Bernard Lagat is he America's best 1500m-5000m runner and medal hope?

None he is getting old, Kenyans tend to peak in thier early 20s and the guy is what 36?

Yeah, like Joseph Tengelei,David Kiptoo, Mike Boit, Mbarak Hussein et al.

No, Bernard Lagat is only 31. Benjamin Limo (5000m) and Jaouad Gharib (marathon) are both older than Bernard and didn't they win World Championship GOLD in 2005? YES. The age of Bernard Lagat will only be 33 at the time of the 2008 Olympics and by no means too old. As long as he avoids any serious injury he should still be a threat in the 1500m or 5000m at 2007 Worlds and 2008 Olympics. Are any of the below records safe from Lagat this year?

American Records

1500m.............3:29.30 Bernard Lagat '05

Mile..............3:47.69 Steve Scott '82

3000m.............7:30.84 Bob Kennedy '98

12:58.21.........12:58.21 Bob Kennedy '96

lagat sucks.

I bet Alan Webb, Dathan Ritzenhein, Tim Broe, Dan Lincoln, Adam Goucher, Ryan Hall, Fernando Cabada, Alan Culpepper...all wish they suck if they could run like B. Lagat.

anyone who counts Lagat's efforts towards AMERICAN records is retarded. he is KENYAN, not AMERICAN...I don't give a good g*d damn what papers he may have signed.

Vipam wrote:

No, Bernard Lagat is only 31. Benjamin Limo (5000m) and Jaouad Gharib (marathon) are both older than Bernard and didn't they win World Championship GOLD in 2005? YES. The age of Bernard Lagat will only be 33 at the time of the 2008 Olympics and by no means too old. As long as he avoids any serious injury he should still be a threat in the 1500m or 5000m at 2007 Worlds and 2008 Olympics. Are any of the below records safe from Lagat this year?

American Records

1500m.............3:29.30 Bernard Lagat '05

Mile..............3:47.69 Steve Scott '82

3000m.............7:30.84 Bob Kennedy '98

12:58.21.........12:58.21 Bob Kennedy '96

No he's Balco's finest runner from 1500-5000 meters. They are going to be sponsoring elite distance runners, starting in 2010.

Mr. Lagat is the America's best distance runner and will show who is the boss by spanking all his countrymen who oppose him in the next couple years. It would be awesome if Alan Webb and Bernard Lagat became training partners.

The Americans have a great runner who will finally bring championship medal potential to their squad for at least two years. Our lost is Americas gain and I say Lagat will lower all his new countries records from 1500m to 10000m before he retires.

It's very possibly that Lagat could get all those records between this summer and the '08 Olympics. By 'all those records', I mean 1500m, mile, 3000m, and 5000m. I think that Lagat should stick to the 1500m though for the '07 World Championships and the '08 Olympics, because Bekele is only going to be stronger and faster then, when he is 24 and 25. I think Lagat and Webb are the best bet for USA getting gold in the '07 World Champs and the '08 Olympics. Webb may have better chances than Lagat in '08 though(at 1500m).

It'll be interesting to what distances the other top US mid-long distance runners settle into in the coming years. Will Hall focus more on the 5k or the 10k? Will Dobson focus on the 5k or turn to the steeple? Will Fam switch from the steeple to the 5k or the 10k? What about Tegenkamp, Solinsky, Cabada, Rupp, and McDougal? I think the USA will have a middle distance power house comparable to that of the Kenyans.

Lagat best distance may very well be the 5000m. The fact that he is one of the best 1500m runners causes many to overlook that Lagat is a strength 1500m runner. When he won the World Indoor 3000m he should have started running the 5000m and by now he would have noone to fear. As it stands he has the potential to take anyone down in the 5000m unless it Kenny B in a time trial. Lagat in the right race is easily capable of sub 12:50 this year.

It would be awesome if Alan Webb and Bernard Lagat became training partners.

ideal situation.

I agree would benefit both if they had someone of their caliber as a teammate/workout partner. The coach would have to make sure the didn't kill each other on their hard long runs and track workouts. Ideal situation but unlikely is an understatement.

Yes and Yes to your questions. The rest of you get real Alan Webb and no other American is in the same league as Bernard Lagat.

I agree that Bernard Lagat is the best in the 1500-5000m for Americans but he should be the best in the world. Hicham El Guerrouj retired leaving Bernard as the active fastest 1500m ever. Last year he had a injury which curtailed his trainiing; however, now healthy this is the year for Lagat to kick it up and dominate the world and not just U.S. runners. He started off 2006 outdoor season much faster than his debut outdoor 2005 so amazing things should be up the road in 2006. If he loses as many 1500m as he did in 2005 this year he needs to move up to 5000m permanently.

[quote]jaybird wrote:

anyone who counts Lagat's efforts towards AMERICAN records is retarded. he is KENYAN, not AMERICAN...I don't give a good g*d damn what papers he may have signed.[quote]Vipam wrote:

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amen

Bernard Lagat closing a sub 13:15 5000m with a sub 1:57 last 800m and a controlled 56.7 last 400m points towards great things for him in the 5000m. The performance was relatively easy looking for Lagat and that was after he ran equivalent 4:02 mile in the 1500m heats a couple hours before the 5000m. I hope this is his last year with the 1500m as his primary event and that he puts more emphasis on the 5000m for the 2007 World Championships and 2008 Olympics.

Bernie should move up now. He has enough speed to duel with US runners but as the last two years has shown, his finishign speed is anything but consistent.

Who is Vipam?