Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad: "Our sport is in danger" about Cheptegei and Gidey's WR

Bad Wigins wrote:

WalterM wrote:

I must say I would care a lot more if this came from someone more relevant than 1:06:52 half marathon runner.

How about someone who has ran a sub 8 steeple?

He hasn't been on that level for years. He seems to try to be a road runner now and is completely mediocre at that, even compared to the pre-vaporfly era.

I expected ad hominem attacks, so I'm going to respond to that. Benabbad had one of the most insane kicks we've ever seen in that Euro 1500m where he coasted in in a ridiculous, taunting manner after just blowing everyone away. He trained with Makhloufi, I believe. He attacked a mascot. All that being said, it is utterly irrelevant. His comments are right on the money. Once you let technology loose, all the records will go as far as technological enhancement, not athletic improvement. Then it's like bobsledding or car racing where the millions or billions invested in the sled or car determine the group from which the winner will come.

The translation from the French is a bad one.

you trippin wrote:

RyecorDone wrote:

Typical Let's Run responses ... attacking the messenger.

Read jojo's article.

Weewoo weewoo clown alert!

You are so f*cking stupid and a gigantic piece of trash to boot.

Why don't you leave and never post again?

2600 bro. wrote:

you trippin wrote:

Read jojo's article.

Weewoo weewoo clown alert!

You are so f*cking stupid and a gigantic piece of trash to boot.

Why don't you leave and never post again?

Meant to post this in response to Bad Wigins, sorry. The point still stands.

WalterM wrote:

I must say I would care a lot more if this came from someone more relevant than 1:06:52 half marathon runner. His other recent results from last year amount to the grand total of three ~30 minute 10Ks and a DNF in the 1500. Has he even tried the new spikes?

Lolwut. First time here? He is a 3-time Olympic medalist in the steeplechase.

Adri wrote:

Some say you can gain 3 seconds per kilometer on a "10 000"!

Does this mean Shelby Houlihan would've broken the 5,000m WR at the BTC time trial? I'm sceptical.

Adri wrote:

French runner

Algerian. This ain't no François-Philippe if you know what I mean.

rojo wrote:

just another a$$ being an a$$ wrote:

This is the same guy who shoved mascots and started fights on the track, right? Sounds like a total douche.

And this was the guy who also protested to get an Olympic medal in 2016 and stripped away from Kemboi for stepping on the line.

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2016/08/olympic-debacle-french-forgotten-olympics-supposed-ezekiel-kemboi-dqd-mens-steeple-protest/

How utterly juvenile to attack the messenger. If you disagree with his argument, then counter his argument. Pathetic.

Mekhissi is not the one who asked for Kemboi disqualification. The french federation did.

And people saying he is a nobody only show their ignorance.

That said, I think his arguments are really poor.

-Cheptegei PR was from a tactical race and he had obviously a lot better in his legs at that moment (actually his road 10km PR was faster)

-Dragonfly have no carbon plate in them.

-Bekele would not have run sub 26 with them and lights.

-Those spikes are available for many pro since last year and I don't think they make a huge difference. (i believe they make one still)

Sure the light and spikes help but I think the biggest improvements come from doping during covid lockdown.

JohnnyS wrote:

Obviously he is a douche, but for once he’s completely right! The shoes make a massive difference, the only fair way to handle this is to start making the regulations around what’s ideal and not around Nikes preferences.

Did the shoes help Jeptegei fluctuate less than 1 second per kilometer over almost every single one of the 15km he has covered in his 2 WRs?

I don't think so.

The shoe conversation is absolutely comical and has been from the beginning. "CARBON IN THE SHOES!!!!" as if carbon is some magical material that propels you along and makes you something you aren't.

1) the plates in these shoes aren't even pure carbon fiber, they might have 15% carbon fiber chip content in them max but are in majority a PA12 nylon. Whoopee

2) if carbon fiber is the magic ingredient then why didn't this all happen back in the mid 90's when the Jasari was out and it actually did have a true layered carbon fiber plate (we can add in some of the Fila shoes and also adidas product too)

3) World Athletics basically made rules that stop the only plausible way to create spring effect using a rigid material like carbon fiber which is a C-shape/leaf spring shaped plate, similar to a Paralympians blade. These rules literally exist - I've seen them. If you want to contend that 10mm of zoom x foam is enough to rebound even a 120lb human forwards with any appreciable effect you need to go back to high school.

4) Lab studies have shown and have validated the impact of the footwear on the road - especially over the marathon. Asphalt has zero resilience compared to an athletic track and the shoes are almost 3 times as cushioned which also allows the biggest performance enhancer (the curvature of the plate) to exist. As yet there is not a single lab test that shows performance benefit on a track surface. Ask yourself why that is?

2600 bro. wrote:

2600 bro. wrote:

Weewoo weewoo clown alert!

You are so f*cking stupid and a gigantic piece of trash to boot.

Why don't you leave and never post again?

Meant to post this in response to Bad Wigins, sorry. The point still stands.

The point you made stands - you're a clown. The point you wanted to make blew up in your face. LMAO!

streak wrote:

The spikes Cheptegei wore don't have a carbon fiber plate in them. I don't know what Gidet wore, but I care more that I think she's doping. 14:06 and not even tired, yeah right.

Did you miss the part where she was on her knees vomiting for a period after the race? They had to hold up a flag to hide her physical distress from the cameras and crowd

French federation did this because MMB got DQ'd at 2014 Euro championships because he pulled off his jersey with 100m to go and Spanish fed claimed to get a bronze medal. We're talking about an Olympic Medal, not a HS State championship

Some people in this thread are just disgusting, but what did I expect, it's LRC

Otherwise, MMB is a douche and his interview is really poor. Many Adidas sponsored French athletes were salty about Nike shoes for 2-3 years (2:09 marathoner and former Euro XC champ Hassan Chahdi criticized carbon-fiber shoes... until the Adios Pro got on the market)

just another a$$ being an a$$ wrote:

This is the same guy who shoved mascots and started fights on the track, right? Sounds like a total douche.

And how can we forgot this clown show?

Mekhissi is an absolute tool.

That aside, I don't agree with his opinion at all, but I think he hits the nail on the head as to what the 'problem' is for old school fans.

Classic athletics fans are a bit nerdy and want to be able to directly compare athletes across generations. Times are very important to some fans. More important than being a great athlete, winning medals etc.

That is something which actually holds back the sport severely as many fans can't enjoy a good race. Rather than be excited at a head to head with a narrow margin of victory, they look at the clock and say 'oh', after they have subjectively enjoyed the racing between two human individuals.

Sport progresses. It really doesn't matter what times the elites are running. They aren't comparable to yourself anyway.

It's enjoyable to have athletes race eachother in high stakes, fair competition. The equipment they use doesn't really matter as long as they are all roughly the same. Which I believe they very soon will be.

All these cry babies. Remember Cheptegei broke his world record without light tech. Light tech is there for everyone in the race to use. Shoes are available to all also.

Cheptegei is my favourite athlete and I am Ugandan, so I don't really like what this douche is saying. But, in the larger scheme of things, the criticism is expected and could easily have been made by someone else. The Guardian article on the 10,000m record mentioned the shoes and so many people have also said he was helped with the lights. Add those who say he's doped and are pointing at Covid-19, implying that he's not been tested. Well and good. The only way to put these doubts to rest is hoping that Joshua (and Kiplimo) stays dominant on the track in years to come and also grabs phenomenal results in the half and full marathons. Which I believe he will do; ever since I started following him, after he won the Carlsbad 5000 in April 2016, I've always thought he was destined for world domination.

No odious and middling Frenchman can change that.

well, it took you a while to write all that