geb will NOT run olympic marathon.

slyphill wrote:

In Aus many (most) kids that are diagnosed with asthma are pushed into swimming and Little Athletics, so there are reasons for a disproportionate representation of sufferers in high end sport at senior level. It is often the reason to be exercising than being induced by exercise.

I got over severe asthma by exercising as a kid.

It has returned in recent years and I can assure you that it is no fun. What's wierd is that I have more trouble after exercising in cold air- I get wheezy, etc. During the exercise, I have no trouble. It's when I come back inside. The inhaler does nothing for me, but guafeneisin clears it right up...

Once in a while, I have to use an inhaler during exercise. I'm sure that it gives me no advantage.

Hey Slack Nut,

Do you have asthma? Don't comment unless you know what you are talking about.

Yanqui wrote:

As for Geb, he's not going to make the Ethiopian team in the 10,000.

They will put him on the team whether or not he runs in any trials they have (I don't even know how their selection works or not). You must have no idea how important Geb is to their country. He is one of the most important figures in the history of their nation. If he wants to run, he's running.

I don't know what it is about asthmatics that make them go into denial as soon as well known med using champions are mentioned.

Indurain was an asthmatic, he had positive controls,it's a known fact , he had the right paperwork so there's no problem.

Petacchi is asthmatic,so is Pereiro and hundred of other

top cyclists it's a well known fact. Take the example of Beloki,after his fall he moved to a French team that didn't allow him to use his asthma meds,true he never recovered the

level he was at before the tour fall in 2003 but at least when he got to use them again he finshed races which he didn't do without his meds.

Kelly Holmes is a very big patron of asthma charities, was she an asthma med user as well?

Slaney as well, asthmatic, they're everywhere.

It's a B2 agonist. they use it for the cardiac effects.

fan of 430miler wrote:

this now opens the way for Mr Tergat to win gold - what say you 430miler?

Paul Tergat will win the race reguardless of whether or not geb is in the field.

beg has never beaten Tergat when they are both in the same marathon race.

Tergat is not going to make the Kenyan team in the marathon

Hmmm... interesting statement. While he is older, I still think he has what it takes to make the team. Whats the list that he has to go up against? this is what I got:

26:17.53 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)

26:30.74 Abebe Dinkesa Negera (ETH)

26:39.69 Sileshi Sihine (ETH)

26:52.33 Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam (ETH)

I cant say if all of these guys are for sure tryin out for the 10k or not, but I would assume... not a bold assumption though.

the430miler wrote:

fan of 430miler wrote:

this now opens the way for Mr Tergat to win gold - what say you 430miler?

Paul Tergat will win the race reguardless of whether or not geb is in the field.

beg has never beaten Tergat when they are both in the same marathon race.

it's funny that you post as a fan of yourself as soon as you wake up in the morning and then wait 5 hours to reply to your own post as to not raise suspicion. Good work.

it's obvious why he is opting out. why would he run the olympic marathon and severely lessen the chance of another million bucks for breaking the world record in berlin just 5 weeks later? even if he misses the record he gets about 100,000 bucks for appearance. and can he really win gold in a top class field in bejing with no pacemakers to help him? i think not.

toro wrote:

I am a bit disappointed that we won't see Geb winning the marathon Gold to cap off an unbelievable career.

According to the AP article:

Geb is wanting to cap off his career with another marathon WR (2:03?) and the Olympic Marathon in London in 2012. He sees Beijing as damaging those chances. I must admit that's an interesting way of looking at a running career since Geb is already quite long in the tooth for a marathoner and London is another 4 years away.

tricky wrote:

can he really win gold in a top class field in bejing with no pacemakers to help him? i think not.

You do realize that Geb has won many world championship and Olympic gold medals against world class fields without the aid of pace makers? And you do know he's the fastest marathoner in the world right now, right?

Douche.

Its gamesmanship to see if they can close down the city a month before.

Once they are given the signal that they will close down the factories they will say.. oh i will run now.

If haile keeps quiet then he will get screwed.

Remember the athens track. In 97 he refused to run because the track was so hard. At the end a compromise was reached to water the track ... and he ran and won the race.

Haile was tormented by Atlanta and did not want to get screwed over by the hysteria over sprints.

Also.

I think that Haile may not make the 10k team given this line up.

1) K Bekele

2) Sihine (If not injured)

3) Jaylen (vicious closer)

4) Gebremariam

5) Habtamu (rapidly improving)

I blv Merga will run the marathon.

I think tola is a one hit wonder..

Dinkessa may also factor in the national picture.

THe ethio federation does not use trials so whatever the selection... haile will get really beat up if he makes it to the team and pushes someone off.

I would hate to see that.

four eyes wrote:

For a long time doctors said the evidence was inconclusive whether steroids helped healthy people either. Obviously they do. I'd guess asthma medicine does improve performance of healthy athletes or masks something else that does. 30% of world class olympic athletes have asthma? Give me a break.

I dunno. Top athletes push their bodies much, much harder than the rest of us do. Perhaps everyone has asthma to some (mild) degree or another and the harder you push yourself the more likely you'd be to see it (although I do agree that it seems awfully convinient).

List all the ranked distance runners in the world and then list all those with documented asthma conditions (with links) and do the math and see if it adds up to 30%.

I'm dying to see.

Ethio Boy wrote:I think that Haile may not make the 10k team given this line up.

1) K Bekele

2) Sihine (If not injured)

3) Jaylen (vicious closer)

4) Gebremariam

5) Habtamu (rapidly improving)

I blv Merga will run the marathon.

I think tola is a one hit wonder..

Dinkessa may also factor in the national picture.

I thought Hengelo was the trial for the 10k?

Geb is great at 10k still. He ran a 26:52 at Hengelo last year. However, the state of the event is such that he finished 5th and was only the 3rd Ethiopian behind Sihine and Gebremariam. Bekele will get a spot, of course, so there's three guys besides Geb who are looking very good. Gebremariam has been up and down lately, but he finished 6th at Osaka as well.

As for the others, Dinkessa hasn't run well in a long time. He ran 26:30 three years ago. In 2006, his bests were 13:13/28:05 along with a horrendous showing at WXC (39th in the short race, 71st in the long race). I don't think he competed internationally last year. Habtamu Fikadu and Ibrahim Jeilan were juniors last year and should be coming along nicely, but I don't see how you can put them past Geb.

This is still stunning depth. Here we have seven guys who have run 27:06 or faster. Last year at Hengelo, Ethiopia had 8 guys at 27:15 or faster.

kenny complains about the wind hurt him indoors.

geb decides no marathon because of the pollution.

vandergraafgenerator wrote:

my my, did we not discuss "exercise induced asthma " only the other day. I knew Paula was troubled by it in the past, I thought that perhaps she'd gotten over it. I'm a fan but

I don't consider any world record or world best performance

valid if it was obtained with medication that changes the subjects natural ability to perform "miracles".

Sorry Paula, you too Geb, if you're dosing up on asthma medication even within the rermit of a TUE you're not a record holder, just a mortal who can run as well as others with a little help from his friends. Take the prize money by all means but records should be unassisted.

Are you seriously that retarded? I'm serious. Were you ever dropped on your head as a baby? Asthma is a serious disease that affects the lungs (kind of a key element to long distance races). Here's a quick science lesson: air enters lungs. Oxygen is taken by blood from the air in the lungs and replaces it with carbon dioxide. When you have asthma, your bronchioles (those are the small tubes in your lungs that which the air passes through!) constrict and fill with mucus, thus less air can get down to the blood. No air means no oxygen as well as a build up of carbon dioxide. Build up of carbon dioxide and lack of oxygen lead to respiratory acidosis, metabolic acidosis, circulatory shock, coma, and death. To avoid this, an asthmatic can take a drug that dilates the bronchioles (remember, those are the small tubes!) so they can actually function as a living human being. There is nothing in asthma medication that leads to increased oxygen uptake or more RBCs or anything that would lead to performance enhancement for long distance runners. I hope that wasn't too over your head to comprehend. If you want me to put it differently feel free to write another idiotic post on how asthmatics have an unfair advantage. Just because people less capable than you beat you doesn't mean you have to take it out on them.

Nobody has reported it yet, but I will not run in the Olympic Marathon, either!