Never Say Always wrote:
Who TF is David Kemppainen?
Bob is a 2:08 guy like Hall is a 2:04 guy.
Why does KK get such a pass when every other Moroccan, including Trafeh, has either been busted or was obviously doping (El G)? His presence on U.S. lists is a blemish.
Meb was the first clean finisher in Athens. Tied with Shorter in my mind, but Shorter gets a bump for being the catalyst of the running boom.
East Africans doping of the marathon since 2000 has skewed the event beyond recognititon.
I think of Meb and Shorter as similar runners. They were both successful in tactical races, weren't afraid to break away early and ran well in heat and humidity (which is huge when it counts most). I think if some time-traveler were to drop early seventies Shorter in 2005--same training, same everything--he would have had a career very similar to Meb's.
About the doping, it sucks. You ask why KK gets a pass, but you are giving a pass to pretty much everyone after 1980 that you think of as clean. I don't see KK as particularly different than a lot of these guys in that regard.