Despite that achievement [Kipchoge's WR in Berlin], Bekele is of the view that his accomplishments across a broader range of distances gives him the edge.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Marathon, where he will attempt to land his first London title at the age of 40, he said: ‘What I did in world championships, Olympics, cross country and the world records - for those competitions of course I am the best.'
Kenenisa Bekele's confidence comes with some justification - he has many titles and is No 2 on the all-time marathon list. it is the Kenyan at No 1, Eliud Kipchoge, who has kept Bekele in the shade.
The Daily Mail has a tabloidyish reputation as they go for the headlines. Here is a fuller quote I jsut found in the Telegraph which makes him look much humber.
Kenenisa Bekele says he still deserves to be considered the greatest distance runner in history despite Eliud Kipchoge’s brilliant world marathon record
Asked about whether Kipchoge’s 2hr 1min 9sec run in Berlin made the Kenyan the greatest, Bekele replied: “From my side, I don’t want to put in myself [in the conversation]. But what I did in world championships, Olympics, cross countrys and the world records – for those competitions of course I am the best.
“With the marathon I couldn’t achieve what everybody hoped,” he added. “Somehow I failed with some marathon races. But, on the other hand, my marathon times also tell you something. I am second overall behind Eliud Kipchoge. And it was very close. It was only two seconds until last week.
You could argue that KB was as dominant at the 5, 10, and XC as Kipchoge is at the marathon, plus with the second fastest time in that event, I still have no issue regarding KB as the distance GOAT (3k up).
I'd love to make a case for Geb, but his lack of elite XC results is the issue here.
I think you can also consider Paul Tergat, he did have the half and marathon world records, plus was of course world class at 10000 and also multiple XC world champion, but unfortunately those Olympic golds were not to be his, thanks to Geb.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/sep/30/im-still-the-greatest-insists-bekele-ahead-of-london-marathon-tilt I thought it was a great read. I wish we could've gotten his response as if he were talking to one of his best f...
I suppose you cannot begin to relate to being “tabloidyish” and going for the headlines. Bekele spoke the truth. In these “other competitions” he is the best of all time. Eliud isn’t in the top 5 in those “other competitions.”
Despite that achievement [Kipchoge's WR in Berlin], Bekele is of the view that his accomplishments across a broader range of distances gives him the edge.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Marathon, where he will attempt to land his first London title at the age of 40, he said: ‘What I did in world championships, Olympics, cross country and the world records - for those competitions of course I am the best.'
It is disrespectful towards Kipchoge and also dismissive.They say 'give the devil his dues' .The least he could have done was acknowledge Kipchoge's awesome performances in the marathon spanning the last 7 years ,but more in particular the Berlin performance last week.Would it hurt to show abit of humility ?what an arrogant git?
This is what i love about running. Those who run the fastest times and collect medals along the way are considered the GOAT. He no longer holds the 5k and 10k world records anymore and his marathon pr although impressive is only 2nd best
To be dominant at 4k XC, 12k XC, 5000 indoors, 5000 and 10000 Grands Prix, 5000 and 10000 World Championships and Olympics, then Half Marathon and Marathon.
Bekele is the goat distance runner. It’s really impossible to argue otherwise and he has every right to reach the same conclusion and say it out loud as the rest of us. However, being the goat is overrated in this instance. Kipchoge has transcended the sport. He’s a global superstar and I’m sure Bekele is at least a little jealous of EK’s status as an icon. Yes, competitive runners and fanatical fans know the truth, but to the general public who knows even a tiny bit about running, EK is the one who dominates. Was Ali the greatest boxer of all time, probably not, but in the end, he’s the one people remember as the greatest.
If you watch any interviews with Bekele you see that he drops "of course" and "you know" as filler in a lot of sentences as his English is a little bit lacking. I don't think this was meant to come off as boastful as it looks (even if he is correct- he is the best)
I just pulled up the Jon Gault interview and "of course" is literally the first thing Bekele says, and he uses it again like 5 times in the first 3 minutes of the interview lol.
Despite that achievement [Kipchoge's WR in Berlin], Bekele is of the view that his accomplishments across a broader range of distances gives him the edge.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Marathon, where he will attempt to land his first London title at the age of 40, he said: ‘What I did in world championships, Olympics, cross country and the world records - for those competitions of course I am the best.'
English is not his first language. He’s just making a tautological statement that the competitions in which he was the best, he was the best. No one can take that away from him. It’s all already happened.
It’s cringe to ask him to compare himself to Kipchoge repeatedly. He’s said before in interviews that he dominated track and XC and Kipchoge clearly dominates the marathon. There’s not much more to be said.
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