K. Bekele 800m?

i'm pretty sure kenny b can run 1:45 if buster supposedly can

Take a look at their PBs for 10K, 5K, 3K, 1500m. See a pattern?

Kenny B is ALOT faster than Geb and is the reason Geb retired from track races "I cannot race him he is too fast"!

webb can go 143 and KB would spank Webb at 3k. I think KB could be comptetive at 800 if he focused on it.

Is it that specialized?

Marathons are sprints now.

Aouita (Morocco) got Olympic bronze at 800m, and ran 1:44 and change, and was basically a 1500/5000 type, and Kenny, I think could be at least as fast as Aouita. Kenny is very powerful and has good leg turnover. He could surprise people at the distance if he so desired.

Remember you don't necessarily have to be a pure 'sprinter' to run a fast 800 - Cram proved that, with probably a best of only around 48/49 for 400. I think Kenny B. could run around 49 for a flat 400 at his best, and that would be enough to run a decent 800 as a strength guy. Some people claim Kenny could only run around 51-52 for an all out 400, but I don't think that is logical, based on what he has shown in many of his races, where he runs 53 seconds last lap, usually (as someone pointed out) easing up in the last 20m when the race is his.

But Kenny would still be limited in an 800, compared with someone like Borzakowsky, who has 45 seconds 400 speed and good strength to cope with a variety of race situations.

Ghost in Korea

dropout wrote:

That whole race was pretty weak, actually. They jogged 400m before going 27, 25. Not very scintillating stuff for "the best event of the WC's".

Actually, I thought it was a brilliant tactical performance by Reed, and one of the most suspenseful races of the whole championships. With 100m to go, I still had no idea what was going to happen.

But then, I don't judge the "quality" of a championship race solely on the final time, any more than I judge the quality of a baseball team by how many homeruns it hits.

I love peeps wrote:

13:08 back to back with rabbits is much different than an olympic final with El G. Even Lagat, trained for a 10k, would put the whoppin on Kenny B.

Kenny is maybe good for a 27 flat in a final. Without the rabbits, its a different race. You have to take it down to 26:40 land to remove the sting of an EL G or a Lagat, or god forbid another Daniel Komen. And taking it that fast without a rabbit is akin to suicide at that level. Even a mediocre 26:50 Kenyan would stick around and give you trouble if you weren't up to it. A 26:40 Kenyan would beat you. Kenny B isn't as dominate as you think. He's lucky the 15 guys will never try a 10 on the track.

Have you paid attention to any of Kenenisa's major 5k wins? In the 2003 world championships he ran 26:49 with a 12:57 last 5k. He closed the last 5k faster than Lagat's 5k pr! There's no way Lagat or El G would be within 100m in that kind of race. I don't think a 26:40 would be out of the question for those guys in a rabbited race, but KB is way too good for them at 10,000

i think this point is the key- as the distance goes down bekele is less dominant. i have never seen bekele lose a 10k on the track (although Silhesi Shihine and possibly Kogo in the future suggest that it could happen). i have seen him lose a few 5ks- outkicked by lagat, el g, kiphoge and songok. Over 3k a distance he races less often- he has been beaten by Cragg, Geneti, Mottram. Last year he ran 2 1500's and an indoor mile, he was defeated in two of the three and only won his 1500m in stockholm because he blocked Kaouch off, (admittedly he is a doper but nonetheless bekele should have been dq'd and not the winner).

Therefore this suggests that as the distance goed down he is beaten more, with athletes who he would probably lap over a 10k able to challenge and beat him. So over 800m this trend would continue and despite him having great speed for a distance runnner-it is nowhere near that of an 800m athlete and therefore kb would struggle with the relentless pace of 800m athletes. I dont wish to belittle Kb's amazing ability but it becomes easier to sprint as the race becomes longer because the athlete is working aerobically. (so from 3k upwards) the body is in a better state to run a 53/54 second last lap. ever noticed that almost all 5k races finish with a faster last lap than in a 1500m.

KB is good athlete I don't deny that. But to say he can be afine athlete in 800m doesn't hold. I ask myself why is it that Ethiopia don't make an impact in 800m and 1500m and the best of Ethiopia that is KB and Geb would not break 3000m WR? The answer is simple! they donot have what it takes to be fine 800m guy. For them it is too soon to reach maximum speed and the race is over! in 800m things happen soo fast that by the time you realise it is over.... I know for those who have run it know what I am talking about. For those who remember last time KB came to states to run 1 mile indoor which Lagat won and KB came far second with KB time somewhere 4.03; the race started with pacemaker going 1.53, and what happened KB later said it was too fast for him and Benard Lagat won running a solo race at the later stages! Does it hold?

I think we're knocking the 800m field pretty hard on these boards--no one in the field really had any incentive to push the pace hard. Regardless of what Kenny B can do in a workout or in theory--could he get anywhere close to his max potential 1) running in a tight pack where pushing/positioning is a critical issue; 2) in his 3rd race in 4 days?

I believe that the 800 was the most exciting race at worlds, next to Gay's 100 win and the 1500.

Simply put, they went out a little slow in the 800 (55), but every runner in that field then closed in a 52 and change, seperating the entire final from first to last by less than half a second. It was the only distance race at worlds where there was actually a runner out in lane 5 trying to fight for the win. True that alot of people may be disappointed by a slow time for the win, but look at how the race played out. Truly intense!

KB could probably run that same time, but the facts are that we really don't know what he is capable of in the 800, and we also can't assume that he can close in the same way as the 800 field. The best 800 pr's in that field are low 1:42's, but anything can happen in a final, because the runners usually aren't going for time when a gold medal is on the line (less jepkosgei's womens 800 win). KB, who would have to try and win by pushing the pace, would get used and abused by all the 800 field because they all have better kicks.

Look at Lagats 5k win at worlds, or El G's 5k win in Athens. Slower paces favor the individuals in the field with the best kick. Indeed Lagat claimed that the race took the best he had, but he was still set up to win.

I'm rambling on, point being that KB could not have won he 800 final.

I love peeps wrote:I've never seen him move faster than 13 seconds for 100 in anything, even his 2nd WR 10k. Completely fresh he's maybe good for 12.2-11.9. Maybe. And you guys want to compare him to guys who run 10.9 at top end, and can hold their water at 50 seconds for 4, yeah.

I love peeps, Bekele has never lost a 10k on the track in his life! He closed the 2003 WC with a sub 13 5k absolutely dominating many sub 27 Kenyans. The only guy who could stay with him was the previous 10k best runner ever, Geb. Lagat and El G would get there shit rocked in a 25 lap race, neither of them puts in the miles for that kind of race. They can handle 5ks but much above that and they just couldn't even stick close to Bekele, off a fast pace it would be over.

dafa wrote:

probably, but he wouldnt have been able to run that 52 last lap if he waited until the last 200m to go like everyone else. it was a tactical race... there are many people in the world who can run 1:47.09 . Only one person can do it the way Yego did. That is why he is the World Champ.

Other runners finished faster, they just should have been closer to the front. Al the race showed was that a top 800 field from the mid 80's and mid 90's had better athletes than in this year's crop at the Worlds.

Bekele 1500 PB = 3:33.08

Mottram 1500 PB = 3:33.97

There is no way Bekele can't run faster than 12 for 100 metres. Check out the split for the final 100 of this race (10.8?):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6roXDygZ3ag

Running a 52 after a 60 second lap is a very different than after a 52... or 55. 800m runners train specifically to handle the physiological stress related to running off a very fast pace. 10km runners don't. I'm sure KB could run 1:45 and :47-48, but in his current state of training/fitness he's not going to be able to hang with 800m specialists over the last 200m, whether the early pace is fast (:49-50) or slow (:54+) by 800m standards.

Al Salhi 45.75

Borza 45.84

Mulaudzi 46.90

Bungei 45.5h

Laalou 47.57

Reed 46.45

Yego ?

Chepkirwok ?

As Per JR stats

I mean Jesus, if Matt Debole can run a 48, can't Bekele

you can't smoke debole...

who the feck is debole?

Did he play for Birmingham City a few years back?