Heard it here first.
This guy has run 2:04:27, why is everyone ignoring him and talking about ritz(2:10) and bairu(x:xx??)
Heard it here first.
This guy has run 2:04:27, why is everyone ignoring him and talking about ritz(2:10) and bairu(x:xx??)
exactly. kwambi hasn't had an impressive run since spring '09, but if he's in good shape he's someone with a legitimate shot at beating geb on a good day.
Itwill wrote:
why is everyone ignoring him and talking about ritz(2:10) and bairu(x:xx??)
James Kwambai is Kenyan.
I haven't even heard of anyone saying Ritz or Bairu will win. Ritz in fact will HAVE to break 2:10 to be on the podium, even on the slower New York course. Bairu shows promise too to make the top 3, and Geb despite his age is still a factor for the win. However I agree, Kwambai is still fairly young, and has that 2:04:27 to his belt.
Not that it's right, but the reason is that neither he nor Kibet (and I think people sub-consciously group them together) have had a really solid marathon performance since they ran their 2:04's. There's definitely a feeling that that race was a weird one-off performance that they won't come close to again. Not necessarily my opinion, but I get the feeling that's what a lot of people believe, and I don't blame them.
Kwambai has the physical ability but lacks the mental strenght.If he was strong mentally he would easily win on sunday but given that he isnt i would bet on him.The race is actually very hard to predict.Iam inclined to think Geb ,but then i doubt his ability to sustain focus when faced by strong opposition after 30K because on two occasions in London marathon he fell apart when faced by Lel,Limo,Ramaala etc.This time round he will have Abel Kirui,Mutai,Kwambai,Ritz etc.My predictions are:-
Kirui
Mutai
Geb
Ritz
Kwambai
In that order.
Well...maybe they're not talking to him is that he didn't come out in public in NYC until today. You'll start seeing articles about him. And obviously more people think he can win than think Ritz can.