I think Magness is hurting the antidoping fight by saying that and I say that as an admirer of his. You can't just say something is laughable because it's fast.
To me, a coach should know the idea that a 14:05 athlete (and come on she's run 14:12 with horrible pacing) running 29:17for 10k isn't that shocking. So unless you were already calling her a doper before tonight, you shouldn't be doing it now.
At cornell, we had a couple guys run faster than 29:17 and none of them were sub 14:00 in the 5000.
We're about to update our 10k recap with this sentiment.
LRCwrote:
Whenever a seemingly unbreakable record is broken, one that was set by someone who may have confessed to doping, people are going to speculate whether the new mark is itself legitimate. We hadn’t even finished recapping the race and the messageboard was already exploding with speculation (Ayana 10,000 Meter WR!!! 29:17:46 *Who in the top 8 isnt doping? Rio 10k)
Here’s why Ayana’s mark could be legitimate. First, she’s already run 14:12 for 5000 this year. Greg McMillan’s conversion calculator converts today’s 29:17 to a 14:06, which certainly is a time that seems doable for Ayana if you’ve watched any of her poorly rabbitted WR attempts at 5000. So if you weren’t already accusing Ayana of being on drugs before today’s run, you shouldn’t just start because she 29:17 as already was in the ballpark equivalent of the old world record.
Then you add in the variables. Today’s weather — mid-60’s and still — was great for running fast. Ayana had a de facto rabbit for the first half of the race in Nawowuna.
At the post race press conference, the Ethiopian translator called Nawowuna a pacer saying, “(Ayana) was comfortable with the pacerâ€.
Ayana ran that 14:12 in early June and has had an extra two months to peak. And it’s very possible Ayana is a better 10k runner than 5k, so those equivalencies may not be generous enough.
Plus, there have been very few races in history where the world’s top 10,000 runners have gotten together and tried to run fast. Before today, six of the 10 fastest women’s 10k’s in history had been run in championship finals, and those races are usually run in hot conditions without a rabbit. Today was a rare opportunity with great weather and an unofficial rabbit. Ayana in the only second 10,000 of her life took full advantage.
Not everyone is a believer, however. Sweden’s Sarah Lahti, who was 12th in 31:28.43 (a national record), suggested Ayana was not clean after the race. Ayana was asked for comment and, through a translator, responded as follows:
“Three basic things. I did my training, specially 500 and 10,000. Number two, I praise the Lord. God has given me everything, every blessing. My doping is my training. My doping is Jesus. Otherwise, nothing. I am crystal clear.â€
Huddle, when asked for her thoughts on Ayana’s time, said:
“These places might be a bit mobile…Who knows? That’s a very, very fast time.â€