UA Runner wrote:
LetsRun.com wrote:
The last 6 men's WRs have all been set in Berlin. Can the greatest marathoner ever make it #7?
Why do people consider him the greatest marathoner ever? People have short memories. Breaking2 not withstanding, he has the third best marathon of all time. And one could argue that he is so dominant now mainly because the competition isn't as strong. Bekele, Kipsang, Kimetto are getting past their prime. Who else is there? A random Guye Adola almost beat Kipchoge last year at Berlin in his first marathon ever.
One could argue that Kipsang's nearly solo 2:03 in Tokyo, or Geoffrey Mutai's 2:05.05 at NYC were more impressive than a handful of non record setting performances at London and Berlin. Kimetto's 2:03 in Chicago.. all are performances that are unmatched.
Had Breaking2 not happened, not sure Kipchoge would have nearly the hype.
1) Olympic gold
2) 8 wins of 9 in last races
3) beat ALL of your above mentioned heroes
4) aided 2:00:25
Setting a WR and winning in Tokyo would put greatest marathoner of all time out of reach for awhile. Note that only kipsang has an Olympic medal in the marathon (bronze) of your listed men. Kipchoge also has a significantly faster top 5 times over the distance than any of your listed men, even with breaking2 not factored in.