jsquire wrote:
This is was what my other post was about. Keino's time was exceptional, altitude or no; only Ryun's WR was faster! Ryun would have had to be in near-WR form to have been able to beat Keino that day even if the race had been held in Wichita, KS. I've never seen Ryun admit he just got flat-out beat.
Did the altitude have anything to do with Ryun getting his ass handed to him? Yes. Was it the only reason Keino won? No. Ditto for Ron Clarke and Neftali Temu; Clarke couldn't beat Temu at Mexico City (elev. 7350 ft), nor at the '66 Commonwealth Games in Kingston (elev. 20 ft). Clarke couldn't win a big race no matter where it was held.
Mr. Squire always shows some type of resentment toward white runners, truth be told. Look at this hack's posts here and on other sites - like TafNews who kicked him off for a while if not permanently. If he had ever competed, and had ever run at altitude, he would know there is a distinct difference to say the least. He must be some type of out of touch academic to be so silly in some views and conclusions. Clarke didn't do well in tactical races because he had no kick. Period. Bad tactician? Yes.
Keino had never beaten Ryun at any distance before Mexico - unless you are possibly looking at a heat from the '64 Games, when Ryun was 17? Ryun has admitted he was beaten in Mexico City. He also says he felt worse after that race than he had ever felt post race anytime, so did Tummler. Ryun ran his record - almost 2 seconds faster than Keino's best - in smoggy LA where the air temp was 97 degrees and it was of course worse on the track. There's little doubt Ryun had several seconds left under better conditions, just as hissolo 3:51 in '67 showed he was way off his potential. In Mexico City, he laid off the pace, made a good effort to close, and then slacked off when he saw there was no chance. The altitude did aid Keino. To think that someone born, raised at a higher altitude than Mexico City - never mind generations of ancestors from altitude would lose little in shorter races (like the 1500) than a sea level runner, one would have to be an idiot. Keino ran a great race, and deserved his gold. Would he have won at sea level? Even though Ryun was not running as well after being clobbered by mono, there's a good chance Ryun might have won. If Ryun were in his '67 condition, or even '66, no chance for Keino to have won in a fast or slow race.
Gammoudi spent two years in the Pyrenees mountains to acclimate himself to the altitude. Two years. That's not like Ryun and others spending a week here, a week there. However, look at how slow the winning time was in the 5k, and tell us altitude had no effect. Keino still got whipped too. While people harp on Bekele 'playing mind games' in another thread on this forum, they forget Ben Jipcho mentioned how he got tired of Keino's mind games, like claiming he was suffering from gall bladder trouble in Mexico City when he found he couldn't hang in the 10k, showing up on the starting line just seconds before the start of races in Europe and the US, or making claims of 'getting death threats' when explaining why he had his ass handed to him at the Commonwealth Games by some runners Squires hates.
No one will ever know for sure what would happen if '68 had been at sea level and Ryun had been well. That's the way it goes. Of course, Mr. Squire will tell us that if Keino had to face El G or Seb Coe at their best, he'd handle them easily, as they are too pale to compare with his heroes.