Is Mo's 3:28 Huge in Your Suspicions of NOP Doping?

no. in the last couple years farah and rupp have been training like 1500m runners. so it shouldnt be a surprise to see somebody like mo (known for his close) run a fast 1500m. if farah went and ran 26:30 right now, i'd be surprised. not suspicious because i don't see mo as a doper, but i would be intrigued.

i dont think that just because mo wasnt a threat before 2011ish makes him a cheater. most good runners find a coach/program early in their 20s and stick with that for a while. mo jumped around a lot, never was consistent. so he was never 100%. now he is after being with NOP for a few years

More like Rupp's silver

Of course. Mo was on Teg's level before hooking up with Salazar.

If Teg went on to win double gold at the OG and run 3:28 what would you think?

TLW wrote:

Of course. Mo was on Teg's level before hooking up with Salazar.

If Teg went on to win double gold at the OG and run 3:28 what would you think?

And before his jump to 12:57 he was with Fam and Solinsky as a 3:35/6 13:11/12 guy. Now Solinsky was strong and he ran pretty fast and I could see him running a little faster but Mo is on a different level and who knows what he's capable of. This kind of jump at age 30 is suspicious when people are calling Bekele washed up at the same age.

Do you guys think Bill Rodgers was a doper? He took like 10 minutes off his marathon PR at roughly the same age as Farah.

TLW wrote:

Of course. Mo was on Teg's level before hooking up with Salazar.

If Teg went on to win double gold at the OG and run 3:28 what would you think?

In 2009 Farah ran 7:34 for 3000 meters. 7:34, for a guy with speed, is "worth" 3:32 or so for 1500, wouldn't you say?

So, 3:32 in 2009 to 3:28 in 2013 indicates great improvement for someone with great running ability. To me, it does not necessarily spell drugs.

3:28 is very suspicious, no doubt about it. One of the fastest of all time, and a 5k/10k runner? If Geb ran that at 25 people would be suspicious, much less Mo Farah at age 30. Think about some of the people he has bested with that time: Seb Coe, Steve Cram, Said Aouita (dirty?), Abdi Bile, we could go on and on.

nope nope nope wrote:

TLW wrote:

Of course. Mo was on Teg's level before hooking up with Salazar.

If Teg went on to win double gold at the OG and run 3:28 what would you think?

And before his jump to 12:57 he was with Fam and Solinsky as a 3:35/6 13:11/12 guy. Now Solinsky was strong and he ran pretty fast and I could see him running a little faster but Mo is on a different level and who knows what he's capable of. This kind of jump at age 30 is suspicious when people are calling Bekele washed up at the same age.

That's a very interesting comparison. Bekele is only a year and two months older than Mo Farah. Of course, Bekele has had a much longer, more intensive and taxing career than Mo Farah--multiple World XC titles, World and Olympic Golds and a silver or so, Two world records, Big and competitive and/or fast non-championship races, etc.

of course wrote:

3:28 is very suspicious, no doubt about it. One of the fastest of all time, and a 5k/10k runner? If Geb ran that at 25 people would be suspicious, much less Mo Farah at age 30. Think about some of the people he has bested with that time: Seb Coe, Steve Cram, Said Aouita (dirty?), Abdi Bile, we could go on and on.

This.

While I agree in large part with the general defense of Mo Farah's performance breakthroughs which Salazar reiterated recently, still, I don't think that should 100% exonerate him from some amount of suspicion. 3:28 is probably the most objectively suspicious number/attribute associated with Mo Farah.

I might want to say his unbelievably consistent championship and big race performances in the last three years (he has been beaten very few times in his key events), but my feelings regarding that are clouded a bit by what may not be objective concerns about doping, but more frustration of another nature:

that being--

this guy seems to be such a phenomenal runner.

I first witnessed this at his great breakthrough 10k at the Prefontaine Classic a couple of years ago--a fast race where he just seemed he was on another level in the final meters of the race (his running form, etc.) And he has exhibited that beauty and finesse numerous times since.

Point is, I want to see Mo Farah attempt a World Record. However, it seems fans are going to be deprived of this opportunity, with Mo Farah making an abrupt move to the Marathon, and I think that is pretty bogus. Money and "lack of adequate" conditions and record setups is not an excuse as the years pass by (2011-2014). If there is any seriousness and desire to set up such a thing, it could be done within a reasonable time frame, +/- a season or two.

Consider This wrote:

Do you guys think Bill Rodgers was a doper? He took like 10 minutes off his marathon PR at roughly the same age as Farah.

A marathon and a 1500 is a little different.

smell the coffee, wrote:

TLW wrote:

Of course. Mo was on Teg's level before hooking up with Salazar.

If Teg went on to win double gold at the OG and run 3:28 what would you think?

In 2009 Farah ran 7:34 for 3000 meters. 7:34, for a guy with speed, is "worth" 3:32 or so for 1500, wouldn't you say?

So, 3:32 in 2009 to 3:28 in 2013 indicates great improvement for someone with great running ability. To me, it does not necessarily spell drugs.

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I think people are a bit too unskeptical and accepting of Mo Farah's 3:28. Sure, it is a phenomenal and delightful result, and I like Mo Farah just as much as anybody--he's a graceful, wonderful runner, a pleasant Brit, etc. But we should be objective and not let personal preference interfere. Going from 3:36 to 3:31 indicates "great improvement for someone with great running ability." You can say the same even for going from 3:34/3:33 down to 3:29. But Mo Farah's attainment is beyond just "great improvement for someone with great running ability." It is quite spectacular, and needs to be given especial consideration. He does this while being incredibly consistent in his key events (which do not, as of yet, include 1500m). The few 1500m SPECIALISTS who approach that time, interestingly enough, are either nowhere near as consistent as Mo Farah, or are among the all-time Greats of middle-distance and distance running. And even then, Mo Farah's 1500m PB surpasses a good many members of both of those groups (outstanding but inconsistent 1500m SPECIALISTS, and the all-time mid-d and distance greats).

These reasons don't automatically make him a doper, but the reasons given by others to defend Mo Farah don't 100% exonerate him, either.

Mo's 3:28 raises some eyebrows but isn't necessarily indicative of suspicious activity. Lagat ran 7:29 and 12:53 after age 35. Mo had run 12:57 before joining Salazar, and by all appearances, hadn't really been fully committed to the sport the way a champion would be, certainly not with regard to his speed. If Mo had run 7:29, would we be having the same "suspicions?"

Consider This wrote:

Do you guys think Bill Rodgers was a doper? He took like 10 minutes off his marathon PR at roughly the same age as Farah.

Wow. you do realize that the marathon and 1500m are quite different....right

Sagarin wrote:

Mo's 3:28 raises some eyebrows but isn't necessarily indicative of suspicious activity. Lagat ran 7:29 and 12:53 after age 35. Mo had run 12:57 before joining Salazar, and by all appearances, hadn't really been fully committed to the sport the way a champion would be, certainly not with regard to his speed. If Mo had run 7:29, would we be having the same "suspicions?"

Could not be said better. Thank you.

Sagarin wrote:

Mo's 3:28 raises some eyebrows but isn't necessarily indicative of suspicious activity. Lagat ran 7:29 and 12:53 after age 35. Mo had run 12:57 before joining Salazar, and by all appearances, hadn't really been fully committed to the sport the way a champion would be, certainly not with regard to his speed. If Mo had run 7:29, would we be having the same "suspicions?"

you don't run sub 13 without being fully committed. come on dude, think about what you just said. it's beyond stupid.

You had essentially a Tegenkamp level talent, slightly faster, 12:57/3:33.9, who all of a sudden, as he neared 30, became a 5 time World or Olympic gold medalist and a 3:28.8 1500m runner with a 26:4x 10k pr and an obvious shot at coming close to world records at 3, 5, and 10. Salazar says Farah hadn't done anything before. Okay. And he says he can be the greatest ever. Well, let's see him go after the world records now that the drug accusations are already there. Nothing to lose, right?

TLW wrote:

Sagarin wrote:

Mo's 3:28 raises some eyebrows but isn't necessarily indicative of suspicious activity. Lagat ran 7:29 and 12:53 after age 35. Mo had run 12:57 before joining Salazar, and by all appearances, hadn't really been fully committed to the sport the way a champion would be, certainly not with regard to his speed. If Mo had run 7:29, would we be having the same "suspicions?"

you don't run sub 13 without being fully committed. come on dude, think about what you just said. it's beyond stupid.

The wording is stupid, I agree, but I think the poster chose the wrong word and conveyed the wrong message. Poster probably meant something more like: [while Mo Farah was giving it his all performance wise, for the most part, before his Salazar days] he had not been pulling all the stops, leaving no stone unturned, implementing organization, knowledge, science and technology to the best degree, etc., which Salazar's programme and environment provided. Furthermore, on the same note, think about this: how many elite runners truly follow the best possible nutrition programme based on the best appraisal of the research literature regarding best Nutritional practices for human health? There is a lot of "hogwash" notions about nutrition. There are tons of elite distance athletes--from Americans to even some of the top East Africans--who could clearly be eating better, but are quite obvious and even think the nonsense nutritional regimens they are following are superior (which aren't completely aweful, but not the best). I think these athletes perform in spite of nutrition that could still be improved. BUT... does this mean they are not "committed?" Of COURSE not. If they are misinformed or have slightly false beliefs, that does not mean they work less hard.

TLW wrote:

Consider This wrote:

Do you guys think Bill Rodgers was a doper? He took like 10 minutes off his marathon PR at roughly the same age as Farah.

Wow. you do realize that the marathon and 1500m are quite different....right

Lagat may be seeing the same medical specialist. His consistency over the last decade + in the 1500 and 5000 is absolutely remarkable. Perhaps, his out-of-competition positive test in August of 2003 may shed some answers to how drug delivery is orchestrated with runner's such as Lagat, Farah...

So eating better and what...stretching more or something allows someone to double olympic champion, world champion?

Someone should have told Teg and Solinsky.

YOU DON'T RUN 12:57 WITHOUT DOING THE LITTLE THINGS. YOU DON'T RUN ONE OF THE FASTEST TIMES EVER IN AN EVENT BY NOT DOING THIS CORRECTLY. THINK!