Did NOT see Kosgei coming. She hasn’t been back to her old form in quite some time. Really was hoping for Lokedi. 3 for 3 podium finishes in tactical, hilly courses. If not her I’d have expected either Jepkosgei or Wanjiru.
Not if he's willing to get sauced! Can't be dirty (applies to any athlete) if you stay in the olympic village the whole 16+ days (too difficult to discreet smuggle) but if you stay in Africa/Europe then hop on a jet last minute you'll be good to go and probably piss clean like usual if you've taken the usual and necessary precautions.
Choosing Kipchoge has to be purely political and is obviously not based on current or even recent form. That said, it will likely be his last international marathon. I would not be at all surprised if he announces his retirement from the marathon soon after. Perhaps Kenya sees it as a deserved send off regardless of how he ultimately performs.
Who would you have taken instead? Timothy Kiplagat was better in Tokyo, but if you look at 2023, I'd take a 6th in Boston and 1st in Berlin over 13th in Budapest and 2nd in Rotterdam.
A year ago, Chebet would have made a strong case. Or if he had won in Boston, but 3rd place for his only marathon in the past year isn't enough.
If Kiptum was alive, it'd be hard to argue Kipchoge deserved it over Mutiso. But given who is available, it makes sense to me.
Choosing Kipchoge has to be purely political and is obviously not based on current or even recent form. That said, it will likely be his last international marathon. I would not be at all surprised if he announces his retirement from the marathon soon after. Perhaps Kenya sees it as a deserved send off regardless of how he ultimately performs.
Who would you have taken instead? Timothy Kiplagat was better in Tokyo, but if you look at 2023, I'd take a 6th in Boston and 1st in Berlin over 13th in Budapest and 2nd in Rotterdam.
A year ago, Chebet would have made a strong case. Or if he had won in Boston, but 3rd place for his only marathon in the past year isn't enough.
If Kiptum was alive, it'd be hard to argue Kipchoge deserved it over Mutiso. But given who is available, it makes sense to me.
Agreed. The decline of Kipchoge has been greatly overstated (or it has accelerated dramatically since September).
Here are his marathons since the start of 2022:
March 2022: 1st Tokyo (2:02:40 CR) September 2022: 1st Berlin (2:01:09 WR) April 2023: 6th Boston (2:09:23) September 2023: 1st Berlin (2:02:42) March 2024: 10th Tokyo (2:06:50)
That's...pretty good. Even if you just consider the past year, only Kiptum, Bekele, Lemma, and Kipchoge himself have ever run faster than his 2023 Berlin time. If it weren't for Kiptum (RIP) or Kipchoge's own past performances, he would have just set a Kenyan record 10+ months out from Paris.
So while the cracks in his armor have been growing, putting Kipchoge on the team is decidedly NOT a crazy thing to do, even from the standpoint of recent performance.
All that said, I'm not convinced that this is the actual list until I see a link.
Kipchoge being picked is really not a stretch. He is a proven performer at the Olympics and has a recent 2:02 to his name. Usually at least one Kenyan DNFs at the Olympics, so at the very least Kipchoge is a wise choice considering he's never dropped out of any of his 20 marathons.
The shocking pick is Kosgei over Lokedi. Kosgei was only the 3rd Kenyan in her recent marathons, London and NYC. In fact, Lokedi beat Kosgei in NYC. Hell, Lokedi also beat Obiri back in NYC 2022 if you want to go back that far.