Ritz beat Ebuya, Kipsirop and Komon in Zurich

I was thinking the same thing. Of course, World Cross is a crap shoot- so many talented runners in the same race, but he had a fighting chance.

It is well-known that Africans are relatively better in CC compared to track races. Probably due to their training environment??

yyy wrote:

It is well-known that Africans are relatively better in CC compared to track races. Probably due to their training environment??

...that extra bone in their feet

yyy wrote:

It is well-known that Africans are relatively better in CC compared to track races. Probably due to their training environment??

It is? Explain?

Well known by who, exactly?

yyy wrote:

It is well-known that Africans are relatively better in CC compared to track races. Probably due to their training environment??

Tell that to Geb.

Funny thing....the lab in NJ sent me a dozen samples of my soon to be released product, 666 Energy Drink Virgin Sacrifice Cherry, and I started drinking them about 2 per day, and my training immediately started to pop.

Take note, Mr. Ritzenheim!!!

1986 John Ngugi (KEN)

1987 John Ngugi (KEN)

1988 John Ngugi (KEN)

1989 John Ngugi (KEN)

1990 Khalid Skah (MAR)

1991 Khalid Skah (MAR)

1992 John Ngugi (KEN)

1993 William Sigei (KEN)

1994 William Sigei (KEN)

1995 Paul Tergat (KEN)

1996 Paul Tergat (KEN)

1997 Paul Tergat (KEN)

1998 Paul Tergat (KEN)

1999 Paul Tergat (KEN)

2000 Mohammed Mourhit (BEL)

2001 Mohammed Mourhit (BEL)

2002 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)

2003 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)

2004 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)

2005 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)

2006 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)

2007 Zersenay Tadese (ERI)

2008 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH)

2009 Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam (ETH)

2010 Joseph Ebuya (KEN)

I see a definite trend.

shutoff valve wrote:

Really too bad he couldn't run in Poland.

Oh, he could've.

Oh Please wrote:

1986 John Ngugi (KEN)

....

2010 Joseph Ebuya (KEN)

I see a definite trend.

How is this any different than what has happened on the track? "Africans are relatively better in XC than the track" was the assertion made that malmo questioned. Look at the results of the same time period of 5000 and 10000m in world champs and olympics and show me how this "trend" is different from what occured on the track. East Africans have dominated long distance running on all surfaces except treadmills over that time period.

I think the clue is that time differences are different

on various surfaces.

yyy wrote:

I think the clue is that time differences are different

on various surfaces.

I don't think you have a clue.

Amazing... Just 6 winners in 20 years between 1986 and 2006... 7 in 22 years.

Suggests to me that those who are good in Cross are REALLY good. ALMOST unbeatable. And those rare individuals come along only once every decade or so.

The Stache wrote:

How is this any different than what has happened on the track? "Africans are relatively better in XC than the track" was the assertion made that malmo questioned. Look at the results of the same time period of 5000 and 10000m in world champs and olympics and show me how this "trend" is different from what occured on the track. East Africans have dominated long distance running on all surfaces except treadmills over that time period.

LOL... and first read I missed the 'except treadmills' part. Very good.

What trend do you see?

The "trend" is Africa or Drugs. Either or wins you a World Cross Country Championship.

malmo wrote:

The Stache wrote:

How is this any different than what has happened on the track? "Africans are relatively better in XC than the track" was the assertion made that malmo questioned. Look at the results of the same time period of 5000 and 10000m in world champs and olympics and show me how this "trend" is different from what occured on the track. East Africans have dominated long distance running on all surfaces except treadmills over that time period.

LOL... and first read I missed the 'except treadmills' part. Very good.

Thanks! I'll be here all week!

If you look carefully you will notice that during the first 13 years exactly two of the winners had first names that did not start with letters from the middle of the alphabet (J-P). During the second 13 years (1 yr overlap) again we see only two winners (same person) coming from anywhere other than the very heart of the alphabet.

This extraordinary over-representation (84% of winners from just 27% of the alphabet) has several causes which I cannot go into here. Nonetheless, based on this clear historical trend I confidently predict that exactly two of the next thirteen winners will overcome the odds and break through into the winners circle in spite of the handicap of not being advantageously named.

malmo wrote:

The Stache wrote:

How is this any different than what has happened on the track? "Africans are relatively better in XC than the track" was the assertion made that malmo questioned. Look at the results of the same time period of 5000 and 10000m in world champs and olympics and show me how this "trend" is different from what occured on the track. East Africans have dominated long distance running on all surfaces except treadmills over that time period.

LOL... and first read I missed the 'except treadmills' part. Very good.

You also missed the part of that sentence where he wrote "EAST AFRICANS"have been the ones dominating distance running over "that time period", huh?

C'mon malmo, set him straight and explain to him that concept of "EAST AFRICAN" dominance and EAST AFRICANS being responsible for the plunging WR's and all time top 10/25 performer lists in distance running since the late '80's/early 90's is really a misconception/mislabel/ misreading of the situation. C'mon explain to him like you did to me that Ethiopians and the rest of the east africans have only made up a "smattering " of these big jumps in times at the top of the all time lists, and that it is really almost exclusively a Kalejin phenomenon, and that the likes of Geb, the Bekeles, Sihine, Gebremariam, Tadesse, Merga, Dinkesa, Kebede, etc, etc are just minor parts of that story and shouldn't really be clumped in with the Kalejins. You know, sort of like calling US dominance in basketball during past decades a "North American" phenomenon when we all know it was totally a US phenomenon. Ethiopia distance running is like the Mexico or Canada of hoops, right?!

C'mon malmo, don't make me do your work for you!