"He (Kenenisa) has confidence again," says Hermens

Looking forward to this race more than any. My opinion is that Farah crushes him on last lap.

But in general Tariku or Farah?

I don't think Ken will medal. He's just running on reputation at this stage.

He certainly has a chance but I'd expect at least 3 guys to be able to finish faster.

Hahahahahahahha, "Mental Midget", that's a classic phrase. SPMBLNPF, you are an absolute legend!!!

I still like Bekele for this one, no doubt. I mean, he's looked a little flat this year, but still.....12:55. And we all know 10k is really his bread and butter, not 5k. Plus he's been on the comeback trail and Hermans says he's ready to roll now after recovering from heavy training and racing.

Farah has a chance here, but this is Bekele's race to lose.

are you a string theorist?

I like Bekele as well. He has an amazing record in the Games. He is a true champion who has won numerous big races. I hope he can take another 10K gold.

if say it, he mean it. in most of local news recently he prefre to say we will see, God knows, i am trying my best... !!!!

now if he give such a phrase then he is really in good shape.

SPMBLNPF wrote:

Remember this: Farah lost his last 10,000m race. Kenenisa has NEVER lost at the distance, if you don't count the DNF. There will be no DNF this time, and that means one thing: with a lap to go, I am going with the man who has never lost.

Even KB regards his DNF as a loss. I saw this interview with Hermans last year. KB didn't give a crap about his "undefeated" status. He was running the WC because he wanted to see where he was after a disastrous year. When he realized he wasn't in contention he gave up not to preserve his undefeated status but in order to go back home and train some more without doing some damage.

He came back a few weeks later and that proved he did everything right.

Overraced and overtrained? That's just retarded. He's done maybe one more 5000m than he would have normally done, so he is not overraced, and coming back from a long injury layoff. His form shows a lack of training, as well as a lack of sharpness. He can sharpen up in 29 days, but no one, not even Bekele, can train to 26:40 fitness in a month. I say he will be good for a 26:50 tops, with a last lap in the high-50s. It's not going to be a good day for Bekele.

I am a keen follower of athletics because i compete in it and i also like to bet on it.

I am betting on bekele to win the 10,000ms because of a number of reasons..

1. he is the only man to win an olympic gold in the race.

2.his main rival mo farah has only recently began to give running his all(i will find text to this extent if needed),when living with kenyans he stated how shocked he was at how they gave it everything, whilst he partied, ate kebabs and came home late...i ask yous this? with 4 laps to go in the biggest race of these mens lives and the physical becomes the mental battle,who will win?... in my opinion it is the man who will have sacrificed the most, not just for four or five years but their lives.

3. People say bekele has showed no form this season, well when the crunch came he did?at the british trials for the 10000 which doubled as the ethiopian trials??strange i know. his time of 27.02?not special think again..i will find the report again if needed..there was strong winds, most of the field was getting lapped after 4 laps and had to be consistantly asked to move for the remainder of the race..an example of the runners in this field include

http://www.thepowerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=62742&event=10000&venue=Birmingham&date=22-Jun-12

4. He won that race with a 55second kick in the last lap.

So finally if bekele is in at least 10% in better shape than that, i believe that he will be a VERY VERY serious threat...and at 3/1 that represents a great opportunity to make money..

I am also looking forward to this race more than any other. There are so many little stories inside the race. Farah as the favorite for the home country; Bekele not looking razor sharp this year & where will he really be at; Rupp at the great white hope; how will the Kenyans respond & what kind of team tactics will they use. It should be fun to watch. I am thankful that NBC is actually showing this event live on Saturday afternoon, as it should be high drama. As much as I like Rupp, I really hope it comes down to a last lap sprint where Bekele & Farah separate from the pack a bit. That will make it even more exciting.

common wrote:

He can sharpen up in 29 days, but no one, not even Bekele, can train to 26:40 fitness in a month. I say he will be good for a 26:50 tops, with a last lap in the high-50s. It's not going to be a good day for Bekele.

What does this even mean? Of course you can train to 26:40 fitness in a month if you're already in 12:55 shape and not peaked. He did the same thing last year.

Wilson kiprop is the dark horse! Hes gona make it an honest run race, wait and see!

I wish Jos Hermanns did not have so many suspicious doping questions about his own and his athletes' past.

SPMBLNPF wrote:

someone had to do it wrote:

So Bekele has never lost a 10k, if you don't count the 10k he lost?

cool

Another mental midget surfaces. Learn how to read moron. Kenenisa has NEVER lost a 10,000m race he has finished. I don't care whether you call his DNF a loss or not. It has NOTHING to do with the fact that Kenenisa will finish the 10,000m in London and he will still not have lost a 10,000m race he has finished. It is very difficult for intellectual giants to relate to mental midgets, and I am growing increasingly intolerant of you fools.

I have to agree with SPMBLNPF on this one. KB is NOT a loser at 10k.

Just a quitter

How comical would that be in the 2012 London Olympic finals to see two runners sprinting down the homestretch side by side giving it their all for the illustrious Gold Medal and watching 14 other runners step off the track knowing they had no chance to win!!!!

By the end of Saturday, you will be the MORON yourself. If you use your head, you will realize that every signal indicates that Kenenisa is in trouble this year more than ever before. First check how many back-to-back 5000m races he lost this year alone despite his agent Hermans saying he is in great shape. And for the 10000m race he ran, he barely beat the other two Ethiopians also running in London on Saturday, one of whom is a marathoner. Then his agent has to make such a statement four days to the race. Remember that Hermans made such strong statement in Eugene before the 5000m race where he was soundly beaten. So that is not a surprise. The reality is that Kenenisa, were he to finish the race, would be beaten by his own brother. Farah will finish a head of him and at least three other runners. That is to say that Kenenisa will not finish better than sixth. That is not wishing the greatest distance runner bad luck but that is what facts tell me and anyone else who can make an unbiased assessment.

SPMBLNPF wrote:

Remember this: Farah lost his last 10,000m race. Kenenisa has NEVER lost at the distance, if you don't count the DNF. There will be no DNF this time, and that means one thing: with a lap to go, I am going with the man who has never lost.

So Bekele has never lost a 10k, if you don't count the 10k he lost?

cool[/quote]

Another mental midget surfaces. Learn how to read moron. Kenenisa has NEVER lost a 10,000m race he has finished. I don't care whether you call his DNF a loss or not. It has NOTHING to do with the fact that Kenenisa will finish the 10,000m in London and he will still not have lost a 10,000m race he has finished. It is very difficult for intellectual giants to relate to mental midgets, and I am growing increasingly intolerant of you fools.[/quote]

I agree with you although at times I have my doubts about K the man (for every begining is an end) This probably will be one of the most defining moments in Olympic history, where a distance runner wants to become the first man ever to win three consecutive gold medals in the 10K (and no one will be able to do that) and K is the only one who is willing to take that leap. I want him to win but things can happen; but whatever happens and if somebody else wins, they will have to pay a very high prize to take it away from K.

Azaleas wrote:

What does this even mean? Of course you can train to 26:40 fitness in a month if you're already in 12:55 shape and not peaked. He did the same thing last year.

This isn't grade 7 track, where you knock two seconds a week off your time because you started the season on no training. Bekele is in 12:55/26:50 fitness, and flat on speed. He's running those times off his peak fitness, not peak speed. I'm saying he can get sharper, i.e. faster over the last 200-400m, but not fitter, i.e. endurance. That ship has sailed. The more speed he does, the more of his endurance he trades for it.

If the race goes faster than 26:50, he won't have a kick to compete for the podium. If it goes 27 flat, he'll have a kick equal to about four others in the field. I just don't think his chances are good in either scenario because he lacks basic aerobic fitness relative to his pre-injury level.