The Official Athletics Thread

Has there ever been any other athlete whose career peaks were their late teens and their late thirties?
This guy has been incredibly consistent over the last 10 year at this distance. His time improvements have not been dramatic. Obviously the shoes came along in the middle and approx 95% of distance runners and coaches agree that they've helped bring down times. Otherwise his profile is fantastically consistent.
 
It's looking like he was trying for a sub 2 legit.

Pacers were assigned 2.01.40. They went through 5k in 14.14. So 2.00.06

His first half was 59:51 came back in 1.01.18.

With even pacing he's surely at 2.00.30 or so.
 
It's looking like he was trying for a sub 2 legit.

Pacers were assigned 2.01.40. They went through 5k in 14.14. So 2.00.06

His first half was 59:51 came back in 1.01.18.

With even pacing he's surely at 2.00.30 or so.
Agree he was gunning for sub-2. However, I'm not sure he'd get that even pacing you're talking about GuapoY - the pacers for the 15-20 miles slot would be shagged by the time their turn came. 4:36 miling (2:52.5/km) all the way would kill them.

For now, this kind of extreme stuff will always require a solo run from a long way out!
 
This guy has been incredibly consistent over the last 10 year at this distance. His time improvements have not been dramatic. Obviously the shoes came along in the middle and approx 95% of distance runners and coaches agree that they've helped bring down times. Otherwise his profile is fantastically consistent.

He went way back after the ABP was introduced to the point of failing to qualify for the Kenyan team so he decides to switch to roads.

His times speak of a guy so juiced that it's not even funny.
 
He went way back after the ABP was introduced to the point of failing to qualify for the Kenyan team so he decides to switch to roads.

His times speak of a guy so juiced that it's not even funny.
What Kenyan teams didn't he make? Genuine question. As far as i remember he's been on every world champs and olympics since 2003.

Yes, Kenya was the wild west for doping till about 2016. The Robertson twins were fairly vocal on that at a local sub elite level. The kenyan federation were threatened with expulsion prior to Rio and the like.

He's probably too big to fail a drugs test at this point, and he's very likely a couple of years older than he says he is.

But sustained excellence doesn't necessarily mean doping.

Just the same as 'never failed a drugs test' doesn't mean clean
 
What Kenyan teams didn't he make? Genuine question. As far as i remember he's been on every world champs and olympics since 2003.

Yes, Kenya was the wild west for doping till about 2016. The Robertson twins were fairly vocal on that at a local sub elite level. The kenyan federation were threatened with expulsion prior to Rio and the like.

He's probably too big to fail a drugs test at this point, and he's very likely a couple of years older than he says he is.

But sustained excellence doesn't necessarily mean doping.

Just the same as 'never failed a drugs test' doesn't mean clean


2012.

Between 2005 and 2008 with the advent of EPO testing, he wins a couple of major silver medals behind Lagat and Bekele respectively.
His times do go backwards, but not spectacularly so.

Come 2008 in what should be his peak years ( ABP introduced in 2009) he has a marked decline. Comes 7th in the 11 WC , fails to qualify for the Kenyan team in 2012 and switches to roads.


Now we're talking like 6 years now of marathoning at a level never seen before! Taking a minute off the World Record and shaving another 38 seconds at the weekend, at 37? Nah , for me anyways theres no way in hell he isn't juicing.

As you said yourself the Kenyans were basically a hit parade of failed doping tests for about 5 or 6 years, I don't find it plausible that he's clean.
 
Fair enough. Bernard Lagat is 47 and has recounted racing Kipchoge while at school.

I dont really have an argument on your opinion. Except again to say that high performance does not necessarily mean doping.

He ran his first half in 2012 about a month after london so maybe he has already switched from a 5k programme to marathon and missed his kick

The difference between 1st and 10th in a 5k is about 5 seconds or 10 seconds in a 13:00 race or less than 1%. At that stage you're not even in shot on the telly.

The financial imperative for a road career over the track for a kenyan shouldn't be underestimated either.

Whether he is or he isn't doping nobody knows for sure. High performance isn't enough for me anyway to say one way or another.

(Although if he's actually 47 I'm calling bullshit alright)
 
EVENT GUIDE - HIGHLIGHT
Tom (The Bear) O Mahony Plus Guests
City Limits, Coburg St.

13th Apr 2024 @ 8:00 pm
More info..

Throwback Thursdays - Spring Break Party

Cyprus Avenue, Today @ 11pm

More events ▼
Top