Official 2017 Brussels DL discussion thread - Say it ain't so. The 2017 season end is here.

Uh well thenn wrote:

It's kinda crazy to think that Ayana's 5k split in the 10k at worlds was still faster than what Obiri ran today with pacers and honest effort...

Not crazy at all. Ayana is simply superior to Obiri, who is overhyped around here lately. Obiri is very, very good but somewhat thick and lumbering and not ultra elite, not world record elite.

I had to laugh when I sampled this thread and there were calls for Obiri to break or threaten the world record. That must be a different person with the same name.

As I posted a month or so ago, among the top 15 times in history in the 5000 the only one run after July was Ayana's 14:18 in this Brussels meet last year. She easily handled Obiri, who finished with virtually the same time as this year, in the 14:25 range.

It wasn't particularly surprising that Obiri received a challenge today. She does not have freakish ability.

Yes Obiri has had a very good season in the Absence of Ayana from DL events. Next season will be a true reflection of motivation and talent between Obiri and Ayana when I hope they meet in most diamond league 3 & 5k fixtures.

Must admit I find it amusing that many so called "experts" condemn Ayanas 10k performances as "doped" and yet when she gets beaten by Obiri nobody accuses Obiri of anything. - Don't get me wrong I don't believe either of them are dopers, but a little consistency would be nice amongst all the naysayers.

When I read tweets from Liz Mccolgan and commentary from Paula Radcliffe insinuating Ayana is a doper I have to question whether they really know anything about distance running, form, or biomechanical rhythm and function.

Almaz wins 10k events by running hard from a third of the race in to completion. Historically NOBODY else has ever done this before as a deliberate tactic, and Nobody else has the combination of morphology, rhythm, stride pattern and mental focus to allow them to emulate Ayana.

Ayana is an enigma in that she shows great mental and physical strength in individual races, but lacks the fast recovery required for her to perform as impressively and to her potential in her second race of a championship. - This is the exact opposite of what we would expect from a "doped" athlete. As EPO allows for much faster recovery hence can train harder and more often. If you look at the performances of Wang in 1993 she set the world 10000m record, ran insane 1500 & 3000m times all within a week or so. - that is the red flag to doping not an exceptional individual race performance.

Obiri is talented and strong and has an exceptional range. But I don't believe she is as naturally gifted as Ayana. Obiri smashes the track into submission like a steam locomotive, and Ayana glides over it like a Gazelle. - Two very different runners which always makes for fascinating viewing when they race each other.

Agreed with what you said. I think Ayana runs better as the distance increases. I hope she does a half marathon next year.

Yeah I think Ayanas half/marathon debut will be the most anticipated in history. I recall watching Mary Keitany solo run at the London marathon in April and how impressed I was. Immediately after I thought imagine Ayana running this race.

But I think we will have to wait a few more years at least before we see her running the full 21/42, as she publicly stated she intends to keep on with the 5/10k in the immediate future. I would like to see her running a few road races though- perhaps the Carlsbad 5 and the great Manchester run etc.

Tirunesh has made fantastic strides in the two marathons she's run to date, but Almaz has more potential.

I would love to see her destroy Paula's 2.15 record in light of all the negativity Paula has shown towards Ayanas "legitimacy"

Perhaps she already knows her record is on borrowed time.

Help me I'm dying wrote:

14:25, Obiri wins as expected, but wow, Kipkirui, droped her PB down from 14:51 to 14:27, that's a 24 second drop. She is listed as being born in 1994, making her 23 years old.

Kipkurui was very impressive and almost got Obiri nervous. It seems like she could go under 14:20 next year, taking the fight to Ayana, Genzebe and Obiri. Its great the 66 minute half marathon girl is finally finding her niche on the track.

What many seem to fail to notice is Teferi Senberi falling, getting dropped, she gets up and slowly gets back into the race and finishes a credible 3rd. Wonder what time she could have run had she not fallen? Maybe 14:26? or Faster? She definitely was going to run a PB today.

Real Winner wrote:

Help me I'm dying wrote:

14:25, Obiri wins as expected, but wow, Kipkirui, droped her PB down from 14:51 to 14:27, that's a 24 second drop. She is listed as being born in 1994, making her 23 years old.

Kipkurui was very impressive and almost got Obiri nervous. It seems like she could go under 14:20 next year, taking the fight to Ayana, Genzebe and Obiri. Its great the 66 minute half marathon girl is finally finding her niche on the track.

What many seem to fail to notice is Teferi Senberi falling, getting dropped, she gets up and slowly gets back into the race and finishes a credible 3rd. Wonder what time she could have run had she not fallen? Maybe 14:26? or Faster? She definitely was going to run a PB today.

What? obiri wasn't even close to being nervous. She was out there toying with the opposition, at 300 meters she put on the burners, and it was over. Funny thing is she is running on fumes after having so many races on her legs. Destroyed the indoor circuit and outdoor circuit, undefeated at 5000m this year, WC, DL champion....and she ran the WL and ML( DL) this year. She is clearly T & F athlete of the year.

I wonder if some of you guys really know T & F. Obiri ran 14:18 earlier in the year on fresh legs before worlds, and still had some juice in the tank. She goes out and runs 14:25 on fatigued legs( from racing all year), and after toying with her opponents, and basically running the lead from beginning to end.

Queen of 5000m.

Yeah you have to give full props to Obiri for her outstanding season. I love the way she built speed and endurance through racing mile, 3k and 5k races this season, with the sole goal of becoming 5k world champion.

She is very strong mentally, I realised this at the point she described how the 5k final would play out after the heats had been run.- "Ayana will go out front and be my pacer, I'll out kick her and win"

This was a bold and brave statement which was obviously used to motivate herself and spoke volumes for her self confidence derived from discipline and focus all season. She must have been the happiest runner on the planet when it went to script.

Roll on the 2018 season which will show for sure who is the greatest over 5k. Obiri certainly lays claim to that title presently. But I'm sure she wants the opportunity to take on Almaz without the shadow of a recent 10k so she can beat her in any circumstances. Currently Almaz doesn't back up very well Whatsoever, Obiri knows this - and she also must be aware that she has never beaten Almaz outside of worlds of the olympics. - or turned around Almaz has never beaten Obiri when it REALLY matters.

@Hill run

Interesting observations, thanks for that.

"Doping" is not the only possible explanation for outstanding performances.

Unfortunately, in our sport it is the most common one. Until testing in Africa is up to par with America and Europe, there will continue to be justified skepticism of these "miraculous" performances, emulated only by the Chinese in the 90's or E Bloc in the 80's.

said88 wrote:

@Hill run

Interesting observations, thanks for that.

"Doping" is not the only possible explanation for outstanding performances.

said88 wrote:

"Doping" is not the only possible explanation for outstanding performances.

Of course not. Considering that about half of the athletes at championships dope, most finalists and practically all medalists and guaranteed all world record holders are dopers.

Somebody needs to explain to Jäger that a good kick requires increased cadence, and to increase cadence you have to stop bouncing so high in the air