Kenenisa Bekele: how soon will he totally annihilate the distance WR's?

twas a jestful comment, but to say I had'nt thought about about would be a lie. I really hope he runs boston.

duff-man that still wasn't cool to say that without proof, don't you believe he could be that talented? I still hopes Kenny B. run Boston so he can pull the Americans to fast times especially Dathan because he will follow as close and as long as he can and maybe be pulled to an American Record.

Interesting quote from Kenenisa Bekele in regards to him possibly shooting for 26:00, "No-no-no. It is too difficult," It is very difficult to run near 26:00. Even the World Record is very hard to do.

courtesy of T&FNews

Its reported in T&FN that Bekele has said he will do one 5000m and one 10000m before Helsinki and would welcome HICHAM EL GUERROUJ if the organizer provides. Interesting information but I hope the youngster recovers at his own time and return to his dominant form and record breaking, and I'm sure he will when he is ready!

VIPAM

I think when Kenenisa was asked that question concerning 26:00 he was thinking in the near future; however, eventually he will scare that barrier if he stays healthy.

Does anyone think he won't EVER have at that time or that someone else will beat him to it?

VIPAM

Eliud sent out his condolences to Bekele but said they have a "Master Plan" to defeat him at the 12km distance this year and the title would return to Kenya even if he (Eliud) don't win. There is nothing wrong with him thinking that but if Kenny B. wins again I don't want to hear that from the Kenyans because that would be 4 years they said that and failed. I think the Kenyans should keep their mouths shut and show the world instead of talking confidently and failing miserbly. Anyone disagree?

Honestly I think that is extremely poor in taste for the Kenyans to continously say their going to defeat Kenenisa Bekele year in year out and lose repeatedly. After the 2nd long course defeat at his hands, I would have instructed my athletes to say nothing except, "we prepared well and this may be the year."

The fact that they feel obliged to say with false confidence the will beat him before they faced him shows Kenya fears Kenenisa alot more than we may know. The bright side is if they continue to say it year in year out and luck up one year and catch Kenenisa having an off day, then they can say we told the world before hand.

VIPAM

Is Kenny B and Ritz both in, neither, or will only one be running Boston Indoor? Can someone please tell me?

The website has the following enteries for the 3000m

Kenenisa Bekele (Eth)

Bolota Asmerom (USA)

Steve Slattery (USA)

Charlie Gruber (USA)

Daniel Lincoln (USA)

Markos Geneti (Eth)

Jonathon Riley (USA)

Tim Broe (USA)

Kevin Sullivan (Can)

Alistair Cragg (Ire)

Ian Connor (USA)

and the world record attempt is still on. The word on the inside says it supposedly going to be a 2 mile with the 3000m point also being certified.

I believe that was the orginal tentative posting. We will have to wait and see in the final (Jan 27+) days to see if the listing still valid.

OMT, seeing the young Tariku Bekele coming into competetion and win last week, may be seen a sign of the mourning process is over for the family. And there is a good chance for KB to start training for Boston indoor. That is just my opinion.

Interesting article from IAAF.org concerning Kenenisa, Carolina Kluft, JoAnna Hayes, B. Lagat and David Krummenacker for those who haven't read it.

Vipam

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Bekele to open season at tenth Boston Indoor Games - PREVIEW

Thursday 27 January 2005

Boston, USA - 2004 Athlete of the Year Kenenisa Bekele will open his competitive 2005 season with something new for him: a race in North America. Bekele's entry in the 3000m headlines the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on Saturday evening (29 Jan), his first competitive appearance since the death of his fiancée, 2003 World Youth 1500m champion Alem Techale, earlier this month.

Though the streets of Boston are clogged with snow, inside the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in the Roxbury neighbourhood Bekele is likely to enjoy the same warm welcome given to Haile Gebrselassie last year by Boston's large Ethiopian community.

Bekele set a World indoor record of 12:49.60 for 5000m last year, and was expected to chase the shorter event's world mark of 7:24.90 (set by Daniel Komen in 1998) here. However, after withdrawing from several planned cross-country events for the mourning period, it is less than clear whether even the spectacular Bekele will still have the record in the forefront of his mind.

Should he let the pace slip, he will find himself marked. Meet organizer Mark Wetmore hopes to give Bekele a race. Also in the starting list is Markos Geneti, who was second to Gebrselassie here last year, but defeated the Emperor over Two Miles in Birmingham later that season. Geneti holds the best ever junior mark of 7:40.83, set at Karlsruhe in 2003.

Also in the field are Olympic 5000m finalists Tim Broe, who ran the American Record of 7:39.23 here in 2002, and Alistair Cragg, Irish record holder and twice NCAA champion at this distance. Cragg's training partner and former teammate at the University of Arkansas, Daniel Lincoln, was within a second of Broe's mark in the 2004 season, adding excitement to the race behind Bekele.

Defar returns to Boston for 3000m

Bekele will not be the only Athens gold medallist at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center on Saturday; in fact, he won't even be the only Ethiopian gold medallist. Meseret Defar won the women's 5000m in meet-record time (14:53.14) here last year, leading an Ethiopian sweep which posted the sixth, seventh, eighth and tenth fastest times ever--the deepest women's 5000m ever run indoors, but only the second fastest that day, as Berhane Adere had set the World indoor record just hours before in Stuttgart. Sentayehu Ejigu, fourth last year but an Olympian with Defar in Athens, will join Defar to contest 3000m. Defar's best for the distance is also the sixth-fastest time ever.

Klüft and Hayes bring the Athens roll-call to four

A third gold medallist, Sweden's Heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft, will contest the women's Long Jump, facing a quartet of Americans including Olympian Grace Upshaw, who bested Kluft by a bare centimetre in Athens. Upshaw finished 10th (6.64m) in the Olympic Long Jump final with Klüft one place back

The women's 60m Hurdles features the Olympic gold and bronze medallists, respectively Joanna Hayes and Melissa Morrison. Hayes, who set the Olympic record at 100m Hurdles in Athens, and two-time bronze medalist Morrison will face Vonette Dixon, second in the 2002 Commonwealth Games for Jamaica, and fellow Olympic finalists Angela Whyte of Canada.

The Shot takes centre stage

For the tenth Boston Indoor Games, Wetmore is also bringing the Shot Put into the spotlight for the first time at the event, and four of the five throwers claim the ten longest throws of 2004. Christian Cantwell, Adam Nelson, John Godina and Reese Hoffa have won sixteen World and Olympic medals between them. Nelson's Olympic silvers, in Sydney and Athens, have bracketed a time of increased attention to the Shot in America, and the throwers have met the opportunity with close, intense competitions.

Ceplak, Lagat, Krummenacker

Jolanda Ceplak, the women’s World 800m record holder opens her 2005 season in Boston. Ceplak who took the Olympic bronze in Athens, ran 1:57.79 at this meet in 2002 to kick off the season which culminated in her 1:55.82 World record which won the European Championships six weeks later. She dominates the line-up for the women's 800m, which also includes rising American star Tiffany McWilliams, and Meskerem Legesse of Ethiopia.

The IAAF’s top-ranked miler Bernard Lagat will run that event in Boston, along with Kenyan colleague Laban Rotich, the third-fastest all-time over 1500m indoors. Other milers include Rashid Ramzi, who broke Hicham El Guerrouj's 29-race winning streak last year, and defending U.S. champion Rob Myers.

2003 World Indoor 800m champion David Krummenacker returns to the 1000m, where he defeated Rotich for an American Record in 2002, along with Olympic 800m semi-finalists Berhanu Alemu and Osmar dos Santos.

Parker Morse for the IAAF

Bekele stated in a interview today that he isn't going for the World Record and not sure if he will take down the meet record (7:35) by Haile, he sounded as if he will decide how fast he will run during the race. I certainly hope its a fast one as the Americans will have a chance to attack the 3000m AR.

Any predictions on Kenenisa Bekele's time and the 1st American?

Kenenisa Bekele..........7:34.4

1st American ............7:38.9 Dan Lincoln

Vipam, where do you come up with your absurd predictions?

What basis do you have whatsoever to come up with these times?

Dibaba just busted out a 14:32 2 seconds behind her outdoor PB. Any doubt that she is the female Kenny B... Look and see this 19 year old is a monster.. She will be the best distance runner of all time.

The otdoor WR will be dropped to 14:20

"The bride-to-be, Alem Techale, is the 2003 World Youth 1500m champion, and came to Addis Ababa from the same Arssi region Bekele grew up in. Bekele feels he is ready for marriage. “After the age of 18, one has to start think about fulfilling family responsibilities,” he said. “Besides, since she is also young, we will grow together.”"

From page 20 or something, quite sad

Tirunesh Dibaba has always been an exceptional talent in my book all the way back to her introduction when she was 15. Tirunesh being the female Kenenisa is quite a strech as she isn't as consistent and only races 5000m and occassionally 3000m. She does have a outstanding kick and great x-country skills and maybe this is the year she shows her potential alittle more-she have alot more to give.

The women's 3000m and 5000m have both been SUPER fast and I hope that is an indication of what Kenenisa's plans are maybe a 7:30-7:31 isn't out of the picture since his world record plans are supposedly scratched.

VIPAM

Flash Results, Inc.

Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center

Boston, MA

Last Heat Result

Event 5 Men 3000 Meter Run

Heat 1 of 1

=================================================

Name Year Team Finals

=================================================

1 Alistair Cragg ADI 7:39.89

2 Kenenisa Bekele NIKE 7:41.42

3 Markos Geneti ADI 7:42.97

4 Tim Broe ADI 7:44.87

5 Kevin Sullivan REEB 7:50.75

6 Jonathon Riley NIKE 7:51.63

7 Bolota Asmeron NIKE 7:57.19

8 Charlie Gruber NIKE 8:05.76

9 Steve Slattery NIKE 8:05.99

-- Alexander Skvortsov ESMI DNF

I guess this really goes to show you that if a race is slow enough that anyone can be beaten, especially by a upcoming world talent as Alistair. This should really inspire Kenenisa to improve his 1500m speed but I'm sure he will be alright outdoors in the 5000m/10000m.

VIPAM

Lets see how many records Alistair breaks and World Championship medal he win and how many records Kenny B. breaks and medals he win in 2005-okay it starts now!

Alistair- zero, will it stay that way?

Kenny B.- zero, will it stay that way?

end this thread tonight.

Bekele is not what he use to be, he got his ass kicked out of Boston tonight.

Alistair and Kenenisa share the same birthday 13 June but the similiarites end there and I think Alistair for being a class act, "if we raced 100 times he would be me 99 but his mind wasn't in the race..." I feel both will do good things in 2005 but Alistair isn't in the same league as Kenenisa.

I wonder will the puzzled by Kenenisa Kenyans try to find some motiviation by Kenenisa unfortunate lost?

VIPAM