LetsRun.com's Preview Of The 2012 Memorial Van Damme Men's 10,000: Isiah Koech Makes His 10,000 Debut As A Slew Of Other Teens, Including World Jr. 10,000 Champ Yigrem Demelash, Try To Make Their Mark
LRC LetsRun.com's Preview Of The 2012 Memorial Van Damme Track & Field Meet
By LetsRun.com
September 6, 2012
European 10,000s are a rare event in this day and age but Brussels can normally be counted on to have one. This is the place where last year Galen Rupp broke Chris Solinsky's American record and ran 26:48.00.
Brussels is putting on one again this year and there is a lot of stuff to pay attention to.
The race is being hyped by many as the 10,000 debut for Kenya's 18-year-old Isiah Koech, who has run 12:48 this year, and was 5th in London in the 5,000 (More: MB: Isaiah Koech Will Run About 26:30 In Brussels). More recently, Koech got a big $50,000 win in the DL final in Zurich. Koech is clearly a top talent and we're excited to see what he can do at 10,000.
The one tiny knock people have come up with about Galen Rupp's amazing 10,000 silver from the London Olympics is that the Kenyan and Ethiopian squads maybe weren't the strongest they've ever produced. We haven't done the research to see if that's really true or not - it may be that Rupp is so good he easily can dispatch a 27:05 type - but we certainly thought in the case of Isiah Koech for Kenya and Dejen Gebremeskel for Ethiopia, "What would have happened if those guys had doubled?"
Well, we may get a glimpse of the answer by watching Koech run in Brussels.
The Kenyan 10,000 Trials certainly wasn't the highest quality affair in Eugene. Supporting that point is the fact that the 4th placer at the Kenyan Trials - Emmauel Bett - is racing in Brussels. After the Kenyan Trials, he was only tenth at the Preachtree Road Race in Atlanta and his half marathon PR is a modest 62:10.
The fifth placer from the Kenyan Trials/Pre is also in Brussels - Geofrrey Kirui. In Eugene, he was less than three seconds from being an Olympian but he later went to World Juniors where he was trounced by 14+ seconds.
The winner of World Juniors? None other than Ethiopia's Yigrem Demelash, who makes his pro 10,000 debut in Brussels. He is definitely someone who we will be paying a lot of attention to. The 2010 World Junior champ Dennis Masai - the younger brother of Linet and Moses Masai - is also in the field. He has had a disappointing pro career so far.
Road 10k and 15k world record holder Leonard Patrick Komon is a big-time talent who has missed most of 2012. Komon, who also won World Cross-Country silver in 2008, is racing for the first time since January. Another person who will be looking to regain his old form is Ethiopia's Imane Merga - the 2011 World Cross-Country champ and 2011 WC 10,000 bronze medallist.
And the LetsRun/Internet cult hero from 2010, Josphat Menjo, is also in the field. Menjo is the guy who couldn't get into DL meeetings in 2010 so he went out and ran 3:53 in the mile, 12:55 for 5,000 and 26:56 for 10,000 all by himself with no rabbits.
Below you will find the entire field entered in the Brussels 10,000. We put the more interesting entrants in red.
More: Rest Of The Meet Preview: LRC LetsRun.com's Preview Of The 2012 Memorial Van Damme Track & Field Meet
MB: Isaiah Koech Will Run About 26:30 In Brussels *Menjo runs a solo 12:55 *Menjo 26:56 world lead in track 10k *KIPRONO MENJO DOES IT AGAIN!!!!!!
| Athlete | DATE OF BIRTH | Nation | PB | SB | 5000 PB | 5000 SB | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
12.12.1990
|
TUR
|
27:38.81
|
27:38.81
|
13:05.98 | 13:27.21 | European 10k champ was 9th in London. | |
|
30.03.1983
|
KEN
|
26:51.95
|
27:07.90
|
13:08.10 | 13:08.10 | 4th placer at Kenyan Trials at Pre went only to finish 10th at Peachtree Road Race. Half marathon pb is modest 62:10. | |
|
12.06.1990
|
KEN
|
26:48.99
|
27:39.65
|
12:57.43 | 13:44.5 | 2008 world junior 10k champ was only 13th at Pre. Did run 26:48 in 2011. | |
|
05.07.1988
|
KEN
|
28:23.46
|
|
12:51.45 | 12:59.28 | 4th placer in Kenyan 5k Trials dropped out of Zurich 5k last week. | |
|
01.01.1989
|
KEN
|
27:32.43
|
27:59.05
|
13:02.94 | 12:59.72 | Ran 7:34.71 for 4th at ISTAF Berlin 3k. | |
|
28.01.1994
|
ETH
|
28:16.07
|
28:16.07
|
13:03.30 | 13:03.30 | The 2012 world junior champ is someone worth paying attention to. Won world juniors by 7+ seconds. 8th in Oslo and 7th in Zurich at 5k. | |
|
27.03.1985
|
FRA
|
|
|
Not sure why a 3:49, 8:37 (1,500/3k) guy would be in this field unless it's to rabbit like a mile. | |||
|
15.01.1986
|
KEN
|
27:23.75
|
27:23.75
|
12:58.58 | 13:21.55 | 26-year-old was at his best back in 2006 when got silver at African champs. 10th at Pre. | |
|
02.08.1984
|
KEN
|
27:19.74
|
27:19.74
|
13:03.37 | 13:03.37 | Another youngster worth watching. No idea why this guy who supposedly just turned 18 didn't run World Juniors. In June of this year, he won Kenyan champs 10k and African champs 10k. He also set a world junior record of 59:11 in the half marathon on March 11th. His 13:03 in Heusden was good for third in a race that was won in 13:01.91 by Rop. | |
|
16.02.1993
|
KEN
|
26:55.73
|
27:08.44
|
13:20.54 | 5th at Pre this year - was expected to win World Juniors but only got third. | ||
|
19.12.1993
|
KEN
|
|
|
12:48.64 | 12:48.64 | World Junior record holder indoor at 3k (7:32.89) and 5k (12:53.29) got a huge win last week in Zurich that gave him the DL title at 5,000. Was 5th in the Olympic 5k after getting 4th last year. Much anticipated 10k debut. | |
|
10.01.1988
|
KEN
|
26:55.29
|
26:55.29
|
12:58.24. | XC/road specialist was the 2008 world xc runnerup and 4th in 2009 and 2010. Has 10k and 15k road WRs at 26:44 at 41:13. Ran 26:55.29 for 9th at Pre last year. Hasn't raced since January. | ||
|
31.08.1990
|
ETH
|
27:18.39
|
27:18.39
|
13:00.15 | 13:09.32 | 2009 African Jr. champ at 5k was 8th in Hengelo this year at 10k. | |
|
01.12.1991
|
KEN
|
27:32.79
|
27:32.79
|
13:23.53 | Linet's brother was the 2010 world junior champ but has struggled this year and as a pro. 12th at Pre and Peachtree. Only 63:13 half marathon. Still only 20. | ||
|
20.08.1979
|
KEN
|
26:56.74
|
27:55.81
|
12:55.95 | 13:10.55 | He became an internet sensation in 2010 when he solo'd a 3:53 mile, 12:55 5,000 and 26:56 10,000. Everyone loved the fact he didn't need rabbits | |
|
15.10.1988
|
ETH
|
26:48.35
|
27:42.39
|
12:53.58 | 12:59.77 | 2011 World XC champ and 2011 10,000 bronze medallist has been on top of his game this year. Only ran 13:07 for 8th in Zurich last week. | |
|
20.12.1994
|
KEN
|
|
|
13:01.91 | 13:01.91 | Another guy who is listed at age 17 (but why didn't he do world juniors?). 12th in Shanghai, 10th at Pre in 5ks this year. Did win Heusden over Kipkemoi in early July. | |
|
11.12.1990
|
KEN
|
27:07.85
|
28:04.63
|
13:08.23 | 13:21.27 | 2007 World Youth champ was 9th at Peachtree and 4th at Boilermaker this year. |
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