This is going to sound sh1tty but it's not meant to. Kejelcha is a cult hero, exactly like Pre. Both have no great resonance beyond a narrow band of distance running fans because neither have excelled in the ways that the true greats do. I love Yomif, he's up there with my favourite runners currently competing, but his status is cult hero. He gets the credit he deserves for a guy who has one global medal to his name. I keep hoping for more for him, but that's where he is at the minute.
I wish he had more championship success because he definitely deserves it.
Why does he deserve it? Is this something I never heard of?
I think it’s less about “deserves it” and more that it’s just surprising that he hasn’t succeeded in championships more. He has times near the top of the all time list in everything from the indoor mile to the half marathon. People want to see a guy like that win, with his range he is arguably the best runner in the world. But because of the tactical nature of championship races it isn’t always the best runner that wins, it’s the guy who can run the best 400 or 800 at the end of a long effort, which isn’t quite as intriguing as seeing guys go all out against the other best runners in the world.
He ALWAYS wants to rip! He's in nearly every fast race and he's run many distances. I love his willingness to lead late in races because he loves to push his body. He's the true peoples champ. I love it.
I respectfully disagree. Kejelcha doesn't always want to rip. He likes to let it rip in paced time trials, but not in global championship races. Just look at his global championship races this decade and the times run by the winner in each:
2021 Olympic 10k - that was a race won in 27:43
2022 WC 5k - race won in 13:09; pace was so slow Jakob had time for water breaks during the race
2023 WC 5k - race won in 13:11
2024 Olympic 10k - this one was better. He and his teammates took turns leading and made the pace hot for the first 7k or so, but then they backed off. Cheptegei is the one who made a hard move with 550m left to go, and he was rewarded with the win.
The 2023 world championship race was perhaps the most egregious. Kejelcha saw firsthand how easily Jakob won the year before off a pedestrian early pace. Did he and his teammates try a different strategy in Budapest? Nope! They handed the race on a golden platter to Jakob again by letting the early part of the race be run even slower than the year before!
The first 1600m in Budapest was run in 4:24 and the leader split 8:13 at 3k. Mind you, Kejelcha had won the Oslo Diamond League 5k in 12:41 earlier that season, and he won the Zurich Diamond League 5K in 12:46 just four days after the world championship final! Where was that ripping in Budapest??
Pre is lauded because he took the lead and pushed the pace to try to win an Olympic championship race. Just look at what Pre did below. Kejelcha hasn't done the same in a global championship race.
I respectfully disagree. Kejelcha doesn't always want to rip. He likes to let it rip in paced time trials, but not in global championship races. Just look at his global championship races this decade and the times run by the winner in each:
2021 Olympic 10k - that was a race won in 27:43
2022 WC 5k - race won in 13:09; pace was so slow Jakob had time for water breaks during the race
2023 WC 5k - race won in 13:11
2024 Olympic 10k - this one was better. He and his teammates took turns leading and made the pace hot for the first 7k or so, but then they backed off. Cheptegei is the one who made a hard move with 550m left to go, and he was rewarded with the win.
The 2023 world championship race was perhaps the most egregious. Kejelcha saw firsthand how easily Jakob won the year before off a pedestrian early pace. Did he and his teammates try a different strategy in Budapest? Nope! They handed the race on a golden platter to Jakob again by letting the early part of the race be run even slower than the year before!
The first 1600m in Budapest was run in 4:24 and the leader split 8:13 at 3k. Mind you, Kejelcha had won the Oslo Diamond League 5k in 12:41 earlier that season, and he won the Zurich Diamond League 5K in 12:46 just four days after the world championship final! Where was that ripping in Budapest??
Pre is lauded because he took the lead and pushed the pace to try to win an Olympic championship race. Just look at what Pre did below. Kejelcha hasn't done the same in a global championship race.
I agree. Whether it’s his coach or the federation stopping him or his own fault, he needs to run a championship final with purpose. It doesn’t have to be from the gun but probably from 2-3000 out just start ripping sub-60 laps. He wimps out when it matters most and he bats about .150 in executing a last lap correctly. Jacob Krop is a worse runner in every way, but when he’s fit he’s landed two medals because he timed the last lap well. Ditto Kwemoi last year, and Mo Ahmed in the past. Yomif’s last 100 is always a problem so he needs to at least dictate the race.
Kejelcha was supposed to front 3000-3500, then Almgren 3500-4000 and possibly beyond.
At least that's what Almgren told Swedish television after the race. He had made a deal with Yomif that if Yomif pushed first pushed it when the last pacer stepped off he (Almgren) was gonna do next push.
Now obviously the minor cramp that caused him to step off changed that, but you can see in the way that Kejelcha looks around for him with 4 and 3 laps to go that he's wondering "Where the hell is that crazy Swede, now I have to continue on my own".
BEFORE the race Almgren said that he is crazy fit right now and that his training indicates that he should be able to drop a couple of seconds from his 12:44 PB.
This post was edited 48 seconds after it was posted.
Kejelcha was supposed to front 3000-3500, then Almgren 3500-4000 and possibly beyond.
At least that's what Almgren told Swedish television after the race. He had made a deal with Yomif that if Yomif pushed first pushed it when the last pacer stepped off he (Almgren) was gonna do next push.
Now obviously the minor cramp that caused him to step off changed that, but you can see in the way that Kejelcha looks around for him with 4 and 3 laps to go that he's wondering "Where the hell is that crazy Swede, now I have to continue on my own".
BEFORE the race Almgren said that he is crazy fit right now and that his training indicates that he should be able to drop a couple of seconds from his 12:44 PB.
That was a real shame. Almgren looked so comfortable and then, suddenly, just wasn't there. It was pretty weird and I assumed it was a hamstring so I'm glad to hear it was just cramp
I appreciate that he prioritizes going out there and running fast, even if he tends to get a bit over his skis in the last couple of laps. I'll be rooting for him in Tokyo, but I don't know if he 'deserves' a medal more than his peers...Most of the guys in the middle or back of the pack are out there running their absolute d*cks off, but they're just not good enough to be competitive with the top guys. Do they deserve medals, too?
I don't really care who deserves medals, I just like Kejelcha because he lets it rip every time he's out there and isn't a pansy who is afraid to fade late in a fast race. Sure he doesn't have medals but neither does Steve Prefontaine, unless you count the bumper of his car through his chest.
You apparently don´t know much about your hero who has 1 silver medal in the 10000m from 2019 and 2 world indoor golds in the 3000m.
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I don´t know why you are so excited about the race yesterday. Yomif won a 5000m where almost everyone else underperformed.
And he faded in the last laps ending running a mediocre time relative to his top level.
If he and the other top runners don`t improve significantly before Tokyo it looks unlikely they can challenge the usual 5000m winner (provided the latter overcomes his injury).
Taking into account Yomif having a few cracks, and a sprinkling of other notable performances, my general feeling is that no one has stepped up to a high enough level yet in the 5000m to challenge Jakob at Worlds.
Last year, Gebhriwet's 12:36 casted a seed of doubt, but haven't even seen anything like that this year.
Probably my favorite non-American distance runner. I was at Milrose in 2019 (I think? lol) when he was going for the indoor mile WR but barely missed it. The crowd was going nuts the last 100m and when the time came up everyone was silent with an “awww” when we realized he just missed it
Probably my favorite non-American distance runner. I was at Milrose in 2019 (I think? lol) when he was going for the indoor mile WR but barely missed it. The crowd was going nuts the last 100m and when the time came up everyone was silent with an “awww” when we realized he just missed it
I don't really care who deserves medals, I just like Kejelcha because he lets it rip every time he's out there and isn't a pansy who is afraid to fade late in a fast race. Sure he doesn't have medals but neither does Steve Prefontaine, unless you count the bumper of his car through his chest.
You apparently don´t know much about your hero who has 1 silver medal in the 10000m from 2019 and 2 world indoor golds in the 3000m.
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I don´t know why you are so excited about the race yesterday. Yomif won a 5000m where almost everyone else underperformed.
And he faded in the last laps ending running a mediocre time relative to his top level.
If he and the other top runners don`t improve significantly before Tokyo it looks unlikely they can challenge the usual 5000m winner (provided the latter overcomes his injury).
Probably my favorite non-American distance runner. I was at Milrose in 2019 (I think? lol) when he was going for the indoor mile WR but barely missed it. The crowd was going nuts the last 100m and when the time came up everyone was silent with an “awww” when we realized he just missed it