WOMEN'S 5000m: Ethopia let no other country beat them in the heats, BIG MISTAKE???

She will be kicked back to Turkey..

The Sword is drawn..

Its time for a turkey burger

I am sure Elvan already knows that Meseret can kick. I certainly did... I am so happy she got a chance to run.

ene

I agree with you that Meseret Defar is known as a great kicker; however, with Elvan's recent 1500m 3:58.28 not being able to hang with Meseret kick in the last 200m. With her new found 1500m speed I'm sure Elvan thought she had a outstanding kick as well. My thought is that may have forced Elvan to run almost a time trial in the 5000m FINAL to get away from Meseret's kick, Elvan personal best from this year in the 5000m is almost 15 seconds better than Meseret. Can Meseret hang with Elvan to outkick if Elvan goes from the gun?

VIPAM

They're doing great.

Defar looks strong, I did not see the race, but Tirunesh Dibaba could of raced much faster obviously. Sentayehu Ejigu will be a threat in the future, my God that girl can run relaxed, similar to Ejigayehou Dibaba- both not as powerful a stride as Tirunesh or Defar, but it works.

I think both guys could of saved up a lot more for the 5, there was no need to go that crazy- looks good though. I think Sihine may lose out to Eliud due to his push at the end.

Geb is greater than track, the Olympics and sport. I'm happy to see him push it all the way to the end regardless of result, that just shows his character.

Vipam,

First of all, I will refer to 'Elvan' as Hiwot, as it was her original Ethiopian name.

As you may already know the only reason Hiwot broke the WR in Norway is because the Ethiopians set the pace faster rom the get go and they let Hiwot hang around with them too much.

I think this time they are well prepared for her as they know what her weaknesses and strengths are. They will box her, try to shake her off ...etc. and beat her to on the final kick.

One thing I noticed, Turkey is after Ethiopian female athletes as Quatar is after Kenyan males. I noticed on the start list that there was another Ethiopian by the name of Tezeta(meaning memories) running for Turkey.

They might reject her citizenship request as she didn't even qualify. ;)

Vipam, they're just heats. At that level and at this point in the Games, running (easy-for-them) 15min flat 5k's and winning the final sprint is of no consequence.

Sentayehu's pretty funny. i met hear about six months ago and was asking her about world cross and she gave me this look like "I have no clue what you're saying." her manager then says, "Sentayehu's English isn't so good." (Meseret's is better). And I said, "neither is my Amharic. All I know is selam." Sentayehu laughed at that.

Ejigu is a very beautiful girl.. ouch..

Vipam wrote:

ene

I agree with you that Meseret Defar is known as a great kicker; however, with Elvan's recent 1500m 3:58.28 not being able to hang with Meseret kick in the last 200m. With her new found 1500m speed I'm sure Elvan thought she had a outstanding kick as well. My thought is that may have forced Elvan to run almost a time trial in the 5000m FINAL to get away from Meseret's kick, Elvan personal best from this year in the 5000m is almost 15 seconds better than Meseret. Can Meseret hang with Elvan to outkick if Elvan goes from the gun?

VIPAM

I just now realize what you were trying to say, yeah makes sense.

I doubt Elvan would allow a slow pace all the way through, but Defar probably? can not handle a 3-4 lap final surge. I still think it will come down to Tirunesh Dibaba and Elvan, Tiru looked scary strong.

Trackhead,

They all look great, Ethiopia is very marketable. Nike was talking about taking over from adidas, I think that would be a good move on their part- at the price of a Marion Jones only.

The country has 1 track and it's not in great shape. They are making miracles out of nothing and they are everything that is good about sport. Nike would do good to supply 2 cheap tracks and clothing and shoes.

Vipiam,

Elvan (Hewane) Abey Legesse, has some problems to deal with.

She knows that anything north of 14:32 is within Tiru's range.. but running 14:29 at the olympics is unlikely.

Guys 3:58 does not mean anything. gete wami was 4:01 and that was not at her peak. and these new girls are so much faster.

Here is my take. I see a championship race, slow in the first 1000 and picks up with 3 laps to go. Elvan thinks that she can pound the 1200 to the tape and kill the Ethiopians. They need to jump in front and slow it as much as they can.. and then burn her off in the last 300.

They Ethiopians have a 50 50 chance.

In sydney we finished 3-4 and 7th.. but this time two medals are possible. In a couple of years, we will completely dominate this event.

There are about 10 Ethiopian women that are under 15 and 5 under 14:40.

Vipam,

You have a point there. However, even without being outkicked by Meseret, I expected Elvan to set a fast pace from the start. That is the only way she can improve her chance of winning. If the pace is 14:40+, I think even the Kenyan girls can hang until the end. Meseret is unpredictable and I hope she can stick to Elvan until the end (if the pace set is fast). If she manages to do that, she has a very good chance of winning. Tirunesh will do well. Sentayehu does not have a winning instinct. She does have good times but she always manages to finish behind the leading Ethiopian.

To whoever called Elvan...Hiwot. Her name was Hewan:)

By the way, Elvan is a great athelet. As an Ethiopian immigrant in the west, I am proud to see another Ethiopian immigrant succeeding in a foreign land. The federation not allowing her to train in Addis and all that crap is nonsense.

ene wrote:

Sentayehu does not have a winning instinct. She does have good times but she always manages to finish behind the leading Ethiopian.

She's 16 years old...similar o.k. kick- more a 10,000m runner??? like Werkinesh Kidane and Ejigayehou Dibaba.

Defar may surprise, she seems strong. Masai did not look so good in the semi. I think it's 3 Etheopians VS Elvan.

I know how much it means for Ethiopians that out girls did well. COngratulations.

Defar all the way! Dibaba and Ejigu have a great future as well.