Wanjiru Vs. Gebrselassie: The Week That Was In Running - September 27 - October 3, 2010
To read last week's LRC Week That Was, click Here.
To read any 2010 LRC Week That Was, click Here.
By LetsRun.com
October 14, 2010
Better late than never. Below is our weekly recap of the Week That Was in running. We quickly say a few words about the 2010 Chicago Marathon and Commonwealth Games.
2010 Bank Of America Chicago Marathon - Wanjiru And Shobukhova Prove They Are The Best In The World
The 2010 edition of the B of A Chicago Marathon was last week and the men's and women's race produced the same results albeit in totally different fashions. In our minds, the winners of both races - Sammy Wanjiru and Lililya Shobukhova - proved they are the best in the world at the 26.2 distance. Wanjiru did so in amazing fashion, as the race resulted in some of the greatest drama ever seen at the 26.2 mile distance as Wanjiru and 2010 London champ Tsegaye Kebede duked it out one on one over the final miles for the Chicago titles and the $500,000 world marathon majors first prize. The race was an instant classic. Don't believe us? Please watch the final mile and you will. Toni Reavis' excitement on the NBCChicago.com broadcast is almost as epic as the race.
Some might argue that Wanjiru isn't the best marathoner in the world that world record holder Haile Gebrselassie is but we disagree. We've decided to let you be the judge as we've created a side-by-side chart listing the two's marathons since Wanjiru moved to the distance in 2007. Both have had incredible success but an Olympic title and record as well as course records in London and Chicago trump Geb's two world records in glorified time trials. Moreover, in our minds, age is finally starting to catch up to Geb. His winning times in Dubai the last three years are as follows:
2:04:53
2:05:29
2:06:09
Those times aren't headed in the right direction.
Our dream scenario is that Geb wins NYC and then faces Wanjiru in a head-to-head matchup. But we doubt that will happen.
The greatest marathoner in history is Sammy W. in our book and we think the world record will eventually be his, but a comparison of the two since 2007 appears below.
| Haile G. | Sammy W. | Yearly Edge |
|
2007 |
2007 |
Geb: World record certainly trumps course record. |
|
2008 |
2008 |
Wanjiru: Some may disagree with us on this one as Geb became the first in history to break 2:04:00 and he also broke 2:05:00 in his other race but the pinnacle of the sport is the Olympic marathon and Wanjiru totally crushed it there. People will be watching highlights of the race for eternity. Geb's world record will be forgotten once it's broken. |
|
2009 |
2009 |
Wanjiru: Two world marathon majors wins and two course records. It doesn't get much better than that. |
|
2010 |
2010 |
TBD: Wanjiru has the lead for the year so far but if Geb wins in NY, he could get the nod. |
As for Shobukhova, she ran an incredibly savvy race. She let everyone else go too fast and simply produced the first sub-2:22 clocking in the world since September of 2008. She's now won Chicago twice and London once in her last three races. Plus she's only 32 and has legit track PRs of 4:03 for 1,500, 14:23 for 5,000 and 30:29 for 100,00. The 5k and 10k PRs were set recently in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
More: *LRC Wanjiru Wins Epic Battle With Kebede, Shobukhova Dominates LRC Men's Preview: The Best Chicago Ever? Wanjiru Vs. Kebede Vs. Cheruiyot And Crew *LRC Women's Preview: Shobukhova, Mikitenko, 3 Strong Ethiopian Contenders And $500,000
2010 Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games took place last week (and part of this week). And since the event wasn't broadcast in the US and the fact that they Commonwealth Games website had to be the worst results website we've ever seen (seriously, you had to download a PDF for each event), we thought people would enjoy quickly finding out what happened (the Thumbs Down is for their results website). At
the end of this section, you will find the results of all of the relevant mid-d and distance action except for maybe an early round in the 800s (until compiling this, we didn't even realize NCAA 5k champ David McNeill ran the 5k in Delhi).
But before we get to those, we thought we'd give a shout out to a few people. First of all, how about a shout out to the following non-African medallists in the mid-d and distance events.
800 - Women: Nikki Hamblin (NZL) Silver, Diane Cummins (CAN) Bronze
1,500 - Men: Nick Willis ( NZL) Bronze. Women: Nikki Hamblin (NZL) Silver, Stephanie Twell (SCO) Bronze.
10,000 - Women: Kavita Raut (IND) Bronze
Marathon - Men: Michael Shelley (AUS) Silver. Women: Lisa Weightman (AUS) Bronze.
Also LRC would like to give a shout out to Mark Lewis Francis. The guy got a silver in the men's 100 and then walked down the Jamaican anchor in the 4 x 100 to give England gold in the 4 x 100 - just like he gave GBR gold in the 2004 Olympics. We are particularly fond of MLF as the LRC co-founders used to play xbox with him while receiving treatment at world famous physical therapist Gerard Hartmann's place in Ireland.
Lastly, how about a Thumbs Up for young 21-year-old Steph Twell. First she got a medal in the 1,500 and almost another one in the 5,000. But we're praising her for her very old school quote:
|
800 Final Men |
Semifinal Heat 1 - 1. Boaz Lalang, KEN 1:46.41 Q 2. Richard Kiplagat, KEN 1:46.73 Q 3. Gareth Warburton, WAL 1:46.83 Q 4. Darren St. Clair, ENG 1:46.92 q 5. Lachlan Renshaw, AUS 1:47.26 q 6. James McIlroy, NIR 1:47.76 SB 7. Manjit Singh, IND 1:50.88 8. Jon Rankin, CAY 1:51.10 NR/SB Intermediate - 400m - Lalang, 51.67 600m - Lalang, 1:19.39 |
Semifinal |
|
1,500 Final Men Intermediate times: |
1,500 Prelims Heat 1: 1. James Kiplangat Magut, KEN 3:40.47 Q SB 2. Chaminda Indika Wijekoon, SRI 3:40.78 Q PB 3. Tom Lancashire, ENG 3:40.84 Q 4. Andrew Baddeley, ENG 3:41.25 Q 5. Adrian Blincoe, NZL 3:41.54 q 6. Mitch Kealey, AUS 3:41.64 q 7. Alastair Hay, SCO 3:43.21 q 8. Cleveland Leon Forde, GUY 3:44.23 PB 9. Hamza Chatholi, IND 3:44.72 SB 10. Jon Rankin, CAY 3:46.12 11. Taylor Milne, CAN 3:49.53 12. Shifaz Moahmed, MDV 4:17.39 PB DNF - Shawn Anthony Pitter, JAM DNS - Tony Ialu, VAN Intermediate - 400m - Rankin, 57.43 800m - Rankin, 1:57.50 1200m - Lancashire, 2:58.94 |
1,500 Prelims Heat 2: 1. Gideon Gathimba, KEN 3:41.59 Q 2. Silas Kiplagat, KEN 3:41.67 Q 3. Jeremy Roff, AUS 3:41.86 Q 4. Nick Willis, NZL 3:42.47 Q 5. James Thie, WAL 3:42.74 q 6. Sandeep Karan, IND 3:44.55 7. Jimmy Adar, UGA 3:45.98 8. Joseph Nzirorera, RWA 3:48.40 PB 9. Barae Khamis Saqware, TAN 3:48.82 10. James Mcilroy, NIR 3:50.13 11. Chauncy Master, MAW 3:52.43 12. Colin Mccourt, ENG 3:59.68 13. Baba Gibba, GAM 4:06.14 14. Alusine Deen-Sesay, SLE 4:13.19 15. Hameed Mohamed, MDV 4:26.10 SB Intermediate - 400m - Adar, 56.68 800m - Adar, 2:00.30 1200m - Roff, 3:00.38 |
| 3,000m S/C Men (Final Only): 1. Richard Mateelong, KEN 8:16.39 Gold 2. Ezekiel Kemboi Cheboi, KEN 8:18.47 Silver 3. Brimin Kiprop Kipruto, KEN 8:19.65 Bronze 4. Benjamin Kiplagat, UGA 8:24.15 5. Stuart Bradley Stokes, ENG 8:32.24 SB 6. Youcef Abdi, AUS 8:33.20 7. Luke Gunn, ENG 8:40.44 8. Ben Siwa, UGA 8:42.44 9. Elam Singh, IND 8:44.35 10. Ramachandran Ramadas, IND 8:57.63 11. Sapolai Yao, PNG 10:01.57 DNS - Hakizimana Gervais, RWA Intermediate - 1000m - Siwa, 2:51.32 2000m - Mateelong, 5:43.06 |
5,000m Men (Final Only): |
10,000m (Final Only): |
| 800m Women Final 1. Nancy Langat, KEN 2:00.01 Gold 2. Nikki Hamblin, NZL 2:00.05 Silver 3. Diane Cummins, CAN 2:00.13 Bronze 4. Emma Jackson, ENG 2:00.46 PB 5. Hannah England, ENG 2:00.47 SB 6. Tintu Luka, IND 2:01.25 7. Cherono Koech, KEN 2:10.53 8. Winny Chebet, KEN 2:11.58 Intermediate - 400m - Luka, 57.49 600m - Langat, 1:27.52 |
Semifinals Heat 1 - 1. Winny Chebet, KEN 2:02.58 Q 2. Hannah England, ENG 2:02.63 Q 3. Nikki Hamblin, NZL 2:02.82 q 4. Kelly Mcneice, NIR 2:04.72 5. Marie Annabelle Jennifer Lascar, MRI 2:06.25 SB 6. Helen Hadjam, GGY 2:15.08 Intermediate - 400m - Chebet, 1:01.30 600m - Chebet, 1:32.76 |
Semifinals Heat 2 - |
| 1,500m Final Women 1. Nancy Langat, KEN 4:05.26 GR* Gold 2. Nikki Hamblin, NZL 4:05.97 Silver 3. Stephanie Twell, SCO 4:06.15 Bronze 4. Hannah England, ENG 4:06.83 5. Nicole Edwards, CAN 4:08.16 6. Irene Jelagat, KEN 4:08.20 7. Viola Kibiwott, KEN 4:08.79 8. Helen Clitheroe, ENG 4:08.89 9. Janet Achola, UGA 4:09.51 NR 10. Ciara Mageean, NIR 4:10.85 11. Hilary Stellingwerff, CAN 4:12.87 12. Jhuma Khatun, IND 4:14.95 *Games Record; previous 4:05.27, Jackline Maranga, KEN, Kuala Lumpur (MAS) 1998; also all-comers record Intermediate - 400m - Jelagat, 1:08.97 800m - Twell, 2:16.16 1200m - Langat, 3:19.74 |
1,500 Heat #1 1. Viola Kibiwott, KEN 4:08.76 Q 2. Helen Clitheroe, ENG 4:09.34 Q 3. Nikki Hamblin, NZL 4:09.80 Q 4. Stephanie Twell, SCO 4:10.35 Q 5. Ciara Mageean, NIR 4:12.11 q 6. Janet Achola, UGA 4:12.12 q NR 7. Jhuma Khatun, IND 4:12.30 q PB 8. Hilary Stellingwerff, CAN 4:13.01 q 9. Jaisha Orchatteri Puthiya Veetil, IND4:13.15 SB 10. Tanice Barnett, JAM 4:48.59 Intermediate - 400m - Stellingwerff, 1:08.78 800m - Clitheroe, 2:15.74 1200m - Kibiwott, 3:20.68 |
1,500 Heat #2 1. Nancy Langat, KEN 4:13.62 Q 2. Irene Jelagat, KEN 4:13.63 Q 3. Nicole Edwards, CAN 4:13.90 Q 4. Hannah England, ENG 4:13.91 Q 5. Kaila McKnight, AUS 4:15.22 6. Kelly McNeice, NIR 4:18.07 7. Sushma Devi, IND 4:22.05 8. Salome Dell, PNG 4:33.23 NR 9. Twishanna Williams, JAM 4:36.60 PB 10. Jean D'Arc Mukakigeri, RWA 4:37.27 DNS - Annet Negesa, UGA Intermediate - 400m - Mcneice, 1:09.62 800m - Mcneice, 2:19.39 1200m - Jelagat, 3:26.59 |
| 3,000m S/C Women (Final Only) 1. Milcah Chemos Cheywa, KEN 9:40.96 Gold 2. Mercy Njoroge, KEN 9:41.54 Silver 3. Gladys Kipkemboi, KEN 9:52.51 Bronze 4. Helen Clitheroe, ENG 9:56.37 5. Sudha Singh, IND 9:57.63 NR 6. Lennie Waite, SCO 10:02.12 7. Tina Brown, ENG 10:13.34 8. Jaisha Orchatteri Puthiya Veetil, IND 10:20.83 9. Priyanka Singh Patel, IND 10:26.48 Intermediate - 1000m - Brown, 3:13.90 2000m - Chemos, 6:31.50 |
5,000m Women (Final Only): |
10,000m Women (Final Only): |
|
Marathon Men DNFs: BOHOSI Sechaba Albert LES DNS: BOWEN Luke Kibet KEN Intermediate times: |
Marathon Women DNFs: FLINT Lisa AUS Intermediate times: |
Onre more things about Commonwealths - it should be noted that 3:35/3:54 man Jon Rankin has given up on competing for the US and now competes for the Cayman Islands.
More: *MLF On Cloud 9 After 100m Silver At Commonwealths *Darren Campbell Writes About MLF Being An Animal *Mark Lewis Francis Walks Down Jamaican Anchor & Delivers 4 X 100 Gold For England *Jon Rankin Now Running For The Cayman Islands
Recommended Reads
*Because of $$$, Marathon Getting Younger & Younger Phil Hersh talks
about how so many of the top contenders in Chicago are very young.
There is a reason for that - $$$. Nowadays a 2:09 debut will get you
$20,000 but a 13:00 will get you $250.
*Ray Treacy Thinks Molly Huddle Can Run Even Faster
Other Happenings Of Note
*Molly Huddle Wins Third Straight US Road 10k Title At Tufts Health Plan 10k For Women Huddle capped a great 2010 with the overall win by 5 seconds over Genoveva Kigen. Jen Rhines was 16 seconds back.
*Olympic 100m Champ Shelly Ann Fraser Is Banned After All WADA did go easy on her and gave her only 6 months, so she'll be back for indoors.
*2001 World 10k Champ Charles Kamathi Wins Eindhoven Marathon (2:07:38) In 3-Way Sprint We've watched the video a few times and still aren't sure he won.
*World Record Holder At 10k On The Roads, Leonard Komon, Runs 27:12 In Asics 10k In Berlin. Pre-Race: World Record Battle This Weekend In Berlin: Leonard Komon Komon just got the 10k world record and Kogo is the guy whose record he
took. They square off over 10k on the streets of Berlin.
*Paul Kosgei Runs 2:09:00 At Capri Marathon
*John Korir And Caroline Rotich Win BAA Half Marathon
Quotes Of The Day From Last Week
- Federico Rosa, manager of 23-year-old Sammy Wanjiru - talking in a great Phil Hersh/Chicago Tribune article on how marathon racers are getting younger and younger. The article points out how there is no money in the track events any more and how a 13:00 got a world champion only $250 but a 2:09 win in Dublin will get you $20,000. The article also includes the following great quote from former marathon world record holder Steve Jones: "I think the marathon has become the blue-ribbon event of (track and field); it used to be the mile. It's a shortcut to fame and glory. You just need one good race, and you can set yourself up for half a lifetime with invitations to races.''
- Federico Rosa, manager of 23-year-old Sammy Wanjiru - talking in a great Phil Hersh/Chicago Tribune article on how marathon racers are getting younger and younger. The article points out how there is no money in the track events any more and how a 13:00 got a world champion only $250 but a 2:09 win in Dublin will get you $20,000. The article also includes the following great quote from former marathon world record holder Steve Jones: "I think the marathon has become the blue-ribbon event of (track and field); it used to be the mile. It's a shortcut to fame and glory. You just need one good race, and you can set yourself up for half a lifetime with invitations to races.''
- 21-year-old Scot Stephanie Twell, who got a bronze medal in the 1,500m at the Commonwealth Games on Friday.
- US 10-mile champ Fasil Bizuneh on doing "more with less" under new coach Greg McMillan. The 30-year-old Bizuneh may only have a 2:16 marathon PR, but he's a 27:50 guy hoping to go 2:09 or better in Chicago on Sunday.
Thursday: "With another year of training behind her, I think she'll be consistently in the 14:30 next year."
- Ray Treacy, coach of US 5,000-meter record holder Molly Huddle (and Providence College), talking about how he thinks Huddle's best days are ahead of her. The quote comes from a nice profile on Huddle on the USOC site that outlines how she got into the sport by running with her dad.
- Lopez Lomong on finishing his college degree in Flagstaff, Arizona, the place we've said for ten years is the best place in the world to train. More and more stars now agree with us.
- Ben Johnson, talking about how he was persuaded to use performance-enhancing drugs way back in 1981. Johnson's likely to be talking a lot in the next few weeks as his autobiography Seoul To Soul is coming out next month and is going to drop some major bombshells, including the fact that he thinks a rival shoe company paid someone to spike his Seoul drug sample.
Last Week's Homepages
*Mon (Sept. 27) *Sun (Sept. 26) *Sat (Sept. 25) *Fri (Sept. 24) *Thur
(Sept.
23)
*Wed
(Sept. 22) *Tue (Sept. 21)
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