Breaking the WR is cool, but isn't the sport about head to head competition? I loved watching Geb battle Tergat in the Oly 10k and love him as an athlete, but skipping the most prestigeous race in the world to run a solo TT is a little weak.
Breaking the WR is cool, but isn't the sport about head to head competition? I loved watching Geb battle Tergat in the Oly 10k and love him as an athlete, but skipping the most prestigeous race in the world to run a solo TT is a little weak.
No.
Olympic Gold is cool for track and field
For the marathon, a WR is cooler
No one remembers Olympic Marathoners, people remember the WR in the marathon.
My feelings exactly. Beating up on a weak field with rabbits setting an even pace is low on the difficulty scale compared to what Wanjiru did last month.
This WR will get about 2 weeks of being remembered, then all focus will turn to when/where Wanjiru will shoot for sub 2:03.
People won't be forgetting Wanjiru anytime soon.
GTF wrote:
My feelings exactly. Beating up on a weak field with rabbits setting an even pace is low on the difficulty scale compared to what Wanjiru did last month.
One could argue the opposite. Geb ran in what WAS the most prestigeous race in the olympics. The 10k. Any race with Bekele in it is the most challanging. How bout give Wanjiru grief for dodging Bekele for many years to come by moving up to the weaker event, the marathon in these recent years. Geb did what he thought was best for his career, and ran in what was the hardest event in the olympics despite suffering an injury setback. If he had been at full strength we might have seen him medal.
Also this race was a great head to head race until only the very end when Geb pulled away. Second place ran a tremendous time.
Mrr82 wrote:
Geb ran in what WAS the most prestigeous race in the olympics. The 10k.
I would never buy that for a second. Usain Bolt proved otherwise.
the don wrote:
Breaking the WR is cool, but isn't the sport about head to head competition? I loved watching Geb battle Tergat in the Oly 10k and love him as an athlete, but skipping the most prestigeous race in the world to run a solo TT is a little weak.
Haile might never win the Olympics marathon gold but WAnjiru could possibly break the WR and own both.
We are yet to see.
Geb already proved that the world had passed him by in the 10,000 in Athens. What, four years further on he was supposed to somehow magically revert to being anything other than an also-ran? Geb would need a flux capacitor-equipped DeLorean or prosthetic carbon fiber springs to have challenged for a medal in Beijing.
And which glue-sniffers on God's green earth really thought that Kwambai was going to challenge Geb to the finish? The only reason someone like Kwambai was allowed into the field was because he came in with a PR of 2:10.
i don't think so
the don wrote:
Breaking the WR is cool, but isn't the sport about head to head competition? I loved watching Geb battle Tergat in the Oly 10k and love him as an athlete, but skipping the most prestigeous race in the world to run a solo TT is a little weak.
Uh...plenty of people remember Olympic marathon gold medalists. Japan surely remembers Takahashi and Noguchi, and Baldini is a hero all over Italy, just to name some recent ones. Sammy Wanjiru, between his Olympic gold and his close 2nd in London, is the #1 marathoner of 2008, not Gebrselassie.
Eh I don't think so because if you are supposedc to be #1 that means #1 not #2 like in London. He gave up in london because he didn't want it bad enough. Seeing the 2 go head to head in Beijing would have been epic much like When Geb, Tergat, and Khalid went at it several years ago. But it didn't happen so if's and but's. As of right now Geb holds the top time in the event he already has his golds and will be considered one of the greatest all time. Wanjiru is young and may still have alot ahead of him we have to wait and see. I always asked my coach what he thought was the top of the hill a gold medal or WR. The answer is WR. Any given day anyone can win a gold medal but to set the WR no matter how long it stands for means you are the top of the sport.
just wait until london baby!
An amazing WR by Geb... but Wanjiru is gonna smash it when he gets in a good race with great weather.
Your coach was mistaken. Records are made to be broken and they're overrated. Geb has zero golds (not even from WC) in the marathon. If you can't consistently show up and beat anyone, anywhere, anytime at that distance then you're not "at the top of the sport." WMM is a better measure of that.
OMGosh wrote:
No.
Olympic Gold is cool for track and field
For the marathon, a WR is cooler
No one remembers Olympic Marathoners, people remember the WR in the marathon.
The marathon IS track and field. It is up to me to decide what is "cooler". You won't be deciding it for me.
I remember tons of Olympic marathoners: Zatopek, Bikila, Wolde, Shorter, Cierpinski, Lopes, ...
OMGosh wrote:
No.
Olympic Gold is cool for track and field
For the marathon, a WR is cooler
No one remembers Olympic Marathoners, people remember the WR in the marathon.
Okay, smart guy. If everyone remembers world record holders, without google, who were the three previous record holders prior to Khalid? I guarantee you can't do it without cheating.
I bet anyone on this board can name more Olympic champions than world record holders.
Ronaldo da Costa, Belayeh Denismo, without looking...but your point is valid...far more people remember Baldini than remember Densimo
That Olympic marathon was the stuff of legend and exciting to watch. However, I didn't feel any excitement waking up to find the WR broken, although I was surprised he did it.
the don wrote:
skipping the most prestigeous race in the world .
Geb skipped the 100m?
I don't think he was going to beat Usain Bolt.
Olympic gold=world record
Doing both at the same time is better.