Since the Finns started blood transfusions in the 1972 Olympics, I'd guess at least half of the distance medalists from the World Champs and Olympics have been on the sauce. Nothing I've seen at this Olympics leads me to believe that percentage has decreased.
No one is above suspicion, but this is as obvious as it gets. I remember a few years ago when Jeptoo ran something like a 5-minute mile after coming out of the Boston hills. The clueless announcers were euphoric with their praise.
that's why Chep would never be the GOAT, not even close.
This post deserves all the upvotes - could not be more accurate. Hassan is the most exciting athlete to watch. Cheptegei knew he couldn’t win gold against Jakob. Hassan doesn’t give AF, she just runs.
I posted here several times that Hassan was upbeat about her preparation and was emphasizing the marathon. Dutch media was extremely helpful in this regard. They interviewed Hassan many times dating back to FBK Games a couple of months ago. I believe I posted some of those quotes here. Hassan said she was working extremely hard on understanding and practicing elevation changes, both uphill and downhill. After the 10,000 when Dutch television was asking Hassan about that race she cut them off quickly, saying all her attention was on the marathon.
Consequently I wasn't surprised at all that she won today. Once Hassan emerged from the sustained uphill and was still with the leaders, the race was over. Why were Goucher and Linden on NBC hyping Hellen Obiri? She has demonstrated repeatedly that she is not Olympic gold medal caliber, dating all the way back to 2012 London 1500 when she was facing a bunch of mediocrities and still found a way to lose. Obiri's kick is absolutely nothing compared to Hassan's.
I was surprised by Assefa of Ethiopia, the world record holder. Her kick was more of a unknown quantity but she fared extremely well to hang that close with Hassan.
Hassan in Paris is yet another example that it's how good are you, not how good are you playing.
has there been a post race press conference yet? Can't find any interviews with Hassan
Just a quick interview in Dutch right afterwards. She said she really struggled, especially the second half of the race, during which she wished she hadn't also done the 5k and 10k. Talked about being overtrained for most of the year and even just a few weeks ago she was dreading the Olympics. But this feels like 10 gold medals and she's even more proud of this than what she did in Tokyo.
How many times did you watch this? Assefa running tangents IN-FRONT, Sifan tries to pass before a turn and realizes her error. Tries again... oh wait, another turn. She realizes she screwed up and pushes Assefa away to make room, akin to shoving someone off the rail. Clearly a dirty move. I wouldn't DQ it, but unsportsmanlike. I know complexity is tough for people, but Sifan can have an AMAZING, well earned accomplishment and a dirty move.
How many times did you watch this? Assefa running tangents IN-FRONT, Sifan tries to pass before a turn and realizes her error. Tries again... oh wait, another turn. She realizes she screwed up and pushes Assefa away to make room, akin to shoving someone off the rail. Clearly a dirty move. I wouldn't DQ it, but unsportsmanlike. I know complexity is tough for people, but Sifan can have an AMAZING, well earned accomplishment and a dirty move.
Sifan was clearly right next to her (albeit a half foot behind) and attempting to pass on the left when Assefa continued to cut in. Assefa was in the wrong.
What an incredible achievement! Sifan Hassan truly showed her versatility and determination. Winning gold in the marathon after two bronzes on the track is just amazing. She's a legend!
I don't see how Assefa was in the wrong, she was in the lead and logically was taking the direct path which also does not leave the door open on the inside. This is how you would approach these corners in any racing discipline, and just like any other discipline, if you don't have the space to overtake, ie. if the course boundary is closing on you and you don't have the time & space to get in front of the person who has the fast line, just barging into them and forcing your way into the same place as them is obviously dirty. The expectation that Assefa should give her space and was in the wrong because she "continued to cut in" is ridiculous, she was following the course, holding her line in the final moments of the race, that was the smartest thing she could have done at that point and make Hassan, who she obviously knows has the kick, have to actually employ it (but where there's space) to get to the lead.
There's literally a faint blue line on the ground that shows you the shortest path. It is there for pretty much the whole marathon.
This is an actual painted line on the ground
Assefa did not follow it but yet veered in closer to the rail to cut Hassan off
Think about it if there's quick left and right turns in succession you're not going to be on the rail for both of them
You're not going to be literally scraping against the barriers if they're a quick left right turns and succession are you going to run the tangent which would be what cuts right between them which would leave you a couple feet off the barriers
Bottom line is she new Hassan was going to sprint by her and was doing everything she could to block
I mean it's not rocket science look at how they finished after a mild bump. Hassan was faster
Assefa did nothing wrong, and I don't think Hassan did either. All of those ridiculous s curves in the last 400 meters made something like this almost inevitable.