Ethiopia is not going to sweep the Olympic marathon.
As public relations for the country and for the sport, they would gain a lot more attention with Geb on the line than their third best guy.
And I think think their third best guy may just step up and defer to Geb, who has done so much for them.
If you were holding a marathon, you would pay more for Geb than any other Ethiopian, agreed?
Now think of Ethiopia as a corporation.
You want attention. It's basically advertising.
A gold medal is great advertising but they can't get three Golds.
If Geb runs, there will always be a camera on him. Everyone will get a lot of views of the Ethiopian singlet if he runs.
Putting Geb on the team is a good business decision for Ethiopia.
Look at this thread. How many other runners would get a thread like this?
I think you will see him in the Olympics running a similar race and getting massive applause from the crowd and the commentators as he struggles to finish his last professional race.
Or - what a Billy Mills type story if he wins.
Either way, it will be big.