Jonathan Gault has the story.
JGault wrote:
These sort of breakthroughs tend to produce plenty of cynicism. There are four main factors that, taken in some combination, could reasonably explain a performance like Ngetich's 28:46, and three of them are pretty cynical.
Option 1: The course had to be short.
Option 2: Shoe technology has rendered times and records meaningless.
Option 3: Anyone who runs that fast must be doping.
Option 4: She's a generational talent.
None of the first three responses is entirely unjustified, but let's get to them in a minute.
When we try to make sense of a time we've never seen before, sometimes we forget there is a living, breathing person at the center of it. That's a source of frustration for Ngetich's agent, Davor Savija of Ikaika Sports, who has long believed in the greatness of Ngetich and says context is often missing from these discussions.
Ask Savija about 28:46, and he is unequivocal: Ngetich is a top, top talent who is thriving now that she finally has the training environment in which to succeed.
"This is a generational talent that is here to stay," Savija told LetsRun on Tuesday. "...This is some kind of Faith Kipyegon in the making."
Which of the explanation(s) do you find most convincing?