And I cannot be the only one.
- 2 months ago Gidey took 3rd in her only event in Tokyo, the 10k. Training wise not a huge shift to the 1/2 marathon given the time difference. You can’t make the argument she’s better on the roads, she holds the 5k and 10k WRs.
- Jack Daniels Vdot Tables give her the following equivalents: 28:31, 13:45, 3:59 mile. Now you can argue that the vdot tables don’t do a good enough job comparing the 1/2 and track events. When kipchoge ran 2:01:39, seen as a massive outlier when he ran it, 26:23, 12:40, and 3:40 mile were the equivalents, significantly closer and far worse in some events.
- February 2020 the WR was 64:31. Roughly a 1:40 difference. To find a similar improvement in the men’s half, you have to go all the way back to 2006.
Now there are arguments for it being a not doped up result. Firstly the shoes, at this point there’s no denying the benefit which varies from athlete to athlete. Second, she’s incredible at time trials. In my book, she’s nowhere near Hassan in a competitive race, she probably just doesn’t have the closing speed to showcase her extreme ability to redline.
This is a mini rant before I fully process this result I tried being fair with some counterpoints. Congratulations to Gidey, it just doesn’t sit right with me