george oscar bluth wrote:
at least not on the track. I respect his abilities and I think he'll put the often referenced "American born" records out of reach for some time in the 5000m and 10000m, but he just isn't going to outrun the best in the World in a championship race. His best chance is Bekele taking over a 10000m and making it a 26:35 affair, where Rupp is one of 2 guys who are able to hold on long enough to medal.
Seriously what does Rupp have to do to prove that he *can* medal?
I agreed that it was stupid for people to talk about Rupp getting a medal at Berlin in 2009 just because he was able to close fast at NCAA's with race times that were 28+ minutes and 14+ minutes, because obviously that says nothing about being able to close in races that are low 27 and low 13.
However, since then, he finished 3rd in both a Diamond League 5000m and 10000m, running 13:06 with a 54 last lap and 26:48 with a 61 last lap, outkicking big names like Imane Merga and Eluid Kipchoge.
He got 3rd in the NYC half marathon, AFTER falling, running 60:30 after doing a slow opening 29:32 10K and running sub 28 pace for the next 10K until the finish.
He ran 13:11 indoors for 5000m, and in both the half marathon and the indoor 5000m he only finished a few seconds behind medalist Mo Farah.
And now he's just run a ****ing 8:09 after splits of 4:06-4:03 and by himself for half the race. He's got strength, he's got speed, and he's finished in the top 3 in stellar fields in races of 5000m, 10000m, and a half marathon.
I'll ask again- what does he have to do that he hasn't done already before someone will admit he has a chance of medalling? Run 8:05? Run 26:40?