Using Peyton Jordan to compare fitness levels of top Americans vs. Bairu and looking at Bairu's performance at World XC, what could happen? Honestly, is a win possible for the USA w/ a loaded team?
Using Peyton Jordan to compare fitness levels of top Americans vs. Bairu and looking at Bairu's performance at World XC, what could happen? Honestly, is a win possible for the USA w/ a loaded team?
If you knew anything about Bairu and followed his career you would know he is a beast on the grass. his track times don't correlate to the grass that well. some of the guys Bairu beat at WXC had pr's of sub 13min and sub 27min
True, I understand Bairu always runs well in XC but you can't help but assume if Bairu is 13th and we just had 2 guys that far ahead of him in the same race that we would have a decent shot at an upset.
I do agree that Ritz and Rupp and likely Teg and Solinsky can beat Simon at cross.
The scary thing is that your saying that you don't think that Meb, Hall, Abdi, Webb or Lagat would be our best 12K cross guys and I agree with you. Each of them is a top 30 and potentially top 20 guy for world cross. Shoot didn't Ryan Vail finish around 30th or 35th at world cross? He shouldn't even be in our top 10.
Jerry and Alberto and Nike should really put this thing together. Get all of our top guys (almost all of them are Nike) at the cross trials and give them some real incentive to go to worlds. But not just the money, sell them on the pride of it. Sell them on the fact that they can really be a team, sell them on the fact that they could do something that hasn't been done in (ever?) with the U.S. even being legit contenders. And sell them on the fact that if we won, we'd flip the running world upside down.
Go OTC, Go Nike & Go USA!!
Post of the Day!
Can you imagine the cross country team the US could put together? Solinsky, Rupp, Teg, Ritz, Meb, hall, Abdi, on and on. Nike could put together a promotion next year - Save the Cross or something like that
Carry the Cross? Bear the Cross?
5er wrote:
Post of the Day!
Can you imagine the cross country team the US could put together? Solinsky, Rupp, Teg, Ritz, Meb, hall, Abdi, on and on. Nike could put together a promotion next year - Save the Cross or something like that
Not Abdi, as he is a disappointment and would likely DNF at WC. Anyway, I believe Abdi is RETIRING!
5er wrote:
Post of the Day!
Can you imagine the cross country team the US could put together? Solinsky, Rupp, Teg, Ritz, Meb, hall, Abdi, on and on. Nike could put together a promotion next year - Save the Cross or something like that
i agree the USA could contend for a team medal every year, silver or bronze, yes i think a team silver is possible especially if k. bekele does not run world xc anymore as he said he wont, ethiopia will always have world beaters, but other than geb and k. bekele for the men and t. dibaba and defar for the woman they seem to be inconsistent, eritrea is coming on, but not so much depth yet.
does the same logic to the OP's post apply to the fact Solinksy just beat Paul Tanui's 10,000? would Solinksy be able to finish first at the Kenyan XC trials and as high as Tanui did at World Cross?
The Waterboy wrote:
does the same logic to the OP's post apply to the fact Solinksy just beat Paul Tanui's 10,000? would Solinksy be able to finish first at the Kenyan XC trials and as high as Tanui did at World Cross?
i dont know if solinsky could make kenya's team, i am just saying the USA could contend for bronze possibly silver in the team standings.
in world xc each country can only have 6 runners and solinsky may be able to beat a couple of kenyan world xc members on a given day, but if solinsky ran the kenyan world xc trials with over 100 of kenya's best runners, i dont think he would be top 6.
solinsly ran a great 10k saturday, he is now 29th on the all time 10k list according to tilastopaja.org
If Nike beats Asics to religion-based running marketing, ryan hall's head will explode