Wncmtnrnr wrote:
[quote]Wtfunny wrote:
I'm pretty sure you never watched Daniel Komen run. Show me anywhere he displayed sub-13 top end speed. He simply wasn't that fast. Very ordinary elite (if there can be such a thing) 5kers easily outkicked him.
[quote]
How could his top end speed not be sub-13? His PR 1500 pace was 13.96. If that were true, supposing 13.0 max speed, that would put him averaging 93% of top speed for the 1500/mile, 89% for 3k, and 86% for 5k. It just seems unreal for someone to be running that close to max effort for those distances.
How? Because he has to start. His "top end speed" might be 12.0, but he'd never, ever, run close to that from a standing start. Nobody says Usain bolt has 8.5 "top end speed".
And those who think Mo was/is significantly faster than his 100m PB are dreaming. Saying he'd break 12.0 is right up there with Ryun's infamous 3:24.
You're all quibbling about something tangential to the point. Daniel Komen had SIGNIFICANTLY less top end speed than virtually all his main rivals. Compared to other elite 1500, 3000, and 5000m runners, he had poor top end speed. Paul Tergat would've outkicked him. Yet Komen ran a 3000m time that nobody has even come close to.
I wouldn't answer "yes" to the OP but I would say it's possible to be an elite without having great, or even very good, top end speed.