Worlds 5k, guts vs guts

He did nothing? no, he did a lot, his race was great, only two people in the entire predictions thread even picked him to medal. Yet he won, he got in there and did what he had to. Great go by Bekele and El G and their meets are two of the best ever, but just Kipchoge won and he\\\'s been running the 5k at the same level as the other two all year, so its not like it was a fluke. He challenged to absolutely amazing runners and beat them. Plus I think this stirs the pot better and leads to more interesting racing in the future.

Eluid is legit and he derserves the title..He raced smart. As for freshness. I do think it had an impact but the bottom line is that Eluid is capable of beating these guys fresh...

Now everyone goes home saying.. i have to run 12:45..

we will see eluid vs bekele at cross country... Hopefully we see another clash at 3000.. i think hicham will beat them soundly...but at the 5 k it is a toss up..

Indeed, Eliud showed his face in the lead with about a mile to go before outsprinting the mile record holder the last straight.

Eliud was impressive, and I didn't say he did nothing, just in comparison to the two big dogs, he ran smart. With a good continigent of young, kenyans like he, Chebii & S Kipketer there is more of a liklyhood of a Tergat or Koman type runner developing, a man who will be at the top for a while. We seem to already have a knew Geb in Bekele. And Saif Saaeed will remain a factor in both 5k & steeple. There is such a bitter rivalry between the kenyans and ethiopians, and I'm sure this will be extended to athletes competing for Qatur, could be an exiting decade in the 5k with many guys shooting for historic doubles.

I also think that El G's performance in both races must now put an end to claims that he is merely a time trialist. In the 1500, he took the lead early and pushed his own pace. In the 5000, he answered the early charge of Bekele, and was able to handle the changes in pace throughout the race. He's an amazing talent but his success also suggests that all those hoping to see world class performances in the mile/1500, training like a 400m sprinter, are kidding themselves. You don't just crank a 12:50+ 5000m race on guts and pliometrics. El G is obviously putting in large mileage.

the Olympic 5k next year might turn out to be one of the ages. Let's just imagine this: Shaheen vs. El G vs. Bekele vs. some "teenage" kenyans.

Keep in mind Kenyans are known to lie about their ages.

SoupNazi wrote:

the Olympic 5k next year might turn out to be one of the ages. Let's just imagine this: Shaheen vs. El G vs. Bekele vs. some "teenage" kenyans.

Keep in mind Kenyans are known to lie about their ages.

Yeah, they lie. Other guys brought up the fact that even Larry mentioned this during the qualifying rounds of the 5k. He should have mentioned it after the final when mentionind Kipchoge's age, instead of saying "... imagine being a high school senior ...". Eliud is probably only two or three younger than El G, if that.

Great race. But you have to wonder how El G would have run if he hadn't been coming back so soon from the 1500. He ran his qualifier the day after the 1500 final. Bekele had more time off, and Eliud was resting, getting monitored by his pit crew to make sure he passed all tests, etc.

Bekele will dominate & destroy all challengeers, he has the brains and the guts

Vipam was right wrote:

Bekele will dominate & destroy all challengeers, he has the brains and the guts

Why couldn't he win the 5k this time? He was far more rested than El G. El G barely lost to a fresh Kenyan, and still beat a rested Bekele.