Well, this is a sobering reminder of how absurd 8:06 is.
Was going to post exactly this - that was awesome running from an athlete of her stature - and she was still what, 35 or so meters behind the "WR"? Get outta here.
Agreed. That's one clear demonstration what hard-core, all out doping was still possible 20 - 30 years ago, and how much that helped.
Yeah, neither is Kimaiyo who was 2nd in semi 2 so I think there are some mistakes. I saw on Twitter someone said it was Koech but it also looks certainly like him right?
8.06.11 is basically right on par with the 1500m WR as an equivalent performance. The 5000m record of 14.00.21 is the equivalent of a 8.09.4
So really, even this performance from Chebet today is kind of average when you compare to the big WR's either side of it - and yet it was histories second fastest time ever and the fastest we have seen in like 30 years by some margin.
Then again the mens 3000m was also oddly stagnant for many years too. Komen ran 7.20 which some people thought was never being broken and then you had this host of awesome talent (Geb, Bekele, El G) taking shots at it and running predominantly in the 7.25's with El G being the only guy to bridge that at 7.23.09 but this was in itself still miles off the record. Jakob comes along, things shift and now you have multiple guys under 7.24 and a WR 3 seconds under what was the "unbreakable" mark.
Can only think the womens 3000m will follow the same path - but it has to be someone with sub 3.50 1500m ability and also elite 5000m ability and that's a unique combination apart from just one female alive today - Faith Kipyegon. I think with 1-2 races of experience she must surely be able to run in the 8.07/08 range in the very least. What is clear now is that 5000m strength is very important, but speed over the 1500/mile is even more important when it comes to the 3000m no matter what gender we are talking about.
Go to 58:08 of this clip. There's a closeup of his face and he's wearing an Under Armour singlet. It's definitely Jonah Koech. But for some reason he's entered as Edward Kemboi. I know what Edward Kemboi looks like -- he was a former NCAA 800 champ for Iowa State -- and he looks nothing like that.
8.06.11 is basically right on par with the 1500m WR as an equivalent performance. The 5000m record of 14.00.21 is the equivalent of a 8.09.4
So really, even this performance from Chebet today is kind of average when you compare to the big WR's either side of it - and yet it was histories second fastest time ever and the fastest we have seen in like 30 years by some margin.
Then again the mens 3000m was also oddly stagnant for many years too. Komen ran 7.20 which some people thought was never being broken and then you had this host of awesome talent (Geb, Bekele, El G) taking shots at it and running predominantly in the 7.25's with El G being the only guy to bridge that at 7.23.09 but this was in itself still miles off the record. Jakob comes along, things shift and now you have multiple guys under 7.24 and a WR 3 seconds under what was the "unbreakable" mark.
Can only think the womens 3000m will follow the same path - but it has to be someone with sub 3.50 1500m ability and also elite 5000m ability and that's a unique combination apart from just one female alive today - Faith Kipyegon. I think with 1-2 races of experience she must surely be able to run in the 8.07/08 range in the very least. What is clear now is that 5000m strength is very important, but speed over the 1500/mile is even more important when it comes to the 3000m no matter what gender we are talking about.
Didn't that split 2:30/2:23/2:30 though? Surely with better pacing he's closer.
Was going to post exactly this - that was awesome running from an athlete of her stature - and she was still what, 35 or so meters behind the "WR"? Get outta here.
Agreed. That's one clear demonstration what hard-core, all out doping was still possible 20 - 30 years ago, and how much that helped.
Announcers were clearly under a gag order not to mention any of the eyebrow-raising aspects of the world record. I sensed a real hesitation the couple times they kind of obliquely referenced it. Not too surprising given who the title sponsor of the Diamond League is.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
Wiley just ran the #4 fastest time in the world, is the #3 performer for 2025, and moves to #10 world rank and #1 US. She can get into any DL race she wants at this point.