That was the worst 5000m final in an Olympics ever

What ever happened to surges and big moves? I dont blame Farah and Lagat. They have huge kicks and great tactics. But what about Koech, Longosiwa etc.? Why not try to shake it up. They practically conceded 1st and 2nd were lucky Lagat stumbled a bit.

Let me get this right: the pace is really slow so if I speed up and I have nothing left - what kind of chance did I have anyway? Are you saying that the race had 12 kickers? Not one of them would have had a better chance by taking it out harder. They all had a chance at a medal.

Your the kind of moron who tells everyone how smart you are while selling shoes for minimum wage. I hope you don't coach.

If.a couple teammates.can go 1250 and the pace is 45 sec slower, why on earth would they not head out on their own, get a half lap gap and see if they can hold on for the win? Does no one watch cycling? Yes its easier to run in a pack, but the peleton doesn't always catch the lead group. I won't say I find sit and kick racing boring, but I do not understand why anyone other than the three guys with giant kicks does the sit and kick thing too knowing they're nearly guarenteed toast.

Are you serious.? You think the field is going to let someone get a half a lap gap ? This was the Olympic final . No one in the race was going to go out and run as hard as they could from the start and just set themselves up to be swallowed up at a later stage. Times are irrelevant in championships. No one in the field was going to be able to run away from rest so as is inevetable the pace was a dawdle. The kickers in the race were also the strongest. It's not down to the field to take it on, it's down to one individual to decide to have a go and as I've already stated no one was going to do it ? The bottom line is that even if the race had been fast from the start Mo would still have won and apart from Lagat getting tripped the positions would also have been the same. None of the finalists are going to be upset at not getting a fast time. It's just that you don't feel it was a good race but I'm afraid you don't understand that it wasnt about your entertainment and it was a superb tactical race by Mo.

don't worry dude, the marathon is going to be worst. i heard everyone is going to run together at 4 hour pace the first 26 miles and sprint out the last .2

A very emotional display of ignorance of Olympic 5000 history

If you think they were going to form a significant gap here, you're a dunce. What, they're all going to go out and run 12:40 without pacers? Or do you really think Farah, Lagat, and Rupp are going to get dropped by 13:00 pace?

BreadnButta wrote:

If you think they were going to form a significant gap here, you're a dunce. What, they're all going to go out and run 12:40 without pacers? Or do you really think Farah, Lagat, and Rupp are going to get dropped by 13:00 pace?

If I wanted to watch a race won in the 1340s, Id watch NCAAs.

Olympic history is irrelevant. Today you can´t do what Ngugi did in 1988. All runners are basically at the same level of fitness.

There needs to be an incentive to create rabbiting from the expected back of the packers - like if every 100 meter passage (leading at it) was worth some kind of points towards the Diamond League - or if separate medals was awarded for leading at the most such passages. In gymnastics some of the early routines count towards three later finals (team overall, individual overall, individual stand alone event) so why not...

You know nothing wrote:

No one in the field was going to be able to run away from rest so as is inevetable the pace was a dawdle.

But, if it were a 12:55 type of pace like in many of the Diamond League races it would have been honest and tough and painful and perhaps Mo's kick wins, but perhaps it doesn't. At 13:40, Mo's kick wins, period.

As the OP posted, it is disappointing that the race was just a gutless effort.

Not Olympian by any means.

l1ndgren wrote:

Both the 10000 and 5000 races were terrible. They might as well have handled the gold medals to Mo before hand, letting both races fall to the final kick.

To disrespect to Mo, but he had a lot of luck getting this 5000/10000 double. Twice a dumb field lets the race play into his hands and the injuries and off form that Kenny B has been suffering. You can be sure Mo at his fittest can't hold a candle to 2008 Bekele.

In the last four 5k/10k finals in 2011/2012 Farah has 3 Golds and 1 Silver. Sounds a LOT like Bekele around 2004, except that at that point Bekele had never won a 5k Championship (he still has only won one).

Why are you blaming Farah for the way that he beat a bunch of 12:48 5k runners? He can't control how the rest of the field races, only how he decides to beat them. What was extraordinary was that he was in the lead at the bell in both the 5k and 10k and he held the lead for a 53-second last lap in both and won.

I agree that the races were boring and disappointing, but they were largely the same in Daegu. I think they are slower now because of stringent drug testing. I don't know how the 100/200/800 were so goddamn fast.

dfdf wrote:

If you were a Farah or Gebremeskial fan, you would have found that last lap pretty exciting. It sucked to many who were pulling for Rupp and Lagat.

Have you ever watched a major meet with a bunch of knowledgeable friends and when a race goes out slow and tactical like that everyone groan's "oh fvck, not again" at the same time?

That is what this race was like for me.

I was rooting for Rupp, of course, and still thinking it would take another perfect performance by him, and a fairly paced race, at least a 13:10.

When they went out dogging it, I was like "Rupp isn't medaling," dumb ass tactical crowded race and....bla bla bla."

Boring assed race.

This was The Stupid Olympics.

Stupid distance races mostly.

Stupid NBC coverage.

Stupid London presentations (logo, mascot, opening ceremonies, dumb tower sculpture, lame flame, lame flame inside the stadium, not above...

I am sure many have their pet peeves.

I did however like the use of purple more than blue.

I think when runners look back on this Olympics they are going to look back with groans about the lame 5k, women's 1500, men's 1500, women's 800.

The specter of doping still around.

You know a race sucks when after 200 meters you and your friends think "crap, this is going to be one of those stupid fvcking races."

I couldn't get excited for Mo winning, or Rupp and Lagat and Lamong falling short -- all I came away with was "that was a SFR, and the Brits in the stands are too stupid to realize that they've seen a very weak outing, there guy winning, whatever.

On the other side, if you are a Mo fan, due to reports that he was exhausted and sore...the whole dumb field played right into his hands.

So, Good for Mo....he just earned himself about 50m pounds over the course of his life in endorsements etc.

Right now, it's Good To Be Mo.

Yes but wasn't the Diamond League dummy !! It was a championship with no pacemakers !! That's like saying someone would have won if the race had been held on muddy grass !!

An interesting post. You are obviously a real bundle of fun. I don't think athletics is the right sport for you. Soccer would seem to be a better choice as all individual performances are subjective whereas winners are winners in athletics. You could then look for forums where there are higher levels of trolls and you can whinge to your hearts content.

An interesting post. You are obviously a real bundle of fun. I don't think athletics is the right sport for you. Soccer would seem to be a better choice as all individual performances are subjective whereas winners are winners in athletics. You could then look for forums where there are higher levels of trolls and you can whinge to your hearts content.

The pace was pathetic from the get go, and all the athletes in this event should be faulted for that. After what had been a steller, and in my opinion greatest track and field games ever, the 5K was a huge disappointment. Aside from Farah winning double gold and establishing himself as one of the all time greats, there was very little else redeeming about this one. They literally jogged the first 3K or so and then turned into a mile time trial. And the problem for someone like Rupp (who really should have gone for it earlier) is that he is matched up against a field of mid distance specialists like Lagat with his 3:26. Rupp is more of a true distance guy as his PRs of 26:48 (nowhere near his potential) and 60:30 would indicate. So they let it dawdle for the early part of the race when Rupp should have gone out and started running those metronomic 62 or 63 sec laps so that it would have been an honest pace they could have whittled away the pretenders and turned it into a true test of fitness between Rupp, Farah, Gebremeskal, and the 3 Kenyans (Lagat included). I don't know maybe Rupp gets 6th anyway in a race like that but i really don't understand the strategy of Salazar here i think he kinda miscalculated thinking that Rupp could kick the same way in the 5 as he had in the 10. Farah may be capable of destroying anyone over the final lap regardless of distance, and Rupp may develop into that type of runner, but that's not where is right now, or at least where he was on this day.

Same as the 10km only didn't here all this crap there where you medalled! Funny that

The Kenyans and Ethiopians bottled it because they think Mo is top dog. The Kenyans especially do not run as free or well as they did years ago

He ran brilliantly taking it with over 400m to go. The entire race the whole field was willing him to go to early. He didn't get a gap and 9/10 times would have been outsprinted, but he ran the finish out of them even a 1500 medallist

The main thing here is what poor losers you lot are.Anyone who medalled got their tactics right, the rest have only themselves to blame

well.. wrote:

kozz wrote:

A very emotional display of ignorance of Olympic 5000 history

Olympic history is irrelevant. Today you can´t do what Ngugi did in 1988. All runners are basically at the same level of fitness.

Ignorance of the present is no cure for ignorance of the past.