Good news for Jakob: Rumor from Uganda is Jacob Kiplimo will opt out of the 5000, only do 10,000 at Worlds

Why is this good news for Jakob? Ingebrigtsen has said in the past that he wants competition. In a 2021 interview, he said, "I want to race against the best, and I want to be pushed to my limits. If there's no competition, then there's no challenge."

He also just mentioned in Silesia that unfortunately, there are no challengers at the end of his races.

While understandable, it's a tad disappointing. Last year, Kiplimo was injured early and opened up late. This year he's been healthy so this is a bit of a surprise to me especially with how good he's looked in the 5000.

That being said, there're a few guys who aren't doing a double seemingly to prioritize the race:
-Kiplimo
-Daniel Simiyu Ebenyo (scratched from 10K whether his choice or AK's, has stated he wants to run the HM in Riga)
-Kibiwott Kandie (didn't attempt to run 5K even if he could've had a shot there)
-Kejelcha (? - could this be why he skipped Ethiopian 10K trials, or will he try to win DL title)

I think the best news is actually for Aregawi not Jakob. He can do his thing at the front, and I don't really think he has to worry about many challenges.

Well of course unless Aregawi wanted a little help from a fellow front runner type…

I feel like with most guys that might be the case, but with Aregawi he loves just going for it and hopefully running away unopposed. I think the fewer guys around him the more confidence he'll have. And he's shown a few times this year he's been able to deal with guys coming back on him but I think that his best-case is to only have to deal with 1-2 guys.

The bad news is Kiplimo is just ducking Gebrhiwet! Jakob will duck too if he has any sense.

The strongest competitors for Jakob are Aregawi, Gebrhiwet and Kejelcha. Are those three doubling 10k-5k or are they only focusing on 5k ?

of those three, only Aregawi qualified for the 10k team in their trials

This is great news for the COPERS after Jakob wins, cause now they have an excuse:

"If Kiplimo ran the 5000, things would look different"

Didn't he just get dropped in the big 5k last week?

Yeah well it’s one bad race. And he still ran 12:48 and was World XC champ with a really impressive 12:41 this year

i think he might actually prefer a fast race - contrary to popular belief I do not think he can be dropped at 12:40 - 12:45 pace.

Then again I don't think he'll lose the "fast last k" sort of race either.

He might lose the fast last 400 type race but he won't let that happen

Hand him the gold

edit: Kiplimo might have dropped out to let his half brother Oscar Chelimo run who hasn't been in shape this year

I haven't seen Kiplimo win any relevant international championship on the track. He's more of a road star and regular szn track star who comparatively disappears in the playoffs on the track.

You REALLY think Jakob is concerned who is in these races?

I'm taking Aregawi for 3rd at worst if he gets to the front between 3k-3.4k. I'm really hoping that he doesn't let the pace dawdle and hide in the back like he often does during big championships and that he really goes for it. Say he drops a 4:57 final 2k in a 13:00 - 12:50 type of race a la bekele 2008 (not saying its as impressive, take into account super shoes) from the front. Who will be able to hang? ofc Jakob might not get dropped, but thats only one guy. Chep? He could probably stick with it but tahts just 2 more guy...

I dont think Jakob would even know kiplimo was in the race.

Mo Farah was 29 in London 2012, just starting to peak.

Hagos Gebrhiwet is 29 in 2023, just started to peak.

Change my mind. ;-)

Dude is Armstrong 2.0 to a tee.

This is what Jakob should say when asked about Kiplimo skipping the 5000-

" if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's a D..U...C...K duck. "

" there is only one king Jak/cob."

Yep, I get the feeling Jakob doesn't spend much time thinking about his competition.