seen-this-b-4 wrote:
This has been tried before, but by the Ethiopians. In 2012, remember the 5000 Olympic final? How did that work for them?
Unless the tactic tried was to run more slowly than any Championship final in history ... they did not do this.
The winner was 13:41 for God's sake ... more than 60 seconds behind the WR. How is that a strategy?
My good friend Tony, how has your day been? I should return the favor and correct you. It should be "What if the Kenyans work together as a team against Mo Farah?" Unless you have the inside scoop with Kamworor and his compadres then this is merely speculation. Have a good day!
@Sledge, I don't know where you got that Kamworor was to push the pace in Prefontaine. According to him and Coach Canova, Kamworor's mission was to study how Mo Farah runs in order to get an idea of who he was preparing to face in Beijing. At the time of Prefontaine, Kamworor was in heavy training mode. Notice that he did not help with pushing the pace. He was barely hanging on because of heavy legs from training. The man who will be in Beijing will be a stark contrast to the one you witnessed in Eugene.
The only way this happens is if Karoki and Tanui basically agree to pace Kamworor. Then you get an even battle between Kamworor and Farah. Kamworor can't share any part of the lead exchanges or he's going to suffer himself.
If these guys do any kind of lead changing and push the pace then (temperature depending) this might be the fastest and deepest result we've seen in the 10k in years.
This plan immediately implodes if Karoki or Tanui decide they want a shot at gold themselves and nobody can blame either of them for thinking they deserve a shot after getting this close.
You would probably be right if it was a xc[/quote]
A lot has happened since Geoffrey and Bedan won gold and silver at the world cross country champs and the two athletes are in way better shape than they were on that day. And though I am with you in perception that doing well in cross country does not mean that you will automatically do well in track, Geoffrey, Bedan and Paul Tanui have proved that they are just as good on the track or even better! Lets not forget that the three of them just ran the three fastest times ever at altitude, with Geoffrey beating the old record by a whooping 15 seconds! Now some people out here argue that their running is more adapted to altitude, meaning they will run about as fast at sea level. This is obviously not true for everyone and not for the three. Paul's and Geoffrey's times in Eugene back in June are proof of this. Paul also ran a sub 13' about four days later. We can debate all day whole week but the truth will come out on that day in Beijing. Geoffrey Kamworor's only goal after his world cross country victory was another victory in the same city in September. That goal is pretty much on course! This is the best team ever Kenya has had and Kenya could sweep all the three medals.[/quote]
No you are right and they are capable of running faster at sea level than at altitude. They just manage it a lot better than Westerners
The question is have they got the balls to take it out. I noticed Farah struggled a bit with the pace on his last 3,000m taking it out is definitely the way to beat him - other than hoping someone else finally gets lucky on a sprint.
The top dog stays at the top longer than he is physically capable of staying at the top. That's because the others are scared to take him on.
I would actually like to see him challenged to make the race more interesting
You are right! Mo has definitely won some races, not because he was the fittest but because his challengers feared to take him on. His 3'28" 1500m speed is his main weapon but this gets neutralized if his opponents take it hard feom the getgo. The first 5000m is however going to be the hardest unless someone other than the Kenyans is willing to handle that part. We saw this with the Ethiopians in 2003. But then again you never know what Paul Tanui is capable off. About three weeks before Prefontaine he soloed a 27'08. He might decide to break away from the gun and let his compatriots catch up with him later if they can!
Sorry I had no intention of offending you in my previous respond to your thread I thought you were just another Mo hater ..
Kamworor said in the interview right after the Kenyan trials that they will be deploying a team-work tactic against Mo
Bad Wigins wrote:
It's entirely possible some sort of bribery is involved.
Now that I know AK is funded by Nike, I think it's not just possible but likely.
Who is going to sell more Nike products if they win - an Englishman or a Kenyan? Definite business motive to fix the event.
Please put down the crack pipe , you have completely lost the plot , Sir.