george oscar bluth wrote:
You're showing your ignorance of the sport. Kipchoge has beaten all challengers from his generation, including avenging his one loss to Kipsang. Haile couldn't win London or the Olympics.
Haile ducked the best to chase times. Look at who he beat in his wins vs. who Kipchoge beat in his wins and it is embarrassingly lopsided.
Kipchoge doesn't need a WR. He's the GOAT marathoner at this point.
WR DO MATTER.
In order to be the goat, there can be no negatives against you, and there are some negatives against Kipchoge.
Kipsang and Kipchoge have beaten each other, but Kip beat Kipchoge while breaking the WR. That puts that win on a higher level.
Yes Kipchoge has beaten his peers, but so has Kipsang.
Kipchoge is not HANDS DOWN the goat, no matter how much you want to make him that. HE is one of the greatest marathon runners to ever do it. But there are still some accomplishments that are missing from his legacy.
Now if he wins this weekend, and breaks the WR, then it would be hard to say he is not the GOAT. He would pretty much be complete as a marathon runner. That would seal the deal.
However, what if Kipsang wins and breaks the WR while doing it?.. That would be 2 wins over Kipchoge, each time breaking the WR.
Kipchoge being the GOAT is not even close to being a forgone conclusion at the moment. You ask Kipchoge about the WR, and he talks around it, never direct. He plays it safe on and off the road. Something about that does not sit right with me, especially when runners like Kip do not shy away about going for the WR. I like Kipchoge a lot, but runners like Kipsang, Keitany, Haile, Paula, they just resonate with me on a different level.
We all watch running and enjoy running for different reasons. I don't like one trick ponies ( not referring to kipchoge), nor do I like cheats, and WRs are very high on my list. No one lucks up and breaks a WR. That is a pure illustration of victory, and it is an extremely rare moment. It means that you were/are the fastest human being in the universe at that particular distance, and no one can say otherwise until your time has been broken.