Moses Mosop is a better distance runner than Abel Kirui

So Mosop's marathon PR is one second faster than Kirui and they both ran their PR on the same course.

Rotterdam - 2:05:03 vs 2:05:04 where they each finished third in their respective race.

or is it Mwange Mabobo is better than Mwabe Marbuteibang. They're all the same - it's interchangeable. Who gives a flying freak about Kenya.

Raptured wrote:

1st at WC 09 (against a field weaker than any marathon major) in 2:06:54

5th at London 09 in 2:08:04.

DNF at London 10

1st at WC 11 (once again, weaker field than any marathon major) in 2:07:38

6th at London 11 in 2:07:56

My prediction for August: Abel Kirui, who is clearly vastly inferior to the other 2 on the Kenyan squad, will get eaten up not only by Kipsang and Mosop at the Olympic Marathon, but also by the Ethiopians and even possibly a few others.

I understand your point but I think your post shows you didn't watch this year's London race. Kirui looked very good for 20 miles. Now 26 miles is a full marathon but I don't judge a marathon solely on the end results. Kirui went for the win and looked pretty good for most of it. Martin Lel may have finished 2nd in London but I was more impressed with Kirui. I was unsure of his abilities in a rabbited race but left the race very impressed with him.

Also I think you are discounting Kirui's world championship wins. In 2009 he beat Emmanuel Mutai and Kebede. So does that make it weaker than Boston or Berlin?

In 2011, he won by nearly 2.5 minutes. That is destruction.

So?

At least we get to see these two race at the Olympics.

I'd put G. Mutai over both of them!

Raptured wrote:

In their one race together, Kirui attempted to get the 25k world record with Mosop going for the 30k, but Kirui couldn't hang with Mosop (ie, got absolutely destroyed) even though Mosop was running 20% farther.

Did you see how Kirui's feet looked on the day of the race? I am not saying that Mosop was not in better shape on the day regardless, but it is hardly a fair comparison. There was at least one real race between the two: Paris Half Marathon, March 2011. On that occasion, Mosop finished 3rd in 1:01:47, with Kirui 13th in 1:02:08.

However, that's also not the point. Kirui delivered twice when it mattered, wearing the national vest. Mosop could have elected to run the WC; had he beaten Mosop and won it, your argument would carry a lot more weight.

As a matter of fact, I did watch London. Like I said in the original post, Kirui always blows up. Several minutes off the leader is several minutes off the leader, no matter how you cut it. And yes, I do think that the 09 and 11 WC fields were weaker than Boston or Berlin. 11 WC had just about no-one in it (come on, no-one else even broke 2:10, so winning by 2:28 doesn't mean as much as it sounds). In 2009, Kebede had a bad race (he ran his slowest marathon ever other than at Beijing, which is was a much harder course), and E Mutai was still a nobody. What had he done at that point? A couple 60-62 half marathons, a win at Amsterdam (ie, nowhere near a major and let's be honest, probably even you and Rojo wouldn't remember the names of Amsterdam winners), 4th at London, 6th at Chicago, and another 4th at London. He wasn't exactly a household name. The one other guy that you failed to mention was Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot (the older Robert K Cheruiyot), but Cheruiyot was notorious for only running well at Boston, other than his one slow victory at Chicago against a super weak field. Kebede was the most legit guy in the group and he had what was, thus far, probably his weakest marathon to date.

Sorry Wejo, but Kirui is still super overrated.

mosop is used to dodging competiton running rotterdam instead of london. he might be ready for the stiff competition for the london olympics but i hope he isnt

kirui is cleerly a better merathoner. kirui is 2 time world champion beating tsegay kebede in 2009. mosop doesnt know what to do so he lied and said he could run 2:02 marathon after his fake 30k world record. he might move to the tri after he loses the olympics in london2012

kiriu is a championship runner. he doesn't waste his time on short follies as such like regular marathons. championship is good. he will appear and medal in the olympîcs that is my pridiction as he shames mosop. i actually think mosop will be dnf'ed at london 2012 maybe even dns if athletics kenya suspends him like he deserves.

grow up

Who did Mosop beat in Chicago? No one of note. Not to mention that he only would have put one second on Khalid Khannouchi. Talk about overrated.

In the 2009 Berlin World Championships there was a strong field with Tesfaye Kebede and Yemane Adhane (winner of the Rotterdam marathon this year). Emmanuel Mutai and Robert Cheruiyot were also in the race- both achieving things outside Boston, winning Milan Marathon and finished a runner up in the New York marathon in 2009. Goumri of Morocco, Merga Boston marathon Champion that year, Paris and Rome Marathon champion Benjamin kiptoo. Chimsa of ethiopia who was 2nd in Dubai marathon, Shami World silver medalist 2007. But of course it was, as you say, a poor field?!

Cheshire wrote:

In the 2009 Berlin World Championships there was a strong field with Tesfaye Kebede and Yemane Adhane (winner of the Rotterdam marathon this year). Emmanuel Mutai and Robert Cheruiyot were also in the race- both achieving things outside Boston, winning Milan Marathon and finished a runner up in the New York marathon in 2009. Goumri of Morocco, Merga Boston marathon Champion that year, Paris and Rome Marathon champion Benjamin kiptoo. Chimsa of ethiopia who was 2nd in Dubai marathon, Shami World silver medalist 2007. But of course it was, as you say, a poor field?!

Cheruiyot: at least 18 months over the hill, no longer good at all.

E Mutai: Had done nothing of note at this point in his career, wasn't that great yet.

Kebede: Ran what is easily the worst marathon performance of his career (btw, his name is Tsegaye, not Tesfaye).

Merga: DNF'd.

Benjamin Kiptoo: Only broke 2:08 once before 2011. Not very fast.

Goumri: dropped out to save himself for NYC.

Chimsa: Only barely snuck under 2:08 once prior to this year. Basically a 2:09 guy.

Of all of the people you mentioned, I would say that Merga and Kebede were the only legit competitors at that point in their careers and both had very poor races, so they weren't factors at all. Nobody previously proven whatsoever posed any sort of challenge at all, so yes, the field was very poor.

Mubarak Shami: Really? You're going to cite this clown who was already over-the-hill as good competition?

Yemane Tsegaye: Great runner now, but his best performance prior to WC09 was a 4th place at a 2nd tier marathon. That would be like calling someone like Dathan Ritzenhein a legit contender in a world championship marathon.

One last point I should mention in the comparison of Mosop and Kirui is that Kirui has only run 2:05:04 in 9 starts, while Mosop has run 2:03:06 in 3. Even discounting the Boston time (which would still equate to somwhere in the low 2:04s on a flat course with no wind), he is faster than Kirui in 2 marathons. His only marathon slower than Kirui's PR came when he won the race and therefore did not need to run any faster. Kipsang will win gold in London and while Mosop will make the podium, Kirui will not.

So Mossop has won once - in a weak field at Chicago. Mind you ALL the American races have weak fields. When he can run fast in blazing heat (90+)and a non-rabbited race, then he will be a marathoner. Until then he is just a time-trialist (who cares).

The Following athletes had run well prior to Berlin 2009 World Championships marathon,

Emmanuel Mutai: 1st In Amsterdam Marathon & one of the fastest marathon men in 2007. 4th in London marathon 2008 & 2009.

Robert Cheriuyot: 2nd in New York 2009 , Wish I could come second in a Marathon major and be 18 months over the hill!

Deriba Merga: The 2009 Boston winner, tried to stay with kirui and mutai but at 30km blew up and that's why he DNF

Deressa Chimsa: Competed in dubai 2009 and ran a quick 2:07:54, and conditions were tough with heavy rain and brisk wind, Gebrselessie ran a mid 2:05. "Basically a sub 2:09 runner". Well he won Daegu marathon 2010 in 2:08:45, ran 2:07 in Boston 2011, and 2:05:45 in Dubai this year.

Forgot To mention other athletes who competed

Dos Santos (Brazil) Double New York Champion

Christopher Isegwe (Tanzania) 2005 World champs silver medalist

Rachid Kisri (Morocco) 2:06 man going into championship

Yared Asmeron (Eritria) 4th 2007 World Championship, top 10 finisher of 2008 Olympic marathon.

Ennani (Morocco) 2009 Beppu-Oita marathon winner

Maybe Kirui is a crappy (relatively speaking of course) marathon racer then.

Raptured wrote:

Kirui has run 9:

9th at Berlin 06 in 2:17:47

1st at Vienna 08 in 2:07:38 (CR)

2nd at Berlin 08 in 2:06:51

3rd at Rotterdam 09 in 2:05:04

1st at WC 09 (against a field weaker than any marathon major) in 2:06:54

5th at London 09 in 2:08:04.

DNF at London 10

1st at WC 11 (once again, weaker field than any marathon major) in 2:07:38

6th at London 11 in 2:07:56

Kirui DNF'd in Tokyo, I think in '08.