What if this doesn't happen? Does Vanderlei hang on for the W or was he fading and destined for 3rd either way?
What if this doesn't happen? Does Vanderlei hang on for the W or was he fading and destined for 3rd either way?
The people who think that there was something odd about the Boston Marathon think that he ends up third.
The people who think the Boston Marathon was legit and an amazing indicator of the strength of character of the American people and that anyone who would ever suggest otherwise is an idiot think he goes on to win.
trollism wrote:
The people who think that there was something odd about the Boston Marathon think that he ends up third.
The people who think the Boston Marathon was legit and an amazing indicator of the strength of character of the American people and that anyone who would ever suggest otherwise is an idiot think he goes on to win.
"Whatever I say is correct and unquestionable."
The Historian wrote:
http://www.olympic.org/videos/vanderlei-de-lima-settles-for-bronze-after-protester-s-attackWhat if this doesn't happen? Does Vanderlei hang on for the W or was he fading and destined for 3rd either way?
De Lima was already cooked before the attack. Baldini closed at around 4:25 pace.
John McGilliss wrote:
De Lima was already cooked before the attack. Baldini closed at around 4:25 pace.
+1
No way Vanderlei would have been able to fight off Meb/Baldini.
The Historian wrote:
http://www.olympic.org/videos/vanderlei-de-lima-settles-for-bronze-after-protester-s-attackWhat if this doesn't happen? Does Vanderlei hang on for the W or was he fading and destined for 3rd either way?
What about the third possibility -- that de Lima loses to Baldini but still finishes ahead of Meb?
I remember going over the various reported splits and available videotapes with some care and concluding, with a high degree of probability, that Baldini would have won anyway, although I suppose one cannot entirely discount the possibility that de Lima, like Meb at Boston this year, would have found some way to pick up the pace and maintain a gap all the way to the finish.
The race for second would probably have been much closer. I suspect that Meb would have pulled it out, but the gap between second and third would not have been more than ten seconds or so, and de Lima would probably not have been doing the airplane weave as he approached the finish line.
It was, in any event, a sad state of affairs, salvaged a bit by de Lima's good-natured response, both at the finish and in the immediate aftermath of the race.
I've talked with Vanderlei personally about it and saw two speeches about the episode. He said that he really thought he was going to win. Of course he couldn't be sure, but he had something left for the last mile. After the priest caught him, he said he started having cramps and feared to lose even the bronze. He said it was really hard to continue running after that, but before, though he was struggling, he said he still had a kick. My guess is that it would have been an epic olympic finish.
I am Brazilian and obviously around here everyone remember as a gold medal that was taken from him. While Baldini really finished strong, it's impossible to determine that Vanderlei was not going to respond. Look at Meb in Boston, it looked like Chebet was going to caught him, and he didn't.
We'll never know what would have happened and that's the magic about this episode.