Farah & Ritz in London 5K - American AR in jeopardy?

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mitjones wrote:

Anywhere online where I can watch this race? It is coming up in a little over an hour & would be interested in watching it.

Time for last minute predictions. Looks overcast but calm winds there online. Not sure on temps. Go Ritz!

Perspectivatoin wrote:

Time for last minute predictions. Looks overcast but calm winds there online. Not sure on temps. Go Ritz!

Ritz will run 13:11. Then he'll say it is quite mysterious why he didn't run 12:55 since he is obviously in shape to do that. He will also say that he finds it inexplicable that he hasn't run a 2:07 yet but is quite certain that the next time he will run to his true capabilities.

Oh, Ritz just missed fan boys!

ritz 1317

Official Results - Men - 5000 Metres Pos Athlete Nat Mark

1 Mohamed Farah GBR 13:06.04

2 Collis Birmingham AUS 13:09.57

3 Moses Ndiema Kipsiro UGA 13:09.98

4 Mark Kosgei Kiptoo KEN 13:13.77

5 Dathan Ritzenhein USA 13:15.91

6 Emmanuel Kipkemei Bett KEN 13:23.05

7 Craig Mottram AUS 13:23.85

8 Juan Luis Barrios MEX 13:35.44

9 Ben St.Lawrence AUS 13:37.35

10 Yuki Sato JPN 13:43.43

11 Moses Kibet UGA 13:45.29

12 Kidane Tadasse ERI 13:50.96

Sammy Alex Mutahi KEN DNF

Remmy Limo Ndiwa KEN DNF

I thought Ritz looked pretty good. He just can't run 1:54 for the last 800.

Lance Romance wrote:

I thought Ritz looked pretty good. He just can't run 1:54 for the last 800.

That's a clown statement bro. Ritz looked terrible. He literally had no acceleration at all in the race. His lack of kick was embarrassing. He'll finish 10th in the 10k and sub 13 this summer is a pipe dream.

str8 klownin wrote:

That's a clown statement bro.

+1

You sir are a moron. And I bet your 5,000 PR is about 23:00.

So what you're saying is he didn't accelerate at any time during the entire race? That does indeed sound pretty bad.

str8 klownin wrote:

That's a clown statement bro. Ritz looked terrible. He literally had no acceleration at all in the race.

Er... wrote:

So what you're saying is he didn't accelerate at any time during the entire race? That does indeed sound pretty bad.

str8 klownin wrote:

That's a clown statement bro. Ritz looked terrible. He literally had no acceleration at all in the race.

How's this sound bro, he had very little acceleration in the race and looked very flat. There wasn't much that he did in this race that would make me think that he's in "12:56 shape" (that was according to him) or that he will make a strong showing in the olympics. Although I'm certain that he's in the middle of a training block, I would expect him to finish higher and stronger than he did. Yes I'm aware that he's not much of a kicker but he did very little today to make me think that he's fit or that he'll be a factor in the olympic 10,000m.

str8 klownin wrote:

Er... wrote:

So what you're saying is he didn't accelerate at any time during the entire race? That does indeed sound pretty bad.

How's this sound bro, he had very little acceleration in the race and looked very flat. There wasn't much that he did in this race that would make me think that he's in "12:56 shape" (that was according to him) or that he will make a strong showing in the olympics. Although I'm certain that he's in the middle of a training block, I would expect him to finish higher and stronger than he did. Yes I'm aware that he's not much of a kicker but he did very little today to make me think that he's fit or that he'll be a factor in the olympic 10,000m.

First race after his trials pressured race. Nothing spectacular but to keep in perspective:

Birmingham very likely blew it all out there today thinking he might be able to be Farah.

Ritz, while not looking superb, blew away Emmanuel Bett who ran 26:51 last year, 27:07 this year at PRE and was 5th in the 5000 Olympic Trials for Kenya.

an afterthought wrote:

First race after his trials pressured race. Nothing spectacular but to keep in perspective:

Birmingham very likely blew it all out there today thinking he might be able to be Farah.

Ritz, while not looking superb, blew away Emmanuel Bett who ran 26:51 last year, 27:07 this year at PRE and was 5th in the 5000 Olympic Trials for Kenya.

Ritz will be a total non-factor in the OG. Anyone who does not see this by now is both delusional and an American. Oh, but I repeat myself.

I don't think too many people on here have Ritz on the podium at the Olympics, though I was way off in how I thought the race would play out. I don't see the point in him running another 13:15, even if in the middle of a training block, unless the goal was to see if he could accelerate at the end, even staying with Farah for the penultimate lap, which he clearly couldn't. Unless Salazar has another trick up his sleeve, which i doubt...

He didn't look great at the Olympic trials either. It's great for him that he made the team. But he's not a factor in medaling...not even close. His days of 1256 shape are probably over. He was devastated when he didn't make the marathon team because he knows this.

I didn't see the race, so I'm not going to read too much into it. I've just read the commentary. He just arrived in London and is probably jet-lagged, though he tweeted that he slept 12 hours and was well rested. He may be just missing that extra gear. His 27:36 in the pouring rain of the trials after leading most of the race by himself, especially the second half, was worth faster. He ran 13:14 unexpectedly, so I've got to think there's more in the tank. I do think he probably regrets not having devoted his last three years to the track, financial considerations notwithstanding.

Lonely Student of the Sport wrote:

an afterthought wrote:

First race after his trials pressured race. Nothing spectacular but to keep in perspective:

Birmingham very likely blew it all out there today thinking he might be able to be Farah.

Ritz, while not looking superb, blew away Emmanuel Bett who ran 26:51 last year, 27:07 this year at PRE and was 5th in the 5000 Olympic Trials for Kenya.

Ritz will be a total non-factor in the OG. Anyone who does not see this by now is both delusional and an American. Oh, but I repeat myself.

Ooooo, you are so clever.

Straight from the Ritz's mouth:

"It was a so-so race today. Was hoping for faster but felt some jet lag and fatigue. That's ok, still a good last effort before London2012."

ronaldino

I kind of doubt it will go as fast as the last meet being so close to the olympics, but if it's even close don't be shocked if Ritz is sniffing the AR!! You done heard it here first!!

Boy......don't you look like a dumba$$!!!