what a dirtbag. i've watched the video about 10 times and its pretty clear that he hangs out his right arm to catch lagat. i'd believe he was trying to pump a pace change but his left arm doesnt do the same. he just thought he could catch lagat and keep 2 medals for ethiopia. considering he's been racing cheaply all season, it feels good to see him pay the price when it matters most.
Saw the same thing, karma. Lagat said he might have won if he hadn't been shoved by Merga in the last 100m. That in itself is worth a DQ.
Merga has done this crap all year. He even cut everyone off at the first break from the start, shoving his way to the inside. He kept cutting off and shoving people the entire race. He should get suspended for that crap.
sick of everyone picking on merga. point blank he was DQ'd for running in the infield. He could have lost his balance when he tried to squeeze through the inside.
For those of you who think he bumps people too much ... shame on you.. Rupp is twice his size. Why doesn't he push back. THis is stupid. Go run in a bubble. They should create a bubble for you.. you bunch of fags
This is getting weird. Merga was no where near the kenyan who fell. it is either lagat or koech from behind who got him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kjEyMmHuYWE
i know you all hate merga.. but lets not lose our minds
Hulachum tenefu bidatam ferenjoch.
sincerely merga
Merga's deserving of a suspension for his role in knocking so many runners out or off form, disrupting so many races, this season. He's a very talented runner but come on! Lagat in my mind looked incredibly strong on the turn and would definitely have caught Farah in time had he not been pushed out by Merga when BL clearly had position. And Merga's dq offense had already been committed before that! That's going to stick in Lagat's craw all winter. He may well still be the legitimate favorite in London, because this race disproves nothing about his ability to beat Farah.
I don't think anyone hates him, but he's the Bruce Bowen of distance running and it's a pleasure to see him busted for once.
everyone hating on Merga is a wimp. he pushes and shoves and runs dirty and that is part of running. distance running can be a contact sport. just like bowen (as someone mentioned) you have to adjust to the people in the race. please dont get me wrong, merga deserved to be DQ'd today, but complaining about his physical style is the pussification of america. by the way, anyone citing solinsky needs to get a clue, in monaco when he got pushed off the track it was a straight B*TCH move to throw a tantrum instead of continuing. we are american...we are gonna complain about MERGA FROM ETH?? push back!!! get real.
flame me if you will
envewi wrote:
He clearly just jumped inside the curb to pass,an obvious DQ. Later, Lagat had him boxed again (having made the effort to pass him on the last turn with no contact, as the rules require). Merga barged out into Lagat with about 85m to go, impeding Lagat's kick. I wonder if Lagat would have got there if Merga had not pulled his usual BS.
Merga isthe one and only athlete I would like to just never see again. He manages to mess with every single race he enters. DL MEET DIRECTORS SHOULD NOT INVITE HIM.
This, exactly.
Neil wrote:
envewi wrote:He clearly just jumped inside the curb to pass,an obvious DQ. Later, Lagat had him boxed again (having made the effort to pass him on the last turn with no contact, as the rules require). Merga barged out into Lagat with about 85m to go, impeding Lagat's kick. I wonder if Lagat would have got there if Merga had not pulled his usual BS.
Merga isthe one and only athlete I would like to just never see again. He manages to mess with every single race he enters. DL MEET DIRECTORS SHOULD NOT INVITE HIM.
This, exactly.
Merga = school yard bully.
Bowen's NBA legacy is that he always tried to break someone's ankle or kick them in the knee. Cruise around Youtube for ten seconds if you don't believe me. If the NBA had more Bowens, no one would ever want to watch it. And if you had a Bowen in your pickup league, you'd punch him in the teeth.
And if expecting the rules to be enforced makes you a wimp, so be it. I've been tripped in races by accident and I've been bumped into the infield. That's part of the sport. But Merga is a cheating menace, and has been for a while, so it's immensely satisfying to see him lose a bronze medal because of it.
The idea that if Lagat had a clear run to the finish he would have won is BS. Tough luck buddy, Merga is a dick but his move to kick up the straight was totally legal. mo was pulling away the last 15m anyway. Sour grapes.
Watched the race live on Russian tv today (they showed every minute of the meet) and one of the commentators immediately said Merga should be DQ'd for his contact with Lagat coming around the last turn. IAAF, though, is still sticking with "An incident occurred in the 5000m Men Final, where Ethiopian athlete Imane MERGA (bib n. 377), stepped inside the curb and was disqualified by the Referee."
Watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zADioxgD4EQ
He illegally passes a guy by running on the inside (where is the curb) then elbows him out of the way at 0:23.
He elbows a guy out of the way by passing on the inside when there wasn't room at 0:43.
He knocks Lagat out of the way when Lagat was coming around the outside.
That was only in the last lap...
T
H
U
G
Dean,
Fair enough... I respect your opinion on Merga....is it bad for our sport to have a villain?
random_coach wrote:
Watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zADioxgD4EQHe illegally passes a guy by running on the inside (where is the curb) then elbows him out of the way at 0:23.
He elbows a guy out of the way by passing on the inside when there wasn't room at 0:43.
He knocks Lagat out of the way when Lagat was coming around the outside.
That was only in the last lap...
You make a great point.
Merga is a tool, who seems to overly willing to be physical and cheat at any turn/moment.
I re-watched these video links a few times.
He clearly doesn't care who he pushes, cuts off, or shoulders.
The sport needs a one year ban for repeat offenders like this.
He's bad for the sport.
I agree. I'm not going to cite the Monaco DL meet, because I to be honest don't know what completely happened but even as a Solinsky fan I think he just b*tched out because he couldn't handle the pace. But here, Lagat should have won. He was right there to go and lost about half a second because of Merga's little push there while everyone kept sprinting ahead. Had he even had that half second, or even quarter of a second, he would have beaten Farah. He looked so relaxed with 180 to go. I hope Lagat wins next year in London so he retires on a good note (he said that London may be his 2nd to last competitive year). I'm going to digress a bit, but I think Farah will crack under the pressure of winning in his home country.
Don't forget that Bekele and Sihine has been #1 and #2 in Ethiopia (and the World) for like TEN years and that they ALWAYS run at the front, everyone else including Merga has learned the hard way that the best they could hope for was to scratch and bite and rough their way up to the third filler spot on the national team... ;-)