It looks like there are a few Ethiopian men in the 204s this year who'd be potential candidates. Some of them have more recent results than Bekele, but with Bekele's experience, could he be the better candidate for a medal?
It looks like there are a few Ethiopian men in the 204s this year who'd be potential candidates. Some of them have more recent results than Bekele, but with Bekele's experience, could he be the better candidate for a medal?
more recent as in more than one time this year that would make them candidates, not chronological
No he won't be chosen.Mainly because of his injury history for the last 4 years he has had so many injuries the Federation cannot guarantee that he will be fit and ready for the Olympics so why take the risk?its better to choose a younger person who is more likely to be there than Bekele.
No he won't be chosen.Mainly because of his injury history for the last 4 years he has had so many injuries the Federation cannot guarantee that he will be fit and ready for the Olympics so why take the risk?its better to choose a younger person who is more likely to be there than Bekele.
They have two obvious picks (Lemma/Tola). For 3rd spot they have two guys who recently ran 2:03 and are younger/more reliable probably. But hopefully they do the fun thing and just let Bekele go out in style. Doubtful, but it’s not like their 3rd-level guys have historically done well in championship marathons.
I’d love to see Bekele selected for the Ethiopian team. It would make a great Bud Greenspan “Olympiad” documentary. Realistically, there are too many young Ethiopian’s with equal or greater potential than a 41 year old Bekele. Awesome masters marathon record though.
I’d love to see Bekele selected for the Ethiopian team. It would make a great Bud Greenspan “Olympiad” documentary. Realistically, there are too many young Ethiopian’s with equal or greater potential than a 41 year old Bekele. Awesome masters marathon record though.
Dubai Maraton on January 07th will be extra interesting this year - it's been a magnet for Ethiopian talents for years - I will not be surprised to see ten guy (and like five of them totally new names) go under 2:05.
Bekele MUST BE selected alongside Tamirat Tola and Sisay Lemma. Moreover, his strategy is ideal for Paris.
First and foremost, the Ethiopian national team cannot have three athletes running the Olympic marathon using all the same strategy. All three cannot go out to "kill or die".
Having said that, Ethiopia cannot select Tadesse Takele for the third spot because he has only run one marathon (His 2:03:23 in Berlin is faster than 2:04:19 from Bekele in Valencia) but lacks any experience in marathons without pacers or dealing with challenging circuits.
Mosinet Geremew hasn't shown fitness lately.
Dawit wolde is a coin toss. He can run 2:03 like he did in Valencia, or he can give you a 2:11 high after bombing in Chicago this year, trying to follow Kiptum.
Again, you have 3 spots. In Bekele's case, he's not going to win the gold, but he can win silver or bronze In a race with the leaders hitting the half marathon mark in 1:02:xx. Because HE KNOWS that the majority of them will likely succumb after the 25k or 30k due to the hilly course and weather conditions.
Is his last dance, he has one more round in him. He's going to be serious in his training, in his weight. He will train like it probably never has before.
The strategy used by Kenenisa Bekele in Valencia is a preview of what the strategy will be in the Olympic marathon in Paris 2024. Let's see why:
Firstly, Bekele ran alone in Valencia. Throughout almost the entire race, he stayed well behind the pacemakers. He hit HM in 1:00:58 (23 seconds behind the leaders). This signifies that he can run fast without pacing.
This year, that hasn't been the case with Eliud Kipchoge and Kelvin Kiptum. Kipchoge heavily relies on good pacing, using them until even the 30-kilometer mark. As for Kiptum, he often gestured to the pacers to pick up his pace. He even said to them "faster, faster".
That doesn't necessarily mean that Bekele is faster than Kipchoge and Kiptum. Far from it. What it signifies is that in an Olympic marathon without pacers, he can run his own race strategy. On a challenging course, Bekele might leave Kiptum and Kipchoge go front. However, after the 30-kilometer mark, one of them might struggle to maintain the pace and might implode
Kipchoge has faced challenges on the Boston course. Meanwhile, Kiptum has mainly competed on flat courses. And they probably are going to tear each other apart between 25k and 35k. They'll be aiming for suicidal splitsare going to tear each other apart between kilometers 25 and 35. They'll be aiming for suicidal splits.
Hence, Bekele needs to focus on being in a second pack, behind the first one. The first pack will likely comprise Kipchoge, Kiptum, Tamirat Tola, Sisay Lemma, Daniel Do Nascimento, the third Kenyan, Gabriel Geay, etc.
Bekele might find himself in a second pack alongside runners like Bashir Abdi, Abdi Nageeye, Nico Navarro, etc.
Bekele has been solidly injured on/off for 14 years. He is not consistent and he is trying to make arguably the toughest marathon team to make outside of Kenya. He cannot be selected. He is not deserving of a spot, still a wonderful runner but Ethiopia is a country rich with talent, they will be fine.
It looks like there are a few Ethiopian men in the 204s this year who'd be potential candidates. Some of them have more recent results than Bekele, but with Bekele's experience, could he be the better candidate for a medal?
Bekele MUST BE selected alongside Tamirat Tola and Sisay Lemma. Moreover, his strategy is ideal for Paris.
First and foremost, the Ethiopian national team cannot have three athletes running the Olympic marathon using all the same strategy. All three cannot go out to "kill or die".
Having said that, Ethiopia cannot select Tadesse Takele for the third spot because he has only run one marathon (His 2:03:23 in Berlin is faster than 2:04:19 from Bekele in Valencia) but lacks any experience in marathons without pacers or dealing with challenging circuits.
Mosinet Geremew hasn't shown fitness lately.
Dawit wolde is a coin toss. He can run 2:03 like he did in Valencia, or he can give you a 2:11 high after bombing in Chicago this year, trying to follow Kiptum.
Again, you have 3 spots. In Bekele's case, he's not going to win the gold, but he can win silver or bronze In a race with the leaders hitting the half marathon mark in 1:02:xx. Because HE KNOWS that the majority of them will likely succumb after the 25k or 30k due to the hilly course and weather conditions.
Is his last dance, he has one more round in him. He's going to be serious in his training, in his weight. He will train like it probably never has before.
The strategy used by Kenenisa Bekele in Valencia is a preview of what the strategy will be in the Olympic marathon in Paris 2024. Let's see why:
Firstly, Bekele ran alone in Valencia. Throughout almost the entire race, he stayed well behind the pacemakers. He hit HM in 1:00:58 (23 seconds behind the leaders). This signifies that he can run fast without pacing.
This year, that hasn't been the case with Eliud Kipchoge and Kelvin Kiptum. Kipchoge heavily relies on good pacing, using them until even the 30-kilometer mark. As for Kiptum, he often gestured to the pacers to pick up his pace. He even said to them "faster, faster".
That doesn't necessarily mean that Bekele is faster than Kipchoge and Kiptum. Far from it. What it signifies is that in an Olympic marathon without pacers, he can run his own race strategy. On a challenging course, Bekele might leave Kiptum and Kipchoge go front. However, after the 30-kilometer mark, one of them might struggle to maintain the pace and might implode
Kipchoge has faced challenges on the Boston course. Meanwhile, Kiptum has mainly competed on flat courses. And they probably are going to tear each other apart between 25k and 35k. They'll be aiming for suicidal splitsare going to tear each other apart between kilometers 25 and 35. They'll be aiming for suicidal splits.
Hence, Bekele needs to focus on being in a second pack, behind the first one. The first pack will likely comprise Kipchoge, Kiptum, Tamirat Tola, Sisay Lemma, Daniel Do Nascimento, the third Kenyan, Gabriel Geay, etc.
Bekele might find himself in a second pack alongside runners like Bashir Abdi, Abdi Nageeye, Nico Navarro, etc.
I understand you are being aspirational, but no way in hell is the Ethiopian Olympic committee picking him for 2024 after not picking him for one of the same “3 spots” in 2016 and 2020 when he was clearly one of the best in the world, not just Ethiopia.
No he won't be chosen.Mainly because of his injury history for the last 4 years he has had so many injuries the Federation cannot guarantee that he will be fit and ready for the Olympics so why take the risk?its better to choose a younger person who is more likely to be there than Bekele.
They have two obvious picks (Lemma/Tola). For 3rd spot they have two guys who recently ran 2:03 and are younger/more reliable probably. But hopefully they do the fun thing and just let Bekele go out in style. Doubtful, but it’s not like their 3rd-level guys have historically done well in championship marathons.
ETH athletics has never been much into sentimentality. KB needs to run again in the spring and throw down another fast time and hope some of the 2nd tier guys underperform in races between now and May. Too bad there’s no IOC wildcard for events that allows fan favorites to be selected or something like the Masters golf where former Olympic T&F gold medalists can enter an event of their choosing life and it not count against the national quota.
Bekele MUST BE selected alongside Tamirat Tola and Sisay Lemma. Moreover, his strategy is ideal for Paris.
First and foremost, the Ethiopian national team cannot have three athletes running the Olympic marathon using all the same strategy. All three cannot go out to "kill or die".
Having said that, Ethiopia cannot select Tadesse Takele for the third spot because he has only run one marathon (His 2:03:23 in Berlin is faster than 2:04:19 from Bekele in Valencia) but lacks any experience in marathons without pacers or dealing with challenging circuits.
Mosinet Geremew hasn't shown fitness lately.
Dawit wolde is a coin toss. He can run 2:03 like he did in Valencia, or he can give you a 2:11 high after bombing in Chicago this year, trying to follow Kiptum.
Again, you have 3 spots. In Bekele's case, he's not going to win the gold, but he can win silver or bronze In a race with the leaders hitting the half marathon mark in 1:02:xx. Because HE KNOWS that the majority of them will likely succumb after the 25k or 30k due to the hilly course and weather conditions.
Is his last dance, he has one more round in him. He's going to be serious in his training, in his weight. He will train like it probably never has before.
The strategy used by Kenenisa Bekele in Valencia is a preview of what the strategy will be in the Olympic marathon in Paris 2024. Let's see why:
Firstly, Bekele ran alone in Valencia. Throughout almost the entire race, he stayed well behind the pacemakers. He hit HM in 1:00:58 (23 seconds behind the leaders). This signifies that he can run fast without pacing.
This year, that hasn't been the case with Eliud Kipchoge and Kelvin Kiptum. Kipchoge heavily relies on good pacing, using them until even the 30-kilometer mark. As for Kiptum, he often gestured to the pacers to pick up his pace. He even said to them "faster, faster".
That doesn't necessarily mean that Bekele is faster than Kipchoge and Kiptum. Far from it. What it signifies is that in an Olympic marathon without pacers, he can run his own race strategy. On a challenging course, Bekele might leave Kiptum and Kipchoge go front. However, after the 30-kilometer mark, one of them might struggle to maintain the pace and might implode
Kipchoge has faced challenges on the Boston course. Meanwhile, Kiptum has mainly competed on flat courses. And they probably are going to tear each other apart between 25k and 35k. They'll be aiming for suicidal splitsare going to tear each other apart between kilometers 25 and 35. They'll be aiming for suicidal splits.
Hence, Bekele needs to focus on being in a second pack, behind the first one. The first pack will likely comprise Kipchoge, Kiptum, Tamirat Tola, Sisay Lemma, Daniel Do Nascimento, the third Kenyan, Gabriel Geay, etc.
Bekele might find himself in a second pack alongside runners like Bashir Abdi, Abdi Nageeye, Nico Navarro, etc.
I understand you are being aspirational, but no way in hell is the Ethiopian Olympic committee picking him for 2024 after not picking him for one of the same “3 spots” in 2016 and 2020 when he was clearly one of the best in the world, not just Ethiopia.
2021 they had a 35km trials race which Bekele didn't go in so that's why he wasn't selected there.
I understand you are being aspirational, but no way in hell is the Ethiopian Olympic committee picking him for 2024 after not picking him for one of the same “3 spots” in 2016 and 2020 when he was clearly one of the best in the world, not just Ethiopia.
2021 they had a 35km trials race which Bekele didn't go in so that's why he wasn't selected there.
The fairest move might be to make Tokyo or London their de facto trials. Whichever one doesn’t get Kipchoge should have the budget with Kiptum doing Rotterdam, and Boston paying more for top Kenyans/Geay(potentially).
Pretty unlikely. He hasn't been named to an Ethiopian Olympic team since 2012. While his marathon successes are impressive, they're rare. He DNSs and DNFs a lot, has run only spring and fall marathons (the Olympics are in the summer) and will be 42 by the next Olympics.
2021 they had a 35km trials race which Bekele didn't go in so that's why he wasn't selected there.
The fairest move might be to make Tokyo or London their de facto trials. Whichever one doesn’t get Kipchoge should have the budget with Kiptum doing Rotterdam, and Boston paying more for top Kenyans/Geay(potentially).
Problem with that is no way will the organizers pay appearance fees for a bunch of guys mainly out to run against each other - that would affect the other elite runners tactics and overall paid pacers too much - no room for such wildcards (at least not officially).
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