Old-timers, is Wesley Kiptoo like Prefontaine.... just much better? Kiptoo had unreal 28:22, 8:31 st, 13:29 TRIPLE at Big 12s.

Looks like Henry didn't finish the steeplechase at the Pac 8 in 1978. He still ran 27:46 and 13:20.

Here is every one of Ronos races in that 1978 season.

https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=6136501

I'm willing to bet Daniel Lincoln ran the triple in his conference champs.

Wesley Kiptoo is really good and gets after it, which is fun for fans. What he does in the future when freed from college racing schedules and getting a top group to train with at altitude may be even more impressive. However, at present, it is just possible that he didn't win xc nationals because he isn't quite as good as the top NCAA runners. He hasn't run 13:20--not too much off--or 27:40s yet. Others have. Mantz ran 27:41.

rojo wrote:

I've changed the title. It was initially entitled "Wesley Kiptoo with unreal Big 12 meet" but I want to know if he's like a modern day Pre.

I know it's your site and all but it is so annoying when you do this

sherlocker wrote:

Well he’s arguably not much better than Prefontaine when you factor in the shoes and even faster tracks of today. And relative to the rest of the world he is worse than Prefontaine was. And how old is he? Is he about 25 or so?

Do you know how old he is & do you question the age of every BYU runner too?

The fact of the matter is a lot of people are much better than Prefontaine no matter the shoes and what tracks are like now. Athletes have gotten better. Athletes train better. Eat better. Recover better. Barriers have changed.

This thread title was changed to generate clicks. We should be talking about how impressive of a triple that was. We're so insular in T&F. Not every performance has to be compared with Pre. I think it's fair to say Kiptoo runs hard every time out. Similar enough to Pre but plenty impressive on its own.

He has nothing in World Athletics until 2020 and has improved significantly at Iowa State which makes me think that he is not very old. I estimate 23.

Obligatory reference to Robert Cheseret’s conference triple. Surprised it hasn’t been mentioned. Considering he had guys like Rupp/Araia to deal with, I was surprised he pulled it off. Don’t think they were particularly fast times though.

walter j wrote:

Obligatory reference to Robert Cheseret’s conference triple. Surprised it hasn’t been mentioned. Considering he had guys like Rupp/Araia to deal with, I was surprised he pulled it off. Don’t think they were particularly fast times though.

Robert Cheseret's lack of pro success is something that has always stunned me. I remember he fell down and still dominated the field at NCAAs with Ritz in it.

Hell of adouble.

10k

1 1 Cheseret, Robert SR Arizona 30:32.92 10

2 2 Rupp, Galen Oregon 30:42.10 8

3 3 Araia, Neftalem JR Stanford 30:47.85 6

5k

1 1 Cheseret, Robert SR Arizona 13:47.50 10

2 2 Mutanya, Obed JR Arizona 13:51.32 8

3 3 Rupp, Galen Oregon 14:00.94 6

1500

1 1 Cheseret, Robert SR Arizona 3:41.88 10

2 2 Brown, Russell JR Stanford 3:43.49 8

3 3 Maiyo, Jonah SR Arizona 3:43.84 6

4 4 Abbott, Austin SO Washington 3:44.30 5

5 5 McGrath, Michael Oregon 3:44.70 4

4 4 Pierce, Jonathan SR Stanford 14:09.92

rojo wrote:

ShilohDoesntCare wrote:

This is the correct take. He's not on the same level when you factor in the eras and he's not on the level of the best in the sport which Pre was in his time. He's got a bright future though and if he races anything like this against the pros I'll be rooting for him bigtime. Didn't he run something like 2:01 for the first 800 in that indoor 5k? He is not soft.

Yes. I know relative to the world's best - he's not at Pre's level. But back in the amateur days an African couldn't afford to train.

Homie, Pre wasn't at Kieno's level, either.

Mr. Rono wrote:

Dudes not even close to being on the same level as Henry Rono

This. Pre was a try-hard and Rono was a monster, a destroyer of souls.

cmon rojo wrote:

rojo wrote:

I've changed the title. It was initially entitled "Wesley Kiptoo with unreal Big 12 meet" but I want to know if he's like a modern day Pre.

I know it's your site and all but it is so annoying when you do this

Yep, it's lame, controlling, and frankly bullying. Start your own thread on the topic if you don't like what others write in their OPs.

How does Henry Rono rank in your comparative analysis..?

malmo wrote:

Looks like Henry didn't finish the steeplechase at the Pac 8 in 1978. He still ran 27:46 and 13:20.

Here is every one of Ronos races in that 1978 season.

https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=6136501

I should’ve read all the way through this thread; thx you Malmo.

Great post. I'd like to see everything as a percentage of their PRs.

Kitpoo is running very close to his PRs in the 5000 and 10000 and he PRd in the steeple. He was just 8 seconds off his 5000 pb and 24 seconds of his 10k.

How close was Pre running to his PBs?

Here is what I could find for Pre's 5000 pbs.

1970 13:39.6h 16 Jul

1971 13:30.4AR July

1972 13:22.8 AR at Olympic Trials

Since those were set in the summer, let's assume they weer his pb for the following college season.

1971 - PB of 13:39.6 and he runs 13:45ish - so 6 seconds slower than his pb.

1972 - PB of 13:30- Runs 13:59ish - 29 seconds off

1973 - PB of 13:22 - Runs 13:37 - 15 seconds off.

So on 1 of the 3 occasions, he's similar to what Kiptoo did in the 5000 this week and twice he's much slower as compared to his pb.

So I guess Pre didn't go all out every time like the movies make it sound?

If you are a Pre fan, here is a geat thread on him from 2006

the hocker double of 800 and 5000

that is way more impressive.

this dude will run 346 mile.

zxcvzxcv wrote:

Wesley Kiptoo is really good and gets after it, which is fun for fans. What he does in the future when freed from college racing schedules and getting a top group to train with at altitude may be even more impressive. However, at present, it is just possible that he didn't win xc nationals because he isn't quite as good as the top NCAA runners. He hasn't run 13:20--not too much off--or 27:40s yet. Others have. Mantz ran 27:41.

He’s run 13:21 and 27:38. The latter was run in December 2020........If you think Mantz will beat him at 10k on the track, think again.

Rojoke and silly questions go together like peanutbutter and jelly.

rojo wrote:

I've been busy with my son and just now had time to get on here. I've changed the title. It was initially entitled "Wesley Kiptoo with unreal Big 12 meet" but I want to know if he's like a modern day Pre.

Seriously. We always here about how Pre went for it back in the day. Can anyone tell me what his best double/triple was at a conference meet? What was the format? How many days? Kiptoo was helped here in that for some reason the meet was held over 3 days so he only had to run once each day but the dude just likes to run fast. I mean there was no need for him to do that.

Insane.

Why are you always hijacking threads and changing the titles? Constantly interjecting your own opinions into other users post and passing off your opinions as facts?

Agreed. Kiptoo would win 5k or steeple or 10k about 8 out of 10 times against anyone in the NCAA, if running fresh. Nobody wins every time out. This 3 day performance is way bigger than most of you realize. Think of the strength he gained for the next meet in 2 weeks.