A good time to test her would be a week before the competition without her knowing in advance. Need to also scrap the notorious missed tests loophole to allow zero missed tests.
Down votes? Ironically, ya'll must not really want clean sport.
From my perspective what you said was simply obvious.
I think it's pretty clearly a WR attempt and it is a signal that the race is on to be the first to break the 14 barrier.
If Gidey doesn't get it I would expect Tsegay to make an attempt very soon. We also know Chebet is fit from her World XC win. Kipyegon has not raced this year so she is a question mark.
I actually think Tsegay will be going after the 10000m record this year. She has nothing more to prove in the 5000m unless it’s broken this weekend of course! I also think Gidey would have a much easier time regaining her 10k WR should it fall to another. Her metronomic running style lends itself to the longer distances.
Agree, I’m actually surprised (and excited) for Gidey to attempt a 5,000m record. She’s such an efficient runner and going by her half-marathon record, seems possibly destined to be the first woman under 2:11 or even 2:10. It’s insane to think about.
I actually think Tsegay will be going after the 10000m record this year. She has nothing more to prove in the 5000m unless it’s broken this weekend of course! I also think Gidey would have a much easier time regaining her 10k WR should it fall to another. Her metronomic running style lends itself to the longer distances.
fresh from Citius Mag:
At the 2024 @nikepreclassic, 10,000m world champion @gudaf_tsegay will attempt to break the 10,000m world record of 29:01.03 set by @gideyletesenbet in 2021.
Tsegay owns a personal best of 29:29.73 from her victory at last year’s Ethiopian national championships. She went on to win the gold medal at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest after the Sifan Hassan fell just meters from the finish line.
Tsegay opened up her outdoor season at the Xiamen Diamond League on April 20th and nearly broke Faith Kipyegon’s 1500m world record. She ran 3:50.30 to move into No. 3 on the all-time list for the event.
Wow! and you have to say that given her current monster form she is odds on to break the record and go sub 29. I’m a huge fan of Letesenbet and would love to see her hang on to her records but women’s distance running is such an exciting watch these days. Great to see these record attempts by the very best of the bunch.
I though Tsegay had peaked at 3:53 and wouldn't come close to 14:00 and was so wrong about both. To me, it seems like Gidey's 14:06 is at the pinnacle of her ability. I hope I'm wrong about that too. Would love to see something amazing
I just hope nobody gets in her way and costs her the sub 14 like what happened to Tsegay. All the other runners should be told to move out to lane 2 before they get lapped.
Right now forecast is for mid 60s w./ upper 50s dew point & 10mph wind when she races. A little less than ideal which could be enough to make/break a record attempt. Would be excited to see it happen
I agree with you she’s tried three times and her times are grouped around a three second peg. I doubt she can shave a further 6seconds from her best, - but then again who knows. I am friends with one of her male pacers and he’s told me she is an absolute Lioness in training.
regardless she is the one runner who you can watch and think you’ll never see anything so beautiful in motion again.
At the same time though, each of those runs have something about them that makes me think that they don't represent her full potential. Her 14:06 is from 3.5 years ago, and I think she's definitely fitter now than she was then. Also, she ran the last 2k by herself there. Her 14:07 I don't think she or Kipyegon had the record anywhere near their minds. It looked like they were racing and she probably could have run faster if she was focusing on the record. As for the 14:08, iirc the pacers dropped out relatively early and it was a windy day. Compare these runs to Tsegay, who had one of the top runners in the world racing her the entire way and was clearly gunning for the WR in near perfect conditions. I think Gidey absolutely has the potential to go sub14
Admittedly speculation, but the women’s 5k at the Shanghai DL looks to me like a WR attempt. It’s not part of the actual Diamond League program, instead being run right before the DL events kick off (a la Jakob’s 2-mile). The field is “world class,” sure, but Gidey is in a class by herself, with a 5k PB 33 seconds faster than anyone else in the race—which is a condition you often see in deliberate record attempts. Gidey had her 5k WR taken last year, and she attempted to take it back in her last track race in Berlin but came up short in 14:08–she’s now run 14:06, 14:07, and 14:08. There’s a handful of B-list Ethiopians on the start list which could include pacers/training partners, and also Winnie Nanyondo who paced Kipyegon’s mile WR last year.
The only thing that would make me think otherwise is that Shanghai (and China in general) isn’t known for fast distance races—although Tsegay did a lot to shred that notion in Xiamen. The temperature looks good at this point (67-68 F) but it will be quite humid and a bit windy.
Does this look like a WR attempt to you? If so, do you think she has a chance?
Because of the reasons you state, the first that this isn't part of the DL meet and is being run right before, would indicate a WR attempt to me. Furthermore, again like you already said, no other real athletes close to her so I'm guessing it'll be heavily paced as well.
There's no other reason to do this other than WR attempt.
China doesn't work by normal logic and Ethiopia is a fellow Dictatorship so it doesn't either. It's probably a WR attempt, but it might as well just be some kind of diplomatic "friendship" deal between China And Ethiopia where the win for China is get more females to the stadium audience early so that it's full on television from minute one of the real Diamond League and Ethiopia in turn gets a highway built on the countryside or a supporting vote in the UN or a military deal or something like that.
Well that's disappointing, I allowed myself to get a bit excited. Any chance it's a ruse and they'll be set to 13:59 at the start line tomorrow? *clutching at straws*