The Kenyans are usually the guys who keep the pace honest. But watch around 1:50 in the race...
Asbel Kiprop surges from last to the front and it looks like Ronald Kwemoi, his teammate, was trying to go with him. But Kwemoi trips and goes down pretty hard. Kiprop doesn't notice that Kwemoi went down. Kwemoi recovers from his fall and sprints to catch back up to the pack. But to me, it is clear that Kwemoi got the wind knocked out of him and may have been slightly injured by the fall.
Again, Kiprop doesn't notice that his teammate went down. I believe that Kwemoi was supposed to take the lead. When Kwemoi doesn't take the lead, Kiprop slows down and tucks in behind the leaders in the inside lane. Kiprop will remain severely boxed in for the rest of the race which can be frustrating and exhausting. To me, Kiprop clearly thought that Kwemoi would take the lead at any second and make the pace honest. But Kwemoi is obviously compromised and unable to fulfill his duty.
Kiprop has to slow down just before the last lap and fall all the way to the back of the back, move to the outside after getting bumped a couple times, and then make a big move to catch back up to Centro. It was the only way to get out of his box.
On the final lap, Centro, Willis, and Makhloufi are fresh. But Kiprop is tired from being boxed in and having to sprint twice already to get himself in a decent position. Kwemoi tried to kick, but ends up buried in last place by 5 seconds.
Cliffs: The Kenyans are usually the ones to make the pace honest. Kwemoi's fall ruined their plan. It still would have been a slowish race, but definitely not 3:50.
