I mean, if he wanted to break it, could he jump into a 5k and break 12:56?
I mean, if he wanted to break it, could he jump into a 5k and break 12:56?
Today? No, he's way too beat. He looked pretty bad in the final straight at the Gateshead 1500 today.
Could he in a couple of weeks? Maybe, with the right race in the right conditions, but it would be far from a sure thing. Remember his 5k pr is 12:59.22. I'll admit that he definitely could have gone faster earlier in his career (he mostly raced 5ks in championships for wins, not for time.) And running faster than Ritz's record is tougher than we give credit, after all, only 9 men have run faster than Ritz in the last three years.
Here is a list of the 12 fastest 5k runners over the last three years with their best 5k time in that period:
12:49.53 Kenenisa Bekele ETH 28/07/2007
12:50.16 Sileshi Sihine ETH 14/09/2007
12:50.38 Eliud Kipchoge KEN 14/09/2007
12:50.55 Moses Ndiema Masai KEN 01/06/2008
12:50.72 Moses Ndiema Kipsiro UGA 14/09/2007
12:51.00 Joseph Ebuya KEN 14/09/2007
12:51.95 Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa KEN 14/09/2007
12:52.45 Tariku Bekele ETH 01/06/2008
12:55.03 Edwin Cheruiyot Soi KEN 28/08/2009
12:56.27 Dathan Ritzenhein USA 28/08/2009
12:57.56 Abreham Cherkos ETH 01/06/2008
12:58.49 Yusuf Kibet Biwott KEN 14/09/20077
As someone else said, probably not today. But at peak condition, and if a race played itself out really fast, then yeah.
But I would also say that Lagat would beat Ritz in a real race today. As opposed to a time trial-like race which is essentially what Zurich was.
RIP: D3 All-American Frank Csorba - who ran 13:56 in March - dead
RENATO can you talk about the preparation of Emile Cairess 2:06
Rest in Peace Adrian Lehmann - 2:11 Swiss marathoner. Dies of heart attack.
I think Letesenbet Gidey might be trying to break 14 this Saturday
Running for Bowerman Track Club used to be cool now its embarrassing