It's clear that his 12:35 was done in very special circumstances, with global shutdowns, a cancelled Olympics, and nothing to interfere with a raw record attempt. He is an incredible talent but hasn't shown anything approaching similar shape since that day in 2020 and may have already hit his 5k lifetime peak (Bekele ran progressively slower in the 5k literally every year after 12:37 as well). No one will stumble onto the track and just accidentally break the 5k record in a hot race either-- it is not a soft record and requires immediately committing to 2:32/2:31s right from the start.
Is it possible that things may not line up with a similar talent and circumstance for another decade or more? Discuss.