Could a prime Mo Farah have won this 10000m easily?

So Chep closed faster and he didn’t win today. Again I respect your faith in Farah but these are better competitors. Agree to disagree, I’d expect him in second third or fourth today.

High hopes wrote:

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

Agreed. The event has gotten stronger. The likes of Ibrahim Jeilan, Galen Rupp and Paul Tanui are not the competition. Those guys are/were solid, worthy medalists but this new wave runs far faster in the 3,000-10,000.

And they weren't Farah's only competition either. He had Edris, Kamworor, a rising Cheptegei, and an admittedly declining Bekele. We shouldn't try and qualify Farah's dominance just because he's not well-liked. He closed in 53 seconds in 2011 and 2012 so it's not like Barega's final lap would have been out of Farah's range at his peak

It was not just his physical qualities - it was his tactical perfection in championship races. He was always perfectly positioned.

Not against a prime Bekele. No chance whatsoever.

Prime Farah would have won yesterday.

Prime Bekele would have won as well.

In fact prime Bekele would beat Cheptegai 10/10 times.Nightmare match up for the Ugandan.

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

Again Farah was really good but he was beating guys narrowly who were not at the level of this recent crop, no offense to Tanui, Jeilan and Rupp. Good runners but not guys who could break 12:45 or 26:30.

Kiplimo has run 26:33 once. Cheptegei has the WR, but no one else has currently run faster than 26:49 on the track. Only Barega and Cheptegei have broken 12:45. There's a little more depth now, but these guys have not shown themselves yet to be significantly better than the competition Farah faced. And Farah's era were doing it in flats, not Zoomx pogo spikes.

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

I mean Kamworor is not a track racer like any of the top 3 today. If he could’ve laid down 12:4x or 26:30 he would have. Edris in 2015 was not a real factor. Again he had chief rivals and I listed them. Kamworor is one yes but he’s never been as consistent/good on the track as Kiplimo, Cheptegei of Barega. I believe peak Farah would be in the mix today but I don’t see him winning gold. Maybe he’d outfox the Ugandans for silver. They didn’t run the smartest races.

Come on, you overlooked these guys didn't you? That's why you thought Edris was 1-0 against Farah.

Edris was definitely not considered a non-factor before the race. Same with Kamworor, a global silver medallist on the track, laid down 27:01 at altitude this year. He's definitely a track racer and, I think, would have been up there in Tokyo.

Farah had real studs to beat, it wasn't a uniquely weak era, and to win 10 global titles shows a level of sustained excellence that is unmatched. He won quick races, slow races, races where the Africans teamed up on him. I'd be surprised if any of this current crop get close to his status

Yes, with a mo-bot at the end

In the world of coulda, shoulda, woulda, Lasse Viren could have won, too.

Simple answer - yes.

Farah was a racer first and foremost. He knew how to win on the biggest stage, had a clear plan in his mind and followed it on the day, come what may (remember he was tripped in Rio round about the halfway mark?) in the knowledge that someone would have to run crazy fast on the last lap.

The more pertinent question here is, if Cheptegei had been on the shoulder of the leader with 400 to go or even in the lead rather than being just off the pace as he was, would he have won? Unquestionably. Hard, IMHO, not to see this as Cheptegei snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, albeit the winner was a worthy one. He had several lessons from Farah and knew the drill but could not execute on the day.

Humidity and heat recipe for disaster for most distance runners, I would think any decent runner can win a race with this conditions maybe not much difference in races shorter than 1500m. I mean An American not Rupp or Lagat finished just 3 sec behind the winner.

That’s why we see at the summer Olympics such a random champions here and there.

tarckstar wrote:

Did Farah ever close at 4:01?

london 2012 4:01.3

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

So Chep closed faster and he didn’t win today. Again I respect your faith in Farah but these are better competitors. Agree to disagree, I’d expect him in second third or fourth today.

There literally isn’t better competitors that’s why he has 10 gold medals the proof is right there HE WAS THE BEST RACER. I’m not sure how people still argue about this it doesn’t make sense to me. How does this translate to there being better competitors. It was never about who’s faster.

THOUGHTSLEADER wrote:

So Chep closed faster and he didn’t win today. Again I respect your faith in Farah but these are better competitors. Agree to disagree, I’d expect him in second third or fourth today.

You clearly mentioned Doha, that’s where I got the 55.x number from.

Barega’s last lap in Tokyo was 53.53. The race was won in 27:43? If I remember correctly.

Farah has closed a 27:21 race in 53. Without superspikes. I don’t know how else to say it. If Farah was in this race he would’ve closed in 50-51. He has the medals to back it up. He’s beaten literally countless 26:4x and 12:4x runners for almost a decade straight. He has 4 Olympic golds for crying out loud. He would win. This isn’t agreeing to disagree, you aren’t showing respect toward the greatest distance racer of the past decade

4 Olympic golds and 6 world championship golds. Just incredible consistency and dominance. He’s almost become underrated already.

He may have won…but no way he would’ve closed in 50-51. There is nothing to back up he can close that fast in a race this speed and conditions. He went just under 51 once in an over 14minute 5,000. This race was a faster pace, hotter/humid and the last km was 2:25. Maybe he could of gone low 53 but ridiculous you’re saying it’s a fact he’d close in that sort of lap

tarckstar wrote:

Did Farah ever close at 4:01?

Did he ever need to?

The thing with Farah was that had minimal interest in chasing PRs. I believe that in his prime, he was capable of running as fast as 26:20 and that, combined with his 3:28 speed, made him tough to beat in any scenario.

100%

Did Farah ever race in dragonflys in his prime?