Plaatjes rarely if ever raced for any other country though. I believe he was caught in limbo for several years 9during his prime) because he was seeking refuge from oppression in S. Africa.
Plaatjes rarely if ever raced for any other country though. I believe he was caught in limbo for several years 9during his prime) because he was seeking refuge from oppression in S. Africa.
Victory say:
>>that PR isn't in line with the rest of his times, hence the use of the term "fluke".<<
His PR is exactly in in line with the rest of his times. Every competition has an element of CHANCE, good fortune or bad.
He had Bonne chance that day and his record is exemplary.
I ran at both NYC 1993 and Boston 1994.
NYC was a tough day to run -- bright sun day and the temps peaked at 67 F. And Kempainen ran about 1:00 faster that Steve's PR.
Boston had the greatest conditions ever. Make no mistake -- it was absolutely a wind-aided marathon.
Let's compare differentials of others who ran both
Kempainen -- 2:16 faster at Boston
Espinosa -- 2:50 faster
Barrios -- 3:53 faster
[...and way down the list...]
McVeigh -- 4:09 faster
So there's a decent argument that Kempainen's mark at Boston is a lot less exceptional than his run at NYC.
He was the best U.S. marathoner at one time which means he was slow as fvck.