Where does Asbel Kiprop rank among all-time 1500m runners?

I'd say that Asbel Kiprop, although at this point not even a blip on the historical running radar, might have what it takes to eventually be one of the best milers in the world. He has a decent stride, OK kick, and doesn't shy away from good old-fashioned racing. He's sort of like the Tom Brady of the mid-distance world: Not quite a household name or Hall of Fame material, but good enough so that very close followers of the sport recognize his name. I think that someone will eventually offer him a show contract and that he'll become an outside threat to medal on the world stage before his career is over, but he's got a lot of competition just among his fellow Kenyans, to say nothing of guys like Manzano and Centro that he'll have to run down when the stakes are highest.

Deanouk wrote:Here's a direct quote from an interview with Cram published on October 5th 1985 in AW: -

Interviewer: - (Regarding the 1:42.88 Zurich race against Cruz)..."Were you running close to your limits that night?"

Cram: - " I think so. I'm never really going to set the world alight at 800 and I don't think I'll ever be capable of running a world record time....I knew Cruz would be going out in his usual way and I was just determined to hang on to him and if I could get past him in the last 200 fair enough."

World record breaking athletes aren't renowned for their modesty and Cram wouldn't have said such things had he believed he could run a second faster as Venty does.

But obviously we should all bow down before the master intellect that is Ventolin, who clearly knows more than the elite athletes themselves.

you endlessly quote the same delf-deprecating rubbish cram has mostly spouted all his life, apart from the post-mile race where he says he was "flying" & "couda kept going after the finish"

clearly cram has no clue about his form that day & only seems to have looked at the clocking

he clearly didn't see that he ran ~6m extra making his final clocking more like

1'42.2

in a tactical race which went off far too slow

he also seems to be unaware he hammered cruz by 0.35s, the cruz who 4/7 later ran 1'42.54 & 3/7 after that he went 1'42.49

cruz coudn't have lost all his form in 1/52 let alone 4/7 & on a form guide this gives cram's zurich effort as low-1'42

exactly consistent with his zurich run if the simple extra distance is accounted for

& like i said, everyone including himself knew he was in better shape in oslo mile

as for cram's "modesty", this simply stems from observation he seems to have a huge inferiorty complex to coe/ovett, especially coe, despite running 3 & almost 4 wrs

this clearly stems from fact he failed to win gold in '84 whilst injured & only had pathetic 1'46.05sb speed that year

the lack of the ultimate gold meant he knew the public, especially the british public woud never place him in the same category as coe/ovett no matter how many or how good his wrs

this observation clear to any experienced observer at the time is clearly beyond you

if he'd been 100% fit in '84 he had an almost 50/50 shot of gold & i doubt any of this self-deprecating rubbish wouda been spouted

Walker at 5? All credibility gone. Bayi before him.

nonsense

i was in the park outside stadium watching it on the big screen

it was at least 85F & nearer 90F

only a fool woud not call 85 - 90 not brutal

nonsense

it was at least 10 - 15F too hot

as for fast track, more nonsense :

nick ran there 1'42.95 & returned next year with 1'43.67

then he ran 1'43.03 in brussels

is the 11y ole brussels track 0.64s faster than london ???

if it is, then london has some shiit mondo

utter drivel

he's shaking rudy's hand after the race, gets his flag & presumably did his lap of honour

where is this stretcher ???

drivel

he has pacing to ~ 550m & then head-on shows him wide of aman & then ~ 40m of last bend running wide of aman

completely clueless

he has 10y of running ahead of him

only a fool woud claim this

Deano

coe is a narcissist. Cram and ovett aren't. They are modest and play down their achievements. Coe is win at costs guy . Remember dad - second is nowhere? Made his mistress have an abortion while his wife was carrying a child. At the end of the day, against ur reason he is a major loser. He would have done anything ANYTHING to win. Fill in the gaps.

Cheers for that nugget Ventolin.

None of that has any relevance to the thread or most of the comments being made.

You clearly know little of some of the gems Ovett and Cram have come out with over during their careers.

ventolin^3 wrote:

Elmer Fudd wrote:It was 26 degrees in London on the 9.8.12, with no wind

nonsense

i was in the park outside stadium watching it on the big screen

it was at least 85F & nearer 90F

There's nothing brutal about that heat

only a fool woud not call 85 - 90 not brutal

Perfect conditions for a 2 minute race on a fast mondo track you idiot

nonsense

it was at least 10 - 15F too hot

It was 26 C which is 78F on Aug 9th in London. That is a typical temperature in Europe in August.

Shown on graph here

And Rudisha clearly didn't think 26C was too hot as he said after the race,

"Today the weather was beautiful – I decided to go for it." Indeed it was. Outside the sun was setting, turning the sky a colour that must have been familiar to Rudisha, a twilight shade that he grew up with each night in Iten, up in the Rift Valley."

78F is not brutal for anyone let alone an African. For a Marathon maybe but not 2 laps of the track. All your talk of 'brutal heat' is a load of bull.

Hey Ventolin

Ready to apologize for you Carl Lewis comments yet? If this other poster is correct, you may need to apologize for getting the temperature wrong now too.

fool

learn to read

i was outside stadium watching big screen

it was damn hot

it was 85 - 90F

i'm giving you 1st hand account of temp not a chart

more nonsense

he said he was going to run it solo a year before

as long as it wasn't 50F & pissing down rain he was going to blast it, except he had hoped kitum wouda wabbited him but woudn't

nonsense

it was 85 - 90 time of race

i don't care where on planet you come from

that is too hot for your best possible 800

So you have a built in thermometer up your a** do u, or you just walk around with one? Saddo.

The official Met Office MAXIMUM temp on day of 800 final was 26 degrees. By the time he ran in evening it would have been a couple of degrees cooler numbskull.

And I live in London so I was also able to see the temp.

Let's see, will others believe a mad man on here or the official body for recording temperatures in Britain?

Elmer Fudd wrote:So you have a built in thermometer up your a** do u, or you just walk around with one? Saddo

fuuckin moron

i spent less than 100 bucks long ago to have a casio watch with thermometer

it wasn't wrong compared to my own instinct

The official Met Office MAXIMUM temp on day of 800 final was 26 degrees. By the time he ran in evening it would have been a couple of degrees cooler numbskull

that is drivel

it was broiling hot at race time

And I live in London so I was also able to see the temp

idiot

i was in the park

i had a thermometer-watch with me

Let's see, will others believe a mad man on here or the official body for recording temperatures in Britain?

only a moron swears by weather forecasts

why don't you learn to do your own observations ???

ventolin^3 wrote:

only a moron swears by weather forecasts

why don't you learn to do your own observations ???

It's not a forecast you idiot. Its an historical statistic of the maximum temperature reached in London on that day, which was 26 degrees. That's 78F for an old fart like you.

Does your warped brain not understand the difference between a forecast and a statistic?

You can't argue with a statistic, as that is a proven record of what the temp was on that day.

I suggest you get a new watch with an accurate thermometer on it, and while you're at it a dictionary explaining the difference between forecast and historical statistic, might help you look less of the idiot you already are.

moron

they got their forecast & stat wrong

they do not record the temperature at every point on earth

i was there & the oft tested watch with home thermometer was never more than 1F out

idiot

their statistic was wrong

ambient temperature i got with watch off for mandatory 1/2 hour before race was at race time

88.7F

moron

i'm a scientist

i checked it endlessly before london & it was never more than 1F off from gold-standard thermometer at home

idiot

forecast & stat were both wrong

the actual stat outside stadium was

88.7F +/- 1

& i'm talking to a moron who didn't know they have thermometers on watches !!!!

complete idiot

You're not a scientist you're a quack.

It doesn't matter what your watch stated, and anyone who can either remember or wrote down for posterity a temperature taken over a year ago is an absolute weirdo.

The Met office is made up of many scientists. The maximum temp taken in London that day was 26 C. This is irrefutable. The fact that you are challenging a documented stat justs makes you look mentally deranged.

Give it a rest Venty old chap.

Mr Fudd is correct. I was there that day and it certainly wasn't as hot as you make out it to be.

Just looked up the coverage of the 800 final in AW, where the journalist was inside the stadium down by the track. And I quote, "With temperatures hovering around 23C, Rudisha cruised through the second 200m in 25.88 to reach the bell in 49.28,..."

This is on P.12, column 3, paragraph 3, from the issue dated August 16th 2012.

23C is = 73F. You were way out with 88F. If you are going to lie and deceive then at least chose a lie that is plausible and not totally far fetched.

Now be a good chap and get lost.

Deanouk wrote:

Now be a good chap and get lost.

Please don't! This thread has been a reliable source of comedy for going on a month now.

Deanouk wrote:

Give it a rest Venty old chap.

Mr Fudd is correct. I was there that day and it certainly wasn't as hot as you make out it to be.

Just looked up the coverage of the 800 final in AW, where the journalist was inside the stadium down by the track. And I quote, "With temperatures hovering around 23C, Rudisha cruised through the second 200m in 25.88 to reach the bell in 49.28,..."

This is on P.12, column 3, paragraph 3, from the issue dated August 16th 2012.

23C is = 73F. You were way out with 88F. If you are going to lie and deceive then at least chose a lie that is plausible and not totally far fetched.

Now be a good chap and get lost.

Thank you. The man's a nut job.

Elmer Fudd wrote:You're not a scientist you're a quack

fool

i'm a scientist doing a much better paid job than being a lab-rat

It doesn't matter what your watch stated, and anyone who can either remember or wrote down for posterity a temperature taken over a year ago is an absolute weirdo

moron

your peabrain didn't even know they have watches with accurate thermometers built-in

you were made to look even dumber than i thought possible

only an idiot woud question buying a $100 watch

The Met office is made up of many scientists. The maximum temp taken in London that day was 26 C. This is irrefutable. The fact that you are challenging a documented stat justs makes you look mentally deranged.

no

idiot

it was 88F for the race

weather office reading is not the same as at location

The maximum temp in London that day was 26C. Stratford is in London.

We now have the location temp as 23C, which is below the maximum recorded in the city that day, idiot.

Nowhere in London was it 88F.

Wrong yet again.