ELIUD KIPCHOGE: Underrated 2003 World Champion?

I heard that despite what the announcers said at the world championships that Kipchoge is not 18...

Lets not start beating a dead horse and the announcers are I guess the keepers of statistics or age verification? Don't start going off on the deep end Eliud isn't competing as a junior; therefore, its irrelavant to the discussion. Eliud is ready to make a impact on this year and it may not be as big as Kenenisa but I say its enough to garner him a top ten (10) OVERALL in the Althete of Year this year. The kid have JUST AS much 1500m speed as any elite 5000m/10000m man competing today.

VIPAM

He beat El-G by .nothing of a second in El-G's 5th? race of the championships, and only his second or third 5000m race as a pro athlete? he's far from proven himself. Kenyans age is meaningless also.

Eliud suprised me, but I should have expected him being up there somewhere, he won world junior xc champs, ran 12:52 in Oslo, I should have considered him for a medal. He's won other races as well, he ran 7:33 in Doha beating Shaheen, Chebii, Kibowen, Limo, and other fast kats. He ran 3:32 in Hengelo beating Lagat and Webb and others. Lets see what he does at the trials this weekend. I predict a third place finish at Athens for him. His age is irrelevent to the discussion. I think he'll make the team, I'd like to hear bout his training

like one of the announcers also said at the 2003 WOC's, "the kenyans continue to come up with new faces every year." kipchoge is surely a talent, but how long is he going to be around before the next kenyan comes around? he may be the only man to beat bekele and guerrouj, but they were both doubling back and the spread between the 3 at the finish was within seven tenths of a second.

vipam, i like that you've gone out on a limb for this guy as i agree he'll definitely be within the top ten in some world ranking this year. also that would be pretty impressive to see him (or anyone for that matter) as the first runner to sub 3:30/13:00/27:00. has he ever raced 10,000 meters though?

i have a feeling under 27:00 would be awefully difficult for this guy as well as guerrouj, just because they're both more 1500/5000 meter guys, and 5000 is even stretching it for guerrouj... whereas bekele, well hes a freak of nature! i'm gonna go out on a limb here and say bekele could run under 3:30 if he tried and he'll probably be the first man under all those marks. geb ran 3:31 indoors at the top of his game and bekele has already proven himself far superior than the emperor.

El G's coach said that El G is a 5k/10k runner in the fall. El G is a distance oriented 1500m racer, I think he'll break 27 easily, that will probably happen in 2007 though.

okay, i like kenenisa just as much as the next guy, but let's not get carried away...he hasn't proven himself "far superior to the emperor" by any means. He's friggen unbeleivable, yeah, but he hasn't taken off upwarads of 40 seconds off of the world 10000m record, nor has he taken off upwards of 20 seconds off of the world 5000 record, like Haile did. Im not saying he won't in the future, but right now, the greatest distance runner of all time is without a doubt Haile Gebrselassie.

okay, i like kenenisa just as much as the next guy, but let's not get carried away...he hasn't proven himself "far superior to the emperor" by any means. He's friggen unbeleivable, yeah, but he hasn't taken off upwarads of 40 seconds off of the world 10000m record, nor has he taken off upwards of 20 seconds off of the world 5000 record, like Haile did. Im not saying he won't in the future, but right now, the greatest distance runner of all time is without a doubt Haile Gebrselassie.

Trains like a 5k 10k runner in the fall..Not is one. Most 1500 runners train like 5k or 10k runners in the fall here...it's called XC.

Dathanwebb,

Yeah, Geb was able to take all that time of the WR's, but then Bekele was even to improve on that. So if Geb for some reason had never run, or something, then Bekele would have taken all that time off that Geb did THEN the extra he lowered it by. How could you think Geb is a better runner, when he has never run as fast as a 21 Y/O (at the time) Bekele. If Geb is an emperor then Bekele is a God. He'll be sub 26 and sub 12:30 before hes through.

If Geb had never run, Bekele wouldn't have taken all of that time off the record. Ever hear of a guy named Komen?

But without Geb, what would kenenisa be shooting for? Without Geb, maybe alot of runners would never discover there true potential. Haile is as much a revolutionary and inspiration as he is a great runner. Im not saying that bekele wont go under 26 and 12 30, because i think he will. But right now, at this moment, its Haile without question. When its all said and done, I don't think bekele will have 17 world records, but he will be the greatest distance runner of all time. He's only 22 though, he's got plenty of time

P.S. Haile's got one more WR in him - (2:04:28)

Hey guys~! Without all the milers in all of history except Roger Bannister, El G would have taken off 17 seconds from the WR in the mile! Amazing.

Saracasm? Yes. You have to compare people to their generation and the generation before them. Geb was 40 seconds better than the generation before him. Kenny B is only 2 seconds better than the generation before him so far. Geb so far is still superior as far as accomplishment goes but obviously not in time.

agreed on all points that Bekele has a ways to go before he tops Haile

What do yall think he has to do though...??

Id say somethin like 26:10, 12:33

quite frankly (and I try to be an optomist about these things), if I see a sub 26, im gonna say drugs

but those marks would make an impact to give him a decent claim to the title

I know more about science than Isaac Newton. Therefore, I am a better scientist.

Running, like academic pursuits, builds on itself. It is the individuals who make revolutionary leaps in the field that should be considered the best, not simply the best at the current moment. Otherwise, Einstein wouldn't be considered for being a great mind.

Of course Bekele is a great runner. Maybe he will be the greatest ever. But both he (and Geb for that matter) are still works in progress, althougth we have a better idea of what Geb's final resume will look like.

jaysonjo

I understand that Hicham and Kenenisa was doubling back from other events when Eliud narrowly beat them; however, I think he has risen his game greatly this year. Kenenisa has shown his increased fitness so everyone knows where he stands, Hicham debuted below average this year but still will be ready for the Olympics (maybe not enough to double successfully), and Eliud only gave a glimpse of whats in store this year in his first two 2004 races. Eliud can be around and on top for years to come and I hope he doesn't fade away as quickly as someone I compare him to (Daniel Komen) from his country.

VIPAM

During the semis of the 5k at the WC's, Rawson commented that Kipchoge wasn't 18. During the network broadcast of the final, he just toed the PC line, and mentioned his age as 18. Even PC TAFNews mentioned that no one who has seen him person believes he is a teen. He looks to be in his mid 20's. He's a great runner, but it's "17 yr old" Ismael Kurui all over again. When the Kenyans claimed he was 17, he mentioned off-handedly in an interview that he was 26.

ignore the age

"I'll take Not Relevant to The Topic, Alex for 100."

Eliud age isn't important as he isn't competing as a junior or master-so drop your boarding pass you've missed that boat by a year my friend.

VIPAM

ignore the age wrote:

he mentioned off-handedly in an interview that he was 26.

Thank you for answering my question. I wanted to know he real age and was too lazy to look it up.