Wilson Kipketer beats Rushida

London 2012 hypothetical. Kipketer arrives at the starting line in his peak 1997 form. How would the race have turned out? Rudisha led from start to finish so none of the others really would have an impact. Would Kipketer lead him instead and try to burn off someone running at the fastest pace ever for an Olympic final - or would he hang on and try to outsprint him in the last 200m? Maybe having someone else to really push him would drag Rudisha closer to 1:40? How do you see it?

Even I can beat Rushida, now Rudisha, he's tough to beat.

REDHERRING wrote:

London 2012 hypothetical. Kipketer arrives at the starting line in his peak 1997 form. How would the race have turned out? Rudisha led from start to finish so none of the others really would have an impact. Would Kipketer lead him instead and try to burn off someone running at the fastest pace ever for an Olympic final - or would he hang on and try to outsprint him in the last 200m? Maybe having someone else to really push him would drag Rudisha closer to 1:40? How do you see it?

I'd see WKip outsprinting Rushida the last 200M.

Hypothetically WKip 19 seconds ahead of Rushida, and 0.1 behind Rudisha.

So Kipketer was the best 800m runner of all-time, El G the best 1500m runner of all time, Geb/Bekele the best 5000/10000m runners of all time, not to mention other freaks such as Ngeny and Komen. All around the mid-90's.

There was definitely something in the water back then...

kip and rushd ran the same times.

and outsprint in the last 200 in an 800m,

that never happens,

the guy who kicks is the one who's fading the least.

ya sure, guys do kick in the straight, but that is because they slowed down prior, and have a bit in the tank

really the last 100m in any top race, you're running on fumes, going pretty much the same speed no matter what the distance above 400m. or close to.

It would be an interesting finish! Rudisha is reputedly sub-11 for 100m and sub-22 for 200m.

Rudisha wins. He is a winner.

Kipketer was a choke-artist in the biggest races.

If we follows the time progression records Rudisha was way better.

Kipketer probably never made it to the top 800m Kenyan junior runners. That explains why he never took part of World Junior Championship.

His first Gold medal (1995 World Championship) was in his "new country" Denmark at the age 22 or 23.

I would have loved to see how Snell would have faired against the likes of Rudisha and Kipketer on an all weather track and all the modern technology the latter two had/have access to. Snells 1:44.2 on a grass track in 1962 was just insane!

Event

You can compare Snell vs Rudisha/Kipketer + New technology

or

You can compare Snell vs Rudisha/kipketer + Africa Sleeping Era leaving a big hole in the world athletics

EndEvent

Passant wrote:

If we follows the time progression records Rudisha was way better.

Kipketer probably never made it to the top 800m Kenyan junior runners. That explains why he never took part of World Junior Championship.

His first Gold medal (1995 World Championship) was in his "new country" Denmark at the age 22 or 23.

This thread is about Rushida, a made-up 800m runner whose abilities are entirely hypothetical.

Try to keep up.

Passant wrote:

Event

You can compare Snell vs Rudisha/Kipketer + New technology

or

You can compare Snell vs Rudisha/kipketer + Africa Sleeping Era leaving a big hole in the world athletics

EndEvent

OR

you can compare modern African era without their full throttle epo, rat poison and super spikes vs the baby boomer generation when participation levels and public interest in the West were 20 x what they are today.

Peter Snell.

END OF DISCUSSION.

I'd love to be able to see Snell, Ryan, Keino, Elliott in modern shoes on modern tracks with modern training and lifestyle- like diet- and with the old time guys being Pro, full time, runners.

I pick- Snell in the 800 and Elliott in the 1500.

And, I'm old, so that's my bias. LOL

How does two Olympic and WC Golds + a WR make it a close contest? Rudisha is a better racer AND faster than Kipketer. It's no contest.

One guy ran probably the single best middle distance performance in Olympic history.

The other guy lost to Nils Schumann.

birdbeard2 wrote:

One guy ran probably the single best middle distance performance in Olympic history.

The other guy lost to Nils Schumann.

Both are true - but a little context is needed, especially for the second statement.

Because of course in 1998, Kipketer contracted malaria (which I hope we can agree is quite serious) and never was quite the same since. He was also denied his best chance at Olympic gold in 96 when Kenya blocked him for running for Denmark (where he had lived for 6 years since the age 18 and still does) - a situation that would seem laughable in recent years with the amount of east Africans that managed to compete for countries like Bahrain and Qatar simply by giving them new passports.

Either way, the guy won 3 world titles at his peak (95,97,99) and was on the podium in 2 Olympics (a silver and a bronze) in the toughest event in track. It's not bad.

birdbeard2 wrote:

One guy ran probably the single best middle distance performance in Olympic history.

The other guy lost to Nils Schumann.

Yeah, not picking against Rudisha. He also was able to control and win races in numerous ways during his career. In 2012, a masterclass in leading it out and killing everyone off with a ridiculous pace. In 2015, he controlled it with a really slow pace, held off all challengers and then held a good margin the last 100 in the final kick. In 2016, laid off a crazy pace and just beat everyone home the last 300. Maybe Kipketer sits on him in a Diamond League time trial and runs with him for a World Record in a race or two, but in a real race it's all Rudisha.

Coevett wrote:

Passant wrote:

Event

You can compare Snell vs Rudisha/Kipketer + New technology

or

You can compare Snell vs Rudisha/kipketer + Africa Sleeping Era leaving a big hole in the world athletics

EndEvent

OR

you can compare modern African era without their full throttle epo, rat poison and super spikes vs the baby boomer generation when participation levels and public interest in the West were 20 x what they are today.

Peter Snell.

END OF DISCUSSION.

Pathetic ^^