Mottram: Another Message to the Americans

You are completely right pyschologist, the Ethiopians don't have a postive attitude at all, they have a negative attitude and don't believe in themselves, in fact they have a deep self loathing but they can still win when it matters.

psychologist wrote:

First of all Mottram ran a great race but bekele was second and hasn't yet broken 13 and therefore Mottram should have been the favoutrite over 5k going into the race.

it really annoys me the way bideau, mottram and his disciples think that its his positive mental attitude and balls that means that he can beat africans!!

Of course it couldn't be the fact that he has the ability and rare gift of being able to run 12.55 and can finish strongly!

You don't run the sort of times mottram has by being positive.

He also needs to learn how to be humble

I think Tariku has run 12:51 if I'm not mistaken.

But I agree with your point nonetheless. He needs to tone down his comments. I have no problem with his tough guy talk but when he starts disrespecting people who command the utmost respect (e.g. Kenny B! - WR holder and winner of more major titles than Mottram could ever conceive of winning), than he has gone too far. Just my opinion.

Erm.. Not sure you have a handle on what Nic and Craig are doing.

You don't see them sat in the middle of a track cross legged and meditating. You do see Craig knocking out carefully measured and tough sessions.

"You don't run the sort of times mottram has by being positive.

"He also needs to learn how to be humble."

You don't run those times without being positive. You don't run them without having a huge level of self-belief. What are you suggesting, that he starts learning how to believe he might not be capable of being the very best in the world?

I think they have a rough idea of how to beat Africans. They wouldn't be doing it if they didn't. 'Rare gift?' It wasn't given him for Christmas.

800 Fan wrote:

If and when Teg breaks 13 for the 5k the US will have produced 3 sub 5k runners.

~ Excuse me, but Bob Kennedy and who else? Please assure me that you are not counting Bernard Lagat. We, the US, did not produce Bernard Lagat. Kenya did. Tegenkamp would be the 2nd American under 13-minutes for 5000M.

Do you guys really beleive that Ethiopia or Kenya is going to leave the race go slow at worlds? If it is at least descent weather conditions they are going to use the team tactics. They realize they have 6 12:50 low 5,000 runners so they are going to use that against every runner in the world. It would not suprise me if it takes a 12:45 to win wolrds this year, leaving Mottram somewhere in about 7th place or worse. I just hope to see this, I love fast races!

12.45? That sort of time is only run in Grand Prix meets, not in Championships.

Seguru wrote:

~ Excuse me, but Bob Kennedy and who else? Please assure me that you are not counting Bernard Lagat. We, the US, did not produce Bernard Lagat. Kenya did. Tegenkamp would be the 2nd American under 13-minutes for 5000M.

Lagat's running has been a product by and large of America.

Mottram was warming up and Ritz was peaking--gosh, I hate such garbage. The two lined up and Ritz won--period--unless you want to tell me that as part of the entry form there's a place which reads, "Are you peaking or only warming up?" And although Mottram knows how to win, he ran three times in the States, and he lost two of them--decisively. And by the way, Ritz would undoubtedly have been in the mix given that the winning time was 13:04 with a 53 last lap. If Ritz ran 60, that would put him at 13:11 and right there at the bell lap, which I consider being in the mix.

exonian wrote:

Lagat's running has been a product by and large of America.

funny that you use the word PRODUCT, how apt one could say

Didn'KB go 12:49 indoors in a championship race?

Of course America has more runners under 3.35 and more under 13.20 than Australia you numb nut

America has 300 million people

Australia has 20 million people.

In summation...

Mottram is the best distance who is not African.

The US and Spain are probably the best non-African distance running nations.

The finals in the World Cup (soccer) draw more television audience than all the superbowls combined.

The erratic Webb will run one simply amazing race, which will probably be a 3:46 mile and get Scott's AR or Cram outside African record. People will then say, yeah he ran a 3:45+ mile but what else has he done. Even his fans are erratic. Webb is a walking soap opera. That is what makes him interesting.

Fast Facts:

Alan Webb run the fastest April mile ever this year in a fast 3:51.47. See he already has a record.

As usual Mr B, you talk a lot of sense.

Watched the race on Eurosport yesterday evening and by golly it was exciting!

Whatever one thinks about him , Mottram has charisma and panache to burn!

However you like to see it, that's fine with me. But the reality is Ritz ALWAYS comes out of the gates fast, then trails off toward the end of the season. If Ritz can gather himself and have a good showing in Osaka then I'll stand corrected - and hopefully he will. But by the looks of his last race, he wasn't at all prepared to handle the ups/downs, ebbs/flow of Abdi's pace setting, so I seriously doubt he will handle a World Championship type race where the laps go 68/60, 68/60 - and more imporantly, Ritz has lost his confidence. You could see it in his eyes when they rolled into the back of his head.

next american hope

Manzano

If Ritz is up with the lead pack with 6 laps to go at Osaka, that would be a huge accomplishment for him. I don't see that ever happening.

you obviously have no sense of history. 10 people have broken 12:50 in the history of the 5k. geb and tergat have moved on, k. bekele will most likely just do the 10k at world's, komen is done, mourhit and lalahfi are drug cheats and out of the sport, sihine will run the 10k. that leaves kipchoge and songok, both of whom would have to pr to run 12:45!!!12:37.35 Kenenisa Bekele ETH 13 06 1982 1 Hengelo 31 05 2004 12:39.36 Haile Gebrselassie ETH 18 04 1973 1 Helsinki 13 06 1998 12:39.74 Daniel Komen KEN 17 05 1976 1 Bruxelles 22 08 1997 12:46.53 Eliud Kipchoge KEN 05 11 1984 1 Roma 02 07 2004 12:47.04 Sileshi Sihine ETH 09 05 1983 2 Roma 02 07 2004 12:48.66 Isaac Kiprono Songok KEN 25 04 1984 2 Zürich 18 08 2006 12:48.81 Saif Saaeed Shaheen KEN 15 10 1982 1 Ostrava 12 06 2003 12:49.28 Brahim Lahlafi MAR 15 04 1968 1 Bruxelles 25 08 2000 12:49.71 Mohammed Mourhit BEL 10 10 1970 2 Bruxelles 25 08 2000 12:49.87 Paul Tergat KEN 17 06 1969 3 Zürich 13 08 1997

male nymph wrote:

Do you guys really beleive that Ethiopia or Kenya is going to leave the race go slow at worlds? If it is at least descent weather conditions they are going to use the team tactics. They realize they have 6 12:50 low 5,000 runners so they are going to use that against every runner in the world. It would not suprise me if it takes a 12:45 to win wolrds this year, leaving Mottram somewhere in about 7th place or worse. I just hope to see this, I love fast races!

That is who I see running those times. Bekele if he runs it, Kipchoge, Songok, Shaheen ( if he doens't run the steeple) , T. Bekele, Feleke. I see either kenya or ethiopia trying to work together and make it as fast as possible to drop anyone and everyone and secure a gold medal and probally silver as well. They can run that fast, they have before. I dont see any reason why a 12:50-12:45 race can't happen if the weather is descent, which is 50/50. And like I said they each have 3 guys that will b running that will run 12:50's this year, so I hope they take adavantage of that and run away from Lagat, Mottram, or anybodye else that benefit from a 13:10 pace because they can kick very well off of that. Lagat could possibly b the deadliest of all at a slow pace. but i dont see him closing fast off a deadly fast pace. It may not happen but i sure do hope it does. I hate tactical slow races.

kipchoge won the 2003 5k in a championship record time of 12:52. that was after bekele lead virtually the whole race and got outkicked at the end. you are dreaming if you think 6 africans are going to work together and break 12:50. not going to happen. no rabbits, heats, other races (10k or steeple), likely not "descent (sic)" conditions. the winning time will likely be around 13 flat, similar to yesterday's race. mottram has a very good chance at gold. so does lagat.