colorunner123 wrote:
1. The heat and humidity play to Rupp's strengths. This will not be a fast race. Expect a winning time of around 2:10-2:12, right in Rupp's wheelhouse.
2. He has more Olympic experience than almost anyone in the race.
3. He was only 5 seconds behind Grant Fisher a month ago at the U.S. Olympic Trials 10000 meters, indicating good speed and excellent fitness.
I guess I haven't followed Rupp's career closely enough. What races has he run in hot and humid weather where he beat runners that were clearly superior to him. For sure, cold and heavy rain was not in his wheelhouse at Boston.
Olympic experience doesn't mean anything. Haven't most marathon gold medal winners done so in the first try? Most of the Oympic races have an increase in pace at maybe 10K out and a runner has the strength to cover it, or not. Lilesa looked like he was running about 5:00 pace near the end of the marathon at Rio and Rupp, with all of his experience, could not run him down.