SAMMY'S PERFORMANCE - MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN BEIJING?

Pssh, Geb ran 2:36 for his last 1k in Dubai earlier this year.

Lost Soul wrote:

Pssh, Geb ran 2:36 for his last 1k in Dubai earlier this year.

Nope

Actually it is true. Geb did run a 2:36 final kilo in Dubai. You do know how to search the web right? Look it up. Facts are amazing. Everyone keeps forgetting how great Geb is. I will predict that he runs faster in NYC than wanjiru did today in Chicago.

I predict he whines about his asthma and drops out!

Reminded me of Salazar-Beardsley Marathon clash. I don't think either of them were the same after that classic. Hope it doesn't happen to these two great runners.

for an additional $500k its worth it. He might have trashed himself for 18 months, but he'll be paid for his next race. They DEF got their moneys worth in appearance fees.

Gold medals are remembered much more than records. Wanjiru is a winner. So is Kebede. One of the only people to have beaten Kebede at the marathon is....Wanjiru.

This race was for all the marbles, and the 2 best athletes threw down and did everything they could. No excuses, no hiding behind rabbits, etc. Kebede stuck everyones balls in a vice @ 30km as usual, and Wanjiru nearly cracked.

This was a real RACE...something we have not seen in +2yrs. Its not coincidence that Wanjiru was in both.

Olympics was the better of the two runs. Chicago was more thrilling. I remember very clearly the heat and humidity and almost everyone on the board said Wanjiru would be coming back. I said no way and saw the way he moved that the guy was a total beast. That was by far his most dominating race ever!

Don B. wrote:

Reminded me of Salazar-Beardsley Marathon clash. I don't think either of them were the same after that classic. Hope it doesn't happen to these two great runners.

well. wrote:

Of course not. In Beijing he was unbeatable, not today.

I think that's the point. In Beijing he was inhuman. He just dropped people when he felt like it and cruised to an amazing victory. Here he had to kick and bite and fight for the final victory. Tougher and more impressive.

Beijing was a more impressive performance to me. The heat, the quality of the field, the pressure-no Kenyan had ever won gold, and the time 2:06:32.

I agree that Chicago was a thrilling race.

A believer wrote:

The last move was made at a slight uphill?

I think the commentators are idiots.

There is a small hill at that point.

It felt like a mountain when I got there on another warm day in 2008.

A believer wrote:

The last move was made at a slight uphill?

I think the commentators are idiots.

yes, it is a slight uphill. if you look at the flotrack finish vid when wanjiru finally drops kebede for good before the final turn, you can clearly see that it's an incline

vdawg wrote:

Balls...that was just balls.

I suspect Wanjiru might be done after this -

1) he's run a lot of marathons

2) he just made a giant pot of money

3)that was a severe trip to the well for Wanjiru = his collapse after the race is very unusual for a stoic Kenyan - he really wrecked his legs with that.

I would be surprised to see him race a marathon before the Olympics

It was an incredible race but no way better than Sammy's race in Beijing. Conditions there were much worse.

agip wrote:

I suspect Wanjiru might be done after this -

1) he's run a lot of marathons

2) he just made a giant pot of money

3)that was a severe trip to the well for Wanjiru = his collapse after the race is very unusual for a stoic Kenyan - he really wrecked his legs with that.

I would be surprised to see him race a marathon before the Olympics

Well he's planning for the WR in Dubai, and he seemed to pick the right change in his schedule to go from Berlin to Chicago to be the defending champ and pick up the World Marathon Majors title while not being in WR shape. After a performance like today it appears his marathon preparation is impeccable and if he says he's going for the WR in January then I'd believe it.

I doubted Wanjiru before today after reading all the stories about him and stuff. I even voted for Kebede on the site's poll, and Wanjiru is, to me, one of if not the most inspirational runner(s). I don't care if he never runs under 2:06 again. He's the man!

This was a fast performance and Sammy had a great kick. But let's face it, his kick was exaggerated when Kebede saw he had no shot and gave up. He was 2.5 minutes off WR pace on a flat course and was completely spent after that kick.

His effort at Beijing was much better - it is so much harder to run that pace by himself with hotter temperature and more air pollution.

Great race? You bet. One of the most amazing performances ever? Far from it. A hint that he is ready to go sub 2:04? Not really.

It was a great race, but far from legendary and there is no reason to think he is a true threat to the WR right now. 2.5 minutes is a LOT at that level.

I didn't say BETTER performance, but more IMPRESSIVE. Impressive in the sense that he was clearly hurting bad wioth 2-3 miles to go. He just refused to let Kebede go......and Kebede aint no slouch.

By the way, I was thinking over the last couple of miles today and had a thought - was Wanjiru purposely feigning little surges near the end, with the purpose of wearing out Kebede? It seemed he knew that if he surged, Kebede wouldn't let him pass....thereby also wearing him down.

If so, that is freaking brilliant.....he knew all along he would just wait until that last 800m and unleash a furious kick. Wanjiru is THE MAN

TheJerk wrote:

By the way, I was thinking over the last couple of miles today and had a thought - was Wanjiru purposely feigning little surges near the end, with the purpose of wearing out Kebede? It seemed he knew that if he surged, Kebede wouldn't let him pass....thereby also wearing him down.

If so, that is freaking brilliant.....he knew all along he would just wait until that last 800m and unleash a furious kick. Wanjiru is THE MAN

I would bet that is exactly what Wanjiru was doing