Wow, KIPROP is cocky

Commix, if you haven't watched the pre bowerman mile race...watch it. Kiprop is not wagging his finger with 100m to go. He is making a cross across his chest multiple times.

Hm. Looks like I'm not the only one calling you out.

J.R. wrote:

commix wrote:

Agree he is excited because he is confident he will win, BUT, by celebrating when someone is right beside you you are in effect showing them up.

Kiprop has not run any exceptional times. There is a very good chance that he will not win in Berlin.

As to the showboating, Jesse Owens did not showboat, nor Lasse Viren nor Zatopek, and they all became famous enough.

Maybe 7 or 8 out of every 10 Americans know who Jesse Owens is, Viren and Zatopek? Maybe 1 in 1000, Maybe.

The article title says that Kiprop celebrates with 80m to go again. He doesn't actually celebrate until the last 20 or so. And if you watch the clip they post, the first thing he does as he crosses the line is shake hands with second place. I don't think its cocky of him to be excited about winning and he seems like a good sport and competitor with his display of sportsmanship after the race.

evil baby wrote:

The article title says that Kiprop celebrates with 80m to go again. He doesn't actually celebrate until the last 20 or so. And if you watch the clip they post, the first thing he does as he crosses the line is shake hands with second place. I don't think its cocky of him to be excited about winning and he seems like a good sport and competitor with his display of sportsmanship after the race.

wrong watch it again...he gives a fist pump (very clear) with 95 meters to go while clearly still in second place. He then moves into first place, and kisses his hand to the sky and waves to the crowed. Whats amazing is that from watching it, the others where so close to him that he could have lost at any moment. Talk about someone who has faith in there kick.

I'm surprised at the people who see this as distasteful or belittling to opponents.

As if the finish line were some sort of event horizon where suddenly displays of joy and triumph became the mark of a good sport and not a bad one.

I think that there are some people, who I would consider old-fashioned, who want their athletes to be emotionless robots devoid of personality; get on the track, do your job, and celebrate afterwards. But you can't ask a competitor to leave his or her personality out of it. If Kiprop feels such exuberance in the final 100 meters that he can't keep it to himself, who are we to deny him that? It certainly makes his performance all the more awe-inspiring. For anyone who has raced a 1500 and knows what the finishing stretch feels like, seeing somebody with the ability to raise a hand in the air in celebration at that stage of the race is shocking. It's a fantastic expression of triumph, it makes the race more meaningful than the time on the results indicates, and I'm sure it gives him great joy.

And forgive me for being frank, but I believe that anyone who watches that and claims that it is an attempt to belittle or is unsportsmanlike is being disingenuous. Nothing about it is directed at others, and he's not even puffing himself up the way Bolt does. Overconfident perhaps, but belittling to other competitors? You either have an axe to grind or you just like knocking people down.

Asbel, if that is you, thanks for commenting. Do not let the negative comments here bother you, as most of the people writing them will never be able to even legimately dream of competing internationally and really don't know what they speak of.

I think that it makes some of the sad and jealous has-beens, never-weres and never will-bes furious to see someone like you (or Bolt, the other favorite target here) enjoying themself while doing what they never could, no matter how hard they gritted their teeth and how solemn they were.

And of course, every other sport, except for maybe swimming and rowing, for obvious reasons, sees people celebrating within the event itself.

Ovett was doing this 30 years ago!

On one occasion he flew past John Tracey then just went for the arm aloft casual cruise over the line.

He didn't realise Tracey had been pulling him back down the hold straight. Over the line he dipped under Ovett's raised arm for the win!

Ovett can't have been too bothered by this as he included the photo in his autobiography

How ever much they get paid its still a sport. Most people find it boring as it is. Look what Ali did for boxing

If his competitors think its unsporting they should say or do something - but they'd have to catch him first!

adult onset runner wrote:

Asbel, if that is you, thanks for commenting. Do not let the negative comments here bother you, as most of the people writing them will never be able to even legimately dream of competing internationally and really don't know what they speak of.

I think that it makes some of the sad and jealous has-beens, never-weres and never will-bes furious to see someone like you (or Bolt, the other favorite target here) enjoying themself while doing what they never could, no matter how hard they gritted their teeth and how solemn they were.

And of course, every other sport, except for maybe swimming and rowing, for obvious reasons, sees people celebrating within the event itself.

I think it's hilarious that you believe that is Asbel Kiprop.

My opinion is that celebrating while in 2nd place is a little bit ostentatious and unnecessary. However, I don't really care.

I think it's hilarious that you didn't get that my pseudo-response to pseudo-Kiprop was a device to make fun of various losers without directly engaing with said losers.

I guess you've been meta-punked. Meta-bitch.

Obviously it's cocky, and you're right about one thing -- who cares?

I will accept your meta-punking as metacceptable.

I think it's hilarious that u guys don't think I'm really Asbel "Bet u can't beat me" Kiprop. adult onset runner, "I am who you thought I am". if u guys can find any of those American boys that you think are capable of beating me at the upcomming championships and tell him that if he so pleases he can dream of giving me the one finger American solute as he goes by me, but that's as far as he'll get cause that will NEVER happen. u American's think your so cool cause you are so fluent in French while us African's continue to put in the work needed to be great so when the time comes we can walk on by you and watch u make a fool of yourself.

SalukiAlum wrote:

Commix, you obviously must hate the NBA and NFL then.

Im a fan of both sports, but yes, I dont like a lot of the showboating. I guess I dont want that mentality crossing over into track and field.

If you even entertain the suggestion that Asbel freakin Kiprop is cocky, you must think that Pre was the biggest douche ever to set foot on a track.

No exaggeration.

No actually he's not. He is American so it excuses all his actions.

I agree with you. The goal is to win the race and once he knows he's got it, what is wrong with celebrating it. It will come a time when he will need all that energy focused on running until the finish line. As for now, let the boy have fun, after all he just turned 20. Don't be jealous if you aint got what he got...

Only distance runners would get their panties in a bunch over a guy pointing the the crowd 10 m before the finish line

he is a kid..let him have fun!

churbro wrote:

This is like the first ever sign of arrogance from a Kenyan runner, we should embrace it, it means Kiprop will become notorious.

Actually, 15 years before Ovett a Kenyan distance runner was doing what was regarded by many at the time as a cocky showboat move, wearing a cap in races and then tossing it into the infield when he was about to start his kick to run down others around him.