!! I almost never say things like this, but here it is:
Are you retarded?
I don't even know where to begin. I feel insulted almost by your comparison. BTW, check the iaaf charts for that "good" 2:03:59.
!! I almost never say things like this, but here it is:
Are you retarded?
I don't even know where to begin. I feel insulted almost by your comparison. BTW, check the iaaf charts for that "good" 2:03:59.
Oh yeah and to reply to the OP:
Very excited to hear that Geb is still has the fire and ignores all the retirement talk, when he can still do it.
The day he retires will be a really sad day for me - much more than any other runner. We are the same age so I feel like I "grew up" with him. He's the GOAT as far as I'm concerned. Running for as long as he has at the level that he has will be hard to repeat. I don't think Bekele will.
JindoSmile wrote:
He's the GOAT as far as I'm concerned. Running for as long as he has at the level that he has will be hard to repeat. I don't think Bekele will.
If you are talking only about the track Bekele has surpassed Geb already.
JindoSmile wrote:
!! I almost never say things like this, but here it is:
Are you retarded?
I don't even know where to begin. I feel insulted almost by your comparison. BTW, check the iaaf charts for that "good" 2:03:59.
Let's see, 2011 revised edition IAAF scoring tables...
2:03:59- 1272 points
26:22- 1299 points
...(Gasp!) it seems his time at the SHORTER DISTANCE is better than his time at the longer distance!!
...So did you actually have a point you wanted to say, or did you just want to call me retarded for the fun of it?
Feel free to "begin" anywhere you want if you really don't know where to begin
Actually 1288 points for 10000m but you get the idea...it's still a bigger number than 1272
Emphasis was on the "as long as" part. And why ignore the marathon success? KB has at least 10 years of more great running to accomplish that. Some people might not think that's very remarkable, but look at that Lydiard thread that lists the runners that didn't last more than 3 years. Running at the level he has for nearly 20 years is impressive. Who else has?
come at me BRO wrote:
JindoSmile wrote:He's the GOAT as far as I'm concerned. Running for as long as he has at the level that he has will be hard to repeat. I don't think Bekele will.
If you are talking only about the track Bekele has surpassed Geb already.
First - you said "it has nothing to do with his age." Does anyone have to explain that running is different at 25 than 39 years old? You really think that the intense training that he has done for almost 20 years might have something to do with getting a few issues? It seems that you are passing his age - 39 next month - as a non-issue. Ooooooookkkk... You compared him to Dathan Ritzenheim. Really. He's run 7 marathons under 2:07. Then, we can look to the tables: a 2:03:59 "equates" to a 58:52 and a 26:37. I wouldn't say that is so much better considering the circumstances.
The Waterboy wrote:
JindoSmile wrote:!! I almost never say things like this, but here it is:
Are you retarded?
I don't even know where to begin. I feel insulted almost by your comparison. BTW, check the iaaf charts for that "good" 2:03:59.
Let's see, 2011 revised edition IAAF scoring tables...
2:03:59- 1272 points
26:22- 1299 points
...(Gasp!) it seems his time at the SHORTER DISTANCE is better than his time at the longer distance!!
...So did you actually have a point you wanted to say, or did you just want to call me retarded for the fun of it?
Feel free to "begin" anywhere you want if you really don't know where to begin
Dathan Ritzenheim's 12:56 gives him a 2:06:34 for a comparison on the iaaf chart.
A key problem for Geb is asthma rather than injuries. I do not think that he has gotten a lot more injuries than others, they are just more public and thus more noticeable.
The Waterboy wrote:
Is it possible Geb is just like Ritz and too fragile to be a marathoner?
He could probably be competitive in Athletics for another 2 years at 10000m/Half Marathon but maybe the Marathon is just too long for him and it has nothing to do with his age.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Geb run a cracking time (sub 60) now that the pressure is off of him. He did just run a 60:18 a year ago, completely solo.
Oh Please wrote:
I wouldn't be surprised to see Geb run a cracking time (sub 60) now that the pressure is off of him. He did just run a 60:18 a year ago, completely solo.
Agreed. If Geb and Ritz (60:00) were to square off at the half distance my money would be on Geb.
Is That Your Final Answer? wrote:
You're kidding right? He left the track because he got too old to be fully competitive there. He moved to the marathon because of his advanced age.
I think Geb was still able to be competitive on the track. Without doing much training, he managed to be in the mix with a lap to go in the 2008 Olympic 10k.
Twitched wrote:
Is That Your Final Answer? wrote:You're kidding right? He left the track because he got too old to be fully competitive there. He moved to the marathon because of his advanced age.
I think Geb was still able to be competitive on the track. Without doing much training, he managed to be in the mix with a lap to go in the 2008 Olympic 10k.
Key phrase: "with a lap to go". Many folks can be in the mix with a lap to go. The ones who are truly competitive at a given level are the ones who do not get blown out of the water on that last lap.
Geb knew perfectly well he would never win anything meaningful on the track again. That's why he left it. I am surprised that this is not obvious to all fans of the sport.
I would guess that he left the 10k because of Bekele and because he wanted to do the marathon.
Yes he got blown away on the last lap, but recall that he hadn't be training for 10k. He had been training for the marathon. Surely he could get back in 26:35 shape, no? Also, who would win in on the last lap - Geb or Tadesse?
Let me add that I doubt Geb could win if Bekele was in the race, but he could still be a medal threat for silver and bronze. But he's probably not interested in silver or bronze.
I'm glad he's still running. He always claimed that he'd run forever and I really hope that in 20 years he'll stil be running and looking at the 60+ marathon WR and thinking "I can do that".
I was at a track and field competition a few years back and Dick Fosbury was competing in the high jump in one of the age group events. How awesome is that? He reinvented the sport before I was born and he's still jumping today.
Passingby wrote:
Well .. to waterboy's credit .. age does catch up with everyone. For that matter, Salazar too did set world records in the marathon and so did bill rodgers but neither of them can compete competitively in marathons today. I personally think Geb still has a couple of excellent marathons left in him .. but can perfectly understand waterboy's standpoint.
Yeah, you're right because Salazar set ONE WR which was later discredited and Bill Ro never set one. Also, they are 53 and 64 years old now respectively. So that makes sense.
WTF?