ventolin^3 wrote:
The Master Troll wrote:And if that doesn't convince you, think about this: could 2004/2005 Bekele have done what 2008 Bekele did in the Bejing 5000m, closing the last 3k in 7:35, 2k in 4:56, mile in 3:57, and lap in 53.87, while doing all the pacemaking himself? I don't think so.
no
get a grip
it was a 12'57 race not 12'37
rudy ran 1'40.91wr solo
kennster in ~ 5k wr shape that day (?) , but he basically ran 7'35 off a 2k jog
don't aggrandize
that peking 5k was unfortunate in bernie being injured before ( i saw '04 final in stadium - bernie luvs heat/humdity )
the kenyans had better 5k guys here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2rHmSKqs2w
12:57 is a pretty incredible time given the slow early pace of the first 3000m (8:00), cause he had to run super fast to get under 13:00 the last 5 laps. And the magnificence comes from how strung out everyone was by the finish. Even Kipchoge, who remember outkicked El G and Bekele in a fast paced race 5 years prior, wasn't even able to finish close to Bekele, as he was 5 seconds back.
No one here is saying Lagat isn't a great racer at 5000m, but remember that then his specialty was 1500m, and his training was focused for the 1500m. It wasn't until 2010 that he changed his training to focus on the 5000m. And remember Berlin in 2009. Lagat was healthy, Bekele was actually a little off form, but Bekele still prevailed.
If Lagat had been healthy in 2008, I imagine he would have hung in there for a medal at least. But to challenge for the gold would have taken the race of his life, or something very close.
The real tragedy is Lagat getting injured and not winning gold in the 1500m. He should have won that. Cheater Ramzi shouldn't have been on the podium, and Kiprop wasn't quite as good as Lagat was then.