toro wrote:
If Geb wants to run the Olympic marathon he will run.
This is not an objective selection system.
If I had to make a bet, I would bet that you will see him on the line in London in August for the marathon.
This is not like Dan O'Brien no-heighting in the decathlon pole vault.
That's not true. Yes, it's not partially subjective, but he'd have to run a comparable time. 2:08 isn't comparable to 2:05. Not even for the future president of Ethiopia.
toro wrote:
If Geb wants to run the Olympic marathon he will run.
This is not an objective selection system.
If I had to make a bet, I would bet that you will see him on the line in London in August for the marathon..
I seriously hope that Geb is a bigger man than someone who would use his reputation and connections to displace a fellow Ethiopian who is now 3 - 4 minutes faster than he is.
5k 14:41
10k 14:53 (29:34)
15k 15:06 (44:40)
20k 14:54 (59:34)
1:02:51
25k 14:40 (1:14:14)
30k 14:52 (1:29:06)
35k 15:34 (1:44:40) Haile
40k 15:55 (2:00:35) Kipyego, Kiprotich, Haile, Fujiwara
Finish from Brett Larner (unofficial)
1 2:07:36 Michael Kipyego
2 2:07:48 Arata Fujiwara #7 all-time JPN, Oly berth
3 2:07:51 Kiprotich UGA
4 2:08:16 Haile Gebrselassie
5 2:08:31 Viktor Rothlin
...
8 2:09:59 Mekonnen
1:02:51 at halfway for leaders, but Kipyego, Fujiwara and Kiprotich were behind at halfway by ~25 sec
haile ... not even close-
He looks old now. He has had a great run. He will have to retire.
It looks like Abshiro, Geneti and Dino Sefir are on the team. And Cherkos and Gebre are on the bubble. I would not be surprised if sefir, abshiro and cherkos come through.
toro wrote:
If Geb wants to run the Olympic marathon he will run.
This is not an objective selection system.
If I had to make a bet, I would bet that you will see him on the line in London in August for the marathon.
This is not like Dan O'Brien no-heighting in the decathlon pole vault.
I would have to agree and think that if Geb said he wanted to run then he would be allowed. But if there were better choices for the Olympics I would also think that Geb would defer to them? He's a classy dude.
xcplayer wrote:
toro wrote:If Geb wants to run the Olympic marathon he will run.
This is not an objective selection system.
If I had to make a bet, I would bet that you will see him on the line in London in August for the marathon.
This is not like Dan O'Brien no-heighting in the decathlon pole vault.
That's not true. Yes, it's not partially subjective, but he'd have to run a comparable time. 2:08 isn't comparable to 2:05. Not even for the future president of Ethiopia.
Oops, minus "not".
They will bring Geb as a coach to London...
toro wrote:
If Geb wants to run the Olympic marathon he will run.
This is not an objective selection system.
If I had to make a bet, I would bet that you will see him on the line in London in August for the marathon.
This is not like Dan O'Brien no-heighting in the decathlon pole vault.
With that form, even Meb would destroy Haile's ass in the last 10k.
Not gonna lie, it's kinda curious to think what he could still run for 10k...
In 2008, while training for the Marathon, he came in 6th at the Olympic final, running 27:06 in a race won in 27:01. Considering how quick that was at his then age of 35, he probably could of ran a 10k time trial ('cause championship races are always slower than a time trial) somewhere around 26:45 or so. It's been four years, and he's shown some minor sparks of still having some speed, so it's not out of the equation.
Probably at best he'd be worth 27-flat now, but that's just a guess-timate. That being said, he'd have to contend with Bekele, Jeilan, Sihine, and possibly Merga. I say possibly because Merga still seems to be a better 5k guy than 10k. He may drop down for the Oly's.
Does Geb have a better shot at making the 10k team than he did for the Marathon???
Results here:
http://www.ntv.co.jp/tokyomarathon/record/m_fin.html
1 00004 Ｍ．キピエゴ 02:07:37
2 00013 藤原 新 02:07:48
3 00005 Ｓ．キプロティチ 02:07:50
4 00001 Ｈ．ゲブレシラシエ 02:08:17
5 00006 Ｖ．ロスリン 02:08:32
6 00014 前田 和浩 02:08:38
7 00015 松宮 隆行 02:09:28
8 00007 Ｈ．メコネン 02:09:59
9 00131 熊本 剛 02:10:13
10 00102 井川 重史 02:11:26
Well, if Geb would just admit his real age (42?), then he did just set the masters record...
Greenrayss wrote:
Thank you. I don't have to waste my time replying to lol@tards... some people can't read no matter how old lol
12:53
Pick It Up wrote:
Well, if Geb would just admit his real age (42?), then he did just set the masters record...
The issue would be that he would never be able to PROVE his real age since he doesn't have an official birth certificate that could verify it
I do recall that a training partner of Haile's who had known Haile since he was very young stated that Gebrselassie had already turned 40 a few years ago.
This race was the end for Haile. The once great emperor is finished. Retirement is awaiting him. Sad. But true. Only unfortunate that he couldn't go out on top but waited this long to be picked up apart.
20+ runners under 2:07 pace at the half!!
Rothlin is real real good.
He will finish in the podium at Olympics if weather is an major issue that day.
Some of you are idiot sheep that spend too much time listening to "sports" talk.
There is NO reason for Geb to retire. (He did that once and we see how long that lasted)
Have you ever heard of Bill Rodgers? Geb can "say" he is retiring but he will keep showing up and racing somewhere.
He doesn't need to retire, but his days of record attempts are over. It's just sad to see the guy line up again and again with talk of record attempts, Olympic teams, etc., when that's obviously not in the cards. 2:08 as a 40-something is incredible, and we should take it on its own merits.
toro wrote:
If Geb wants to run the Olympic marathon he will run.
This is not an objective selection system.
If I had to make a bet, I would bet that you will see him on the line in London in August for the marathon.
This is not like Dan O'Brien no-heighting in the decathlon pole vault.
I fully agree with you Toro on this. It will be more on an honor/reward for his great contribution to the Ethiopian athletic pride over the years. They will pick Gebre Gebremariam and Tsegaye Kebede who have consistency and sacrifice the third spot for Haile. The rest can wait for next years world champs.
The writing has been on the wall for Haile for sometime. From 2009, his times began dropping fast and then that was followed by dnf in NY in 2010 and then in Berlin last year. We wish the emperor well in his retirement.
Ethiopia is not going to sweep the Olympic marathon.
As public relations for the country and for the sport, they would gain a lot more attention with Geb on the line than their third best guy.
And I think think their third best guy may just step up and defer to Geb, who has done so much for them.
If you were holding a marathon, you would pay more for Geb than any other Ethiopian, agreed?
Now think of Ethiopia as a corporation.
You want attention. It's basically advertising.
A gold medal is great advertising but they can't get three Golds.
If Geb runs, there will always be a camera on him. Everyone will get a lot of views of the Ethiopian singlet if he runs.
Putting Geb on the team is a good business decision for Ethiopia.
Look at this thread. How many other runners would get a thread like this?
I think you will see him in the Olympics running a similar race and getting massive applause from the crowd and the commentators as he struggles to finish his last professional race.
Or - what a Billy Mills type story if he wins.
Either way, it will be big.