The London scoop - Kiplimo and his camp downplay expectations, Claudio Beradeli RAVES about Sawe

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

rojo wrote:

Jonathan Gault has talked to all of the major men's players today in London.

Link:www.letsrun.com/news/2025/04/london-ma...

Sawe's coach Claudio Berardelli was full of praise for his star and said that his buildup for London has gone even better than the one ahead of Valencia.

"I've done this job for 21 years," Berardelli. "I'm not sure I've ever coached a guy like him. In a very holistic perspective, he's probably the best guy I've ever coached for the marathon. More than back in the years of [three-time London champ] Martin Lel and even of the current guys I'm still coaching, with all the respect due to them, I'm yet to fully understand what is his potential. The way he handles things, even from a mental point of view, he is always very much in control. He looks like someone who has already run maybe three, four, five marathons.

"I really think I'm lucky that I've gotten a guy like him. It's quite an experience, even for me. Because I've seen him doing things that probably I've never seen before."

When Berardelli says Sawe is "probably the best guy I've ever coached," that means he is better than all of these guys:

Martin Lel -- Three-time London champion and two-time NYC champion
Evans Chebet -- Two-time Boston champion and 2022 NYC champion
Benson Kipruto -- Wins in Boston (2021), Chicago (2022), and Tokyo (2024); 2024 Olympic bronze medalist
Amos Kipruto -- 2022 London champion

I think Sawe wins and dips under 2:02. Kiplimo around 2:03 flat, getting by Tola late and then Kipchoge/Mutiso/Abdi in the high 2:03/low204 range.

It sounds like Sawe's prep was substantially better than his training partner Kotut's, and Kotut just put together a performance probably hinting at 2:03 in London.