.66   Issac Songok                   KEN     25.04.84    2      Zürich                      18.08.2006         17     12:48.77   Yenew Alamirew                 ETH     27.05.90    4      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         18     12:48.81   Stephen Cherono                KEN     15.10.82    1      Ostrava                     12.06.2003         19     12:48.98   Daniel Komen                   KEN     17.05.76    1      Roma                        05.06.1997         20     12:49.04   Thomas Longosiwa               KEN     14.01.82    5      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         21     12:49.28   Brahim Lahlafi                 MAR     15.04.68    1      Bruxelles                   25.08.2000         22     12:49.50   John Kipkoech                  KEN     29.12.91    6      Saint-Denis                 06.07.2012         23     12:49.53   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Zaragoza                    28.07.2007         24     12:49.64   Haile Gebrselassie             ETH     18.04.73    1      Zürich                      11.08.1999         25     12:49.71   Mohammed Mourhit               BEL     10.10.70    2      Bruxelles                   25.08.2000         26     12:49.87   Paul Tergat                    KEN     17.06.69    3      Zürich                      13.08.1997         27     12:50.16   Sileshi Sihine                 ETH     29.01.83    1      Bruxelles                   14.09.2007         28     12:50.18   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Zürich                      29.08.2008         29     12:50.22   Eliud Kipchoge                 KEN     05.11.84    1      Bruxelles                   26.08.2005         30     12:50.24   Hicham El Guerrouj             MAR     14.09.74    2      Ostrava                     12.06.2003         31     12:50.25   Abderrahim Goumri              MAR     21.05.76    2      Bruxelles                   26.08.2005         32     12:50.38   Eliud Kipchoge                 KEN     05.11.84    2      Bruxelles                   14.09.2007         33     12:50.55   Moses Masai                    KEN     01.06.86    1      Berlin                      01.06.2008         34     12:50.72   Moses Kipsiro                  UGA     02.09.86    3      Bruxelles                   14.09.2007         35     12:50.80   Salah Hissou                   MAR     16.01.72    1      Roma                        05.06.1996         36     12:50.86   Ali Saïdi-Sief                 ALG     15.03.78    1      Roma                        30.06.2000         37     12:51.00   Joseph Ebuya                   KEN     20.06.87    4      Bruxelles                   14.09.2007         38     12:51.21   Eliud Kipchoge                 KEN     05.11.84    1      Ad-Dawhah                   14.05.2010         39     12:51.32   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Saint-Denis                 08.07.2006         40     12:51.34   Edwin Cheruiyot Soi            KEN     03.03.86    1      Monaco                      19.07.2013         41     12:51.44   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Roma                        14.07.2006         42     12:51.45   Vincent Chepkok                KEN     05.07.88    2      Ad-Dawhah                   14.05.2010         43     12:51.60   Daniel Komen                   KEN     17.05.76    1      Stockholm                   08.07.1996         44     12:51.95   Thomas Longosiwa               KEN     14.01.82    5      Bruxelles                   14.09.2007         45     12:51.96   Albert Rop                     BRN     17.07.92    2      Monaco                      19.07.2013         46     12:51.98   Saif Saeed Shaheen             QAT     15.10.82    2      Roma                        14.07.2006         47     12:52.26   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Oslo                        27.06.2003         48     12:52.29   Issac Songok                   KEN     25.04.84    1      Roma                        08.07.2005         49     12:52.32   Kenenisa Bekele                ETH     13.06.82    1      Zürich                      28.08.2009         50     12:52.33   Sammy Kipketer                 KEN     29.09.81    2      Oslo                        27.06.2003

I don’t think the slower times has anything to do with doping or passports, simply that the racers have become smarter. Maybe there was a time where mo could challenge the wr, but now he would be nowhere close. So then his best option is to “just” win. I mean look at the 800m in rio, just ridiculous! The same reason the Olympic record for the 5000 is 20 seconds slower than wr, no one has the balls to go after it and risk the race! Besides Monaco there are almost never any fast times. I do think that kwemoi can go close to the wr, although he still isn’t as fun of a racer to watch as bekele.
Now, Berlin, if Bekele shows up will be a real fight! Can imagine Bekele, Kipchoge and Mutai’s hitting low 14’s for 25-30k.

19

All I see is KEN ETH KEN ETH KEN ETC. Surely there is enough of those guys to get together a share the load strategy. I guess if that made sense they would already be doing it. I guess I can go to the bathroom for the first 10 min or make a snack. If they even televise that part. I won’t miss Daphne though!

20

SloMo strikes again! Though he undoubtedly had to work for it today. Too few surges to break him though. Fast last K and a good time! Think he will have an even tougher time in the 5000, but it is incredible that he still has that amazing 1500 speed.