He had his reasons to show at Daegu. He could not win, however. Here there is no reason to show unless he is in shape to win. Look for Kenenisa to get the win. Expect a strong showing from Josphat Bett and Lucas Rotich. Galen Rupp has no chance to win, but I would expect he is capable of near 27 flat.
Please explain your logic. A little running back in Ethiopia, and now he's in shape again?
jewsrus wrote:
Please explain your logic. A little running back in Ethiopia, and now he's in shape again?
He was not in as poor shape in Daegu as you seem to think. But yes, he will have improved his condition more than you might imagine.
Are you the same chet that started the Kenenisa Bekele is finished thread?
in an interview with his manager (jos hermans) he stated that K Bekele would run in brussels, and he would not win. He's going there for motivation to train, and to gauge where he/the other runners are at.
I disagree about his reasons. One reason he might be running is that he is, you know, a professional racer whose job is to race every once in awhile.
chet wrote:
He had his reasons to show at Daegu. He could not win, however. Here there is no reason to show unless he is in shape to win. Look for Kenenisa to get the win. Expect a strong showing from Josphat Bett and Lucas Rotich. Galen Rupp has no chance to win, but I would expect he is capable of near 27 flat.
The Waterboy wrote:
Are you the same chet that started the Kenenisa Bekele is finished thread?
You apparently cannot read. I said his days of dominance were over. I was correct. This Brussels field does not have the best 10,000 meter runners in the world competing.
[quote]ryan foreman wrote:
I disagree about his reasons. One reason he might be running is that he is, you know, a professional racer whose job is to race every once in awhile.
Yeah, except that he wasn't racing every once in awhile for most of the previous 2 years...so he doesn't generally do it unless he feels he's ready.
Part of that could have been that he really was injured and couldn't run. Another part of that is that World Championships were obviously the huge event that he wanted to show for. Not racing to be healthy as possible for WC was legit. But he could be running Brussels now because there is nothing in sight to rest up for until the Olympics next year. And Brussels is likely offering him money.
chet wrote:
[quote]ryan foreman wrote:
I disagree about his reasons. One reason he might be running is that he is, you know, a professional racer whose job is to race every once in awhile.
Yeah, except that he wasn't racing every once in awhile for most of the previous 2 years...so he doesn't generally do it unless he feels he's ready.
Bekele needs an Olympic qualifier. That is the most obvious reason for him to run Brussels. I'm surprised he's on the starting line unless he's fairly fit, but he wouldn't have run Worlds if he thought he had no chance.
chet wrote:
The Waterboy wrote:Are you the same chet that started the Kenenisa Bekele is finished thread?
You apparently cannot read. I said his days of dominance were over. I was correct. This Brussels field does not have the best 10,000 meter runners in the world competing.
Well to be fair it's you who didn't fully read. All I did was ask if you were the same chet that started that thread. It's your assumptions that starting kicking in and made you think I was making some argument.
The Waterboy wrote:
chet wrote:You apparently cannot read. I said his days of dominance were over. I was correct. This Brussels field does not have the best 10,000 meter runners in the world competing.
Well to be fair it's you who didn't fully read. All I did was ask if you were the same chet that started that thread. It's your assumptions that starting kicking in and made you think I was making some argument.
Well, no, you asked whether I started "the Kenenisa Bekele is finished" thread. There was no such thread that I am aware of...I started a thread in which the title was "Is Kenenisa Bekele Finished," and I proceeded to elaborate upon what that meant. I never implied he was finished being one of the top competitors, but simply asserted that his days of dominance were over, and they indeed are.
Jos Hermens.
Truth is Bekele probably has little idea how he will do. His mind probably runs the gamut of all the opinions on this board. On one hand I'm sure he thinks he is K (f&ing) Bekele and can win this. On the other hand he simply hasn't been training much and reinjuring himself is probably a distinct possibility, but its worth giving it a try. Getting a wad of cash probably has something to do with it. Running in Brussels where he set the current WR and is probably beloved is yet another reason. And yes, getting the Olympic qualifier so he doesn't have to worry about it next year is also probably a reason.
wejo wrote:
Bekele needs an Olympic qualifier. That is the most obvious reason for him to run Brussels. I'm surprised he's on the starting line unless he's fairly fit, but he wouldn't have run Worlds if he thought he had no chance.
wejo wrote:
Bekele needs an Olympic qualifier. That is the most obvious reason for him to run Brussels. I'm surprised he's on the starting line unless he's fairly fit, but he wouldn't have run Worlds if he thought he had no chance.
Come on he must have know going in without any races that he only had a very slim chance. He still won't be ready to win but I imagine will be looking for a reasonable performance.
He has not collected a paycheck for racing in two years.
I assume he would get a nice appearence fee here.
His endoresemnet money is likely keeping him going financially.
He could get the Olympic qualifier out of the way, although I assume he will get in a 10,000m race early next year.
Ehtiopia has to select three in the 10,000.
Merga, Shihine and Jeilan will each want to state their case to be on the team if they are faster than K Bekele.
Running this race will be a nice gauge for him to see where he is at race-wise going into his preperation for next year.
The streak is done. Nothing to protect there.
So there are reasons for him to show even if he is not in shape to win.
“I'm looking for a time around 26:35 or 26:40,” said Bekele, who will compete in the 10,000m on the same track where he set the current World record of 26:17.53 six years ago.
“I've now been training very well since Daegu and I don't regret going there, I don't count it a as a defeat because I didn't finish the race; I still feel I have a 100% record at 10,000m. I know that I went there without a lot of good training behind me but I went because sometimes surprises can happen.”
Rec Runner x wrote:
KB could easily get the qualifier early next year like everyone else. The guy's obviously in financial trouble and is racing his way out of debt.
Bekele is also a multimillionaire businessman, like Geb, so I doubt that's it.
I remember how many people on here were absolutely certain that Bekele would win in Daegu, even though they had no indication at all of what kind of shape he was in. On the eve of Brussels, they haven't got much more.
chet wrote:
http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/dlm/news/newsid=62532.html“I'm looking for a time around 26:35 or 26:40,” said Bekele, who will compete in the 10,000m on the same track where he set the current World record of 26:17.53 six years ago.
“I've now been training very well since Daegu and I don't regret going there, I don't count it a as a defeat because I didn't finish the race; I still feel I have a 100% record at 10,000m. I know that I went there without a lot of good training behind me but I went because sometimes surprises can happen.”
Wow I had to reread the article to make sure those words actually came out of his mouth. He could not handle the pace of a strategic 10k at worlds but seeks to run just some two weeks later one of the fastest times in history. I think its fair to go ahead a label KB a head case.