OK. Rupp beat some good people today. That's nice! But, there are some posters on here who seem to have been uncontrollably and continuously splooging all over their own faces since the race (a heck of an accomplishment given it's been hours). The outlandish declarations of "medal shape" or "he has at least shown he is in the hunt" should perhaps be tempered by this important fact: Rupp proved to be a well-beaten third best in his own country at the 5k. He also just got torched by his training partner. He is the second best 5k guy in his own training group, and the third best 5k guy training in his state. How, exactly, do you expect him to be top 3 at Worlds? You're cruising for a disappointment.
Before everybody flips out on me for, well, being accurate (a cardinal sin amongst the fanboys), there is NO QUESTION that Lagat and Solinsky are better 5k runners than Rupp. NONE. Lagat is far and away the best 5k runner in American history, and Solinsky has a decent case for second with at worst a lock on third. Rupp is not in the conversation. Don't even start complaining about the 28:30 10k he had to run the night before (probably about 18 seconds per mile off of what he is capable of running). He still would have lost, and his PB today was a good 10 seconds slower than a time Solinsy has run more than once, and Lagat has attained multiple times. Solinsky has also put the BIG hurt on Rupp at all of their real marquee match-ups over the last year. As of now, Galen Rupp is not America's most exciting prospect at the 5k. The guy who has won worlds in the event before is. As of now Galen Rupp is not America's second-most exciting prospect at 5k. The guy who is 80 meters ahead of him on time is.
Oh, and before you start throwing out "Ohhh! Stoppit you haterr! Ohhh!" I would love to see Rupp medal or win at worlds. Your audible fellating has just got to stop.