16-year old Kenyan goes out in 48.32 for 800, holds on and (barely) wins World Youth Gold

ventolin^3 wrote:

trollism wrote:He should have known better at his age really.

Oh wait...he's 16...of course he is.

idiot

do you think a mature, experienced 800 guy woud go out in a solo suicidal 48+ ???

A mature inexperienced 800 guy might

drivel

this 1'48.01 was his pb

which on earth "mature" guy worth talking about has never run 1'48.01 before ???

You are an idiot

ventolin^3 wrote:

drivel

this 1'48.01 was his pb

which on earth "mature" guy worth talking about has never run 1'48.01 before ???

We wouldn't be talking about him if he was 18 + you point is ridiculous

I haven't read all the comments, but look at how badly the other Kenyan faded. Last! He stayed pretty close to his teammate at 200m. 23.28 for 400m is blazing. His teammate must have been right at 24s.

How soon you forget:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5231753

And there have been many to get through any checks there may have been.

That's from last month. And another sample is from Thomas Longosiwa's wikipedia page.

Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa (born January 14, 1982 in West Pokot District) is a runner from Kenya who has competed at the Olympics. He is also the Kenyan 5000 metres champion from 2007.[1]

He was selected to represent Kenya at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing, but during the Kenyan training camp he was caught to have two Kenyan passports, one indicating he was born in 1982 and the other 1988. The latter passport would have enabled him to compete at the championships. He was arrested for several days and fined 1500 US Dollars.[2][3] A senior police official was accused of forging the age of Longosiwa and some other athletes.[4] Earlier in 2006 Longosiwa had competed at the junior category of the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he finished 13th,[5] but was later disqualified.[6]

He began competing on the senior circuit in 2007, coming sixth at the 2007 All-Africa Games and then running the 3000 m and 5000 m events at the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Final. He gained selection for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and came twelfth in the men's 5000 m final. He set a 3000 m personal best of 7:30.09 at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix in May 2009, finishing runner-up to Eliud Kipchoge in a time of 7:30.09 minutes.[7] He also ran in the event at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final, where he came tenth.

These scandals are rife for whatever reason in Kenya and it does not mean that Kenyans don't dominate the senior ranks, although certainly there Ethiopians take a lot of titles, but only that older Kenyans are cleaning up over the youth, and then, very frequently, peaking on the senior circuit within one or two years.

[quote]rojo wrote:

Pretty impressive and it proves to me why high school running is more interesting than the pros, kids don't know how to race.

As counter productive as it might seen, most great 800m runners started out running too fast the first lap. Natural aggression is what you want to see in an 800m runner and most coaches, especially they ones from an 800m background want to coach that out of an athlete. Eventually the athlete will come to terms with what works best for them. Being able to get out fast or close fast is talent and at the youth level, the ability to even out of the splits will come with time and training. Also, 800m runners don't like being touched when they are racing. The athletes who intend on winning the race will often race from the back or the front and the athletes in the middle are often the ones running for time or place. When you have good 400m speed, the first 300m does not feel that fast and for those types of athletes, the race does not become aerobic until about the 500m mark. In distance events, getting to fast equates to pain, a miler thinks about the pain. A true 800m runners does not calculate the amount of pain and when it is going to come, they embraces the pain because they know it's going to come and when it comes, it is going to hurt. In the 800m, near the end of the race your an/ar systems will be maxed, your glutes, hamstrings and lungs will burn and there will be a moment of temporary insanity before you cross the finish line. There is nothing complicated about it and there nothing here I will get any debate from athletes who are true 800m runners. (The 800m is a uniquely tough event.)

When you are running close to 12 seconds per 100m, your feet aren't making a lot contact with the ground and when you get bumped while in the air, even if you don't go down, you waste energy trying to maintain your balance. A little bump my not seem like much, but at the highest level, you are fighting for 10ths of a second. One year, I saw Lagat lose out on a 5000m medal because he got touched when he was at a full canter approaching the finish line. There is a reason why every event under 600m is run lanes; the first 50m of an 800m race is the scariest because you are trying to be to the front or back with the least amount of energy. In an indoor 800m, 50 percent of the race is to stay out of trouble. To the best of my knowledge, every 800m world record was set when the athlete was able to run in lane one just behind the rabbits and if an 800m runner gets boxed or touched at any point in the race, they will almost always abandon the WR attempt.

Personally, I ran between 2 flat 2:02 for 2 years even though my times in other events had improved. In my Jr year of high school, I got a new coach, who was a former world class 800m, a name most of us will know and in my first competitive race of the outdoor season he instructed me to run the fist lap as hard as I could and continue to push to point of collapse and don't focus on the finish line. I went out in 51 and ran 1:57; this was not a pretty sight, but he said, in next race back off a little on the fist lap and now you know how to run the 800m.

Obviously, this does not explain going out in 48 and coming back in a minute, but for the distance types, hopefully it explains the deal with going out fast and in general, the 800m mindset.

Mourinho wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W46lXS32wmo

Great reaction for Kipketer on the final stretch after being nearly passed, while all the other africans faded

Wow. I've never seen someone go out on suicide pace like that get caught by the field and still end up winning. Incredible effort by that kid.

He looks like he is training to be a rabbit on the european tour based upon what we've seen lately.

Look at the two Kenyan's celebrating after the race. One looks like a kid while the winner looks like a man. There might not be an immediate monetary benefit to winning a "youth" title, but I'm sure that it opens doors. And he might not even know what his true age is. But the physical difference between the two is glaring.

Dang I'd need a bullet bike to cross in 48. Amazing strength.

liter23 wrote:

Dang I'd need a bullet bike to cross in 48. Amazing strength.

Drivel. You couldn't do a 48 on a bike. Rubbish. At least not without a wabbit.

I wonder what this kid can do in a 400m. He must be capable of 46xx at least.

stupdined wrote:

Anyone know how big his lead was after 400? Must have been pretty big to hold on with a 59.x closing lap.

Reminds me of a 400 guy at my HS that got thrown into an 800. He went through 400 in about 54 (maybe two seconds slower than his normal 400), and staggered home in 66. That experiment wasn't repeated.

really? he went 54/66 for 2 flat in his first 800 and the coach didn't run him again? did you mean 54/76? even that wouldn't be TERRIBLE for a first time 52 second 400m sprinter who went out too fast.

As a HS coach 1-leg short on our 4x8 last year, i would have been thrilled with that guy.

quick question - how many top pros out there do you think could run 48.6 for a first lap and still hold on for 1.48.0?

The strength required to do this is ridiculous - strength that a 17 year old boy simply does not have.

To put that into perspective I can remember a Kenyan called Kenneth Kimmewetich running 48.6 for the first lap of the Commonwealth Games 800m final in 1998 and he ran 1.48.7. Kenneth was a 2.13 1000m runner and a 1.43.0X 800m runner. He most definitely was not 17...

trollism wrote:

He should have known better at his age really.

Oh wait...he's 16...of course he is.

Did you ever notice: When Kenyans say they're 16 and are running great people say they're older.

Then, when they say they're 40 and are running great people say they're younger.

joedirt wrote:

He looks like he is training to be a rabbit on the european tour based upon what we've seen lately.

His pace judgment is not that bad

TrackCoach wrote:A true 800m runners does not calculate the amount of pain and when it is going to come, they embraces the pain

nonsense

any elite 800 guy is capable of splitting 1'15-flat & dare to risk holding on

very few, if any do attempt the 1'15.0 split because they have already "calculated" how much pain they are going to be at that point & don't dare go for a 1'15.0 & settle for ~ 1'16.0/1'16.5 at best hoping to bear the pain of last 200 for clocking near/at 1'43.0

if they dared risk a season of 1'15.0s & risk the blow-ups, they may get lucky & get that 1'43-flat pb into the low-1'42s

runn wrote:

trollism wrote:

He should have known better at his age really.

Oh wait...he's 16...of course he is.

Did you ever notice: When Kenyans say they're 16 and are running great people say they're older.

Then, when they say they're 40 and are running great people say they're younger.

It comes from many Kenyans being sprung lying about their age.

DistanceCoach1 wrote:

Mourinho wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W46lXS32wmo

Great reaction for Kipketer on the final stretch after being nearly passed, while all the other africans faded

Wow. I've never seen someone go out on suicide pace like that get caught by the field and still end up winning. Incredible effort by that kid.

Just looked. The winner looks mid-20s easy.