Kipchoge fan wrote:
Years ago ... wrote:
Years ago, I know Kipchoge out kicked Farah in an indoor 3000m or two mile race. I don't think Kipchoge has done intense track training in awhile. I don't mean 440 yard repeats, 65 seconds a lap. Farah is trained to finish races sub-1:55 last 800m. For Kipchoge to beat Farah it has to be a fast race. That's a lot of pressure. Kipchoge doesn't want to have race last two miles sub-8:50 to beat Farah. Anyone can implode and have an off day.
Except Kipchoge at the marathon. When does he have a bad day at the marathon? His worse time is at the Olympics but wins gold. It took a world record for him to finish 2nd! Unlikely anybody will be his competitor for awhile, until he declines which would probably be around 3 more years.
Nobody is talking about Shitara. He was able to hang with Kipchoge for the longest, and also finished 2nd in New York. Not enough talk about him and more about Farah. Maybe he can push Kipchoge harder this year at London.
It concur with you concerning Shura Kitata. In London, he was a surprise but in New York he confirmed he is one tough nut to crack. I would put him to finish better than Mo Farah. If Kipchoge slackens, Kitata will push the pace as he did in New York. That will drain Mo Farah and I see a likely DNF for him since he may not want to finish worse than second. I wish the organizers had allowed Lawrence Cherono who I believe to be even better than Kitata and would probably have been a threat to Kipchoge(?).
The real focus should be on Kipchoge for one GOOD reason. Most athletes' performance take a down turn immediately after a world record and most never ever recover. David Rudisha set the 800m world record in 2012. He got injured for the next two years, missing 2013 world championships. He returned in 2015 to win the world championships but would have been beaten had the pace been fast. He bounced back in 2016 to win the Olympics but has been sidelined by injuries ever since. Patrick Makau set the marathon world record in 2011 and immediately his performance dropped and he has since retired. Dennis Kimetto set the world record in 2014 and similarly his performance dropped. Incidentally Emmanuel Mutai who had finished second to Kimetto in 2014, disappeared as well. From these we see a trend. That is why the focus in London will be on Kipchoge. Kipchoge's unmatched consistency and unbroken streak however makes him more likely to weather this challenge.