– David Graham writing in his annual piece about the marathon for 2014.
Over the final five days of the year, we’ll be breaking down the best in the world in the 800, 1,500, steeple, 5,000 and marathon.
Day 5: WMarathon LRC Tirfi Tsegaye And Shalane Flanagan Are Our World And US #1sTirfi Tsegaye won two majors and is world #1 in a year marred by doper Rita Jeptoo.
MMarathonLRC Wilson Kipsang And Meb Keflezighi Had Years To Remember With wins in London and NY, there was no doubting where Wilson Kipsang should rank, but what about Kenenisa Bekele, world record holder Dennis Kimetto and others?
Day 4: W 3k/5k: LRC Genzebe Dibaba And Molly Huddle Rule Supreme A world indoor record for Dibaba and an American record for Huddle helped them nab the #1 spots in our rankings.
M5k: LRC Caleb Ndiku Is World #1, Galen Rupp World #4No one was close to Caleb Ndiku in 2014 but Galen Rupp had a great year at 5,000, where he is now a player on the world scene for the first time. It was a very strong year for Americans at 5,000 as a 13:02 guy is only 5th in the US.
Day 3: WSteeple: LRC Emma Coburn Is World #2, Hiwot Ayalew Is #1 Emma Coburn was great all year long but not nearly as good as Ayalew.
MSteeple:LRC Jairus Birech Is World #1, Evan Jager World #3 Jairus Birech reigned supreme this year, winning six of the seven DL events to go with a gold medal at the African Champs. Evan Jager was the clear U.S. #1. Canadian Matt Hughes sneaks into the top 10 as well.
Day 2:W1,500: LRCAmerican Jenny Simpson Is On Top Of The World At #1 Simpson has been world champion and DL champion before, but now for the first time she can rightfully claim the title of of World #1. Shannon Rowbury also cracks the world top 10.
M1,500 LRC Ayanleh Souleiman Is The Best In A Historically Good Year, Leo The Lion Roars In The US It was an amazing year in the 1,500 – so amazing that Seb Coe‘s 1979 WR of 3:32.03 would have put him as the 17th fastest man in 2014. No one was faster than Silas Kiplagat but in our minds no one was better than Ayanleh Souleiman. Thanks to HOKA One One and John Hayes, a resurgent Leo Manzano claims US #1.
Day 1: W800: LRC Eunice Sum Is World #1, America’s Ajee Wilson Is World #2 20-year-old American Ajee Wilson ran the fastest time in the world and had a great year but Eunice Sum‘s season was just a little more special. It’s a great event for TEAM USA as three Americans made our global top 10.
M800 LRC Nijel Amos And Duane Solomon Get The #1 Rankings The men’s 800 is one of the most exciting races in all of track and field. Tons of superstars and lots of diversity as men from seven different countries nabbed spots in our global top 10. Where is David Rudisha?
Ryan Hall will look to get his career back on a positive trajectory at the 2015 ASICS LA Marathon. The move is a smart one to us financially and competitively. We have no idea why it would be announced this week when no one is paying attention to anything.
Discuss On The Boards: BREAKING: Ryan Hall to run LA marathon
A DNF By Japan’s Lone Entrant In 1st Olympic Marathon Led To Starting Of Hakone Ekiden In 1920 Is Kenta Murayama Japan’s next marathon star? Coach of Japan NR holder thinks so, “I’m dying to have him run a marathon.”
Annual Christchurch Track Meet In New Zealand Cancelled For 2015 Due to an issue with scheduling and facilities.
Good Profile: World Jr. 100 Champ Dina Asher-Smith Turned Down Harvard And Florida State So She Could Pay $14,000 A Year To Go To King’s College In The UK She’s a very serious student.
Fernando Cabada Returning To Brad Hudson As His Coach Cabada has been self-coached for the last year and a half, but worked with Hudson in 2012.
The IOC Can And Has Done Worse:Creator Of World Of Warcraft Says Video Games Should Be In The Olympics His argument is that “Video games are well positioned to be a spectator sport.” There also is mention of “lightning quick reflexes.” *10 Wackiest Olympic Events Ever
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