Pre-Race Presser: Neither Geoffrey Mutai or Stephen Kiprotich think Mo Farah should be running London 2014

don't you mean "pressure"?

As reported by the BBC -

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Both Stephen Kiprotich and Geoffrey Mutai today wondered why Mo Farah is even running the 2014 London Marathon. For different reasons.

Geoffrey Mutai thinks like us that Farah passing out in New York wasn't a great sign:

Mutai said:

"To handle sickness is not easy - perhaps I would relax and prepare for another time."

Kiprotich doesn't get why Mo would do it since he's still so dominant on the track (maybe we should explain to him how the money works for someone like Farah).

Kiprotich said:

"I don't see why he's running the marathon. He's still good on the track, still running a mile in under three minutes 50 seconds.

"Maybe the problem is that the fans are the ones pushing him."

No, they are using the annoying new term for a press conference.

yourmom.com wrote:

I love it!

They should set this up like they do for boxers pre-match. Have all the top contenders in a room, talking trash, staring each other down (which, alone, would be hilarious), Q&A session where everyone is asked about the other guys, cameras focused on the reactions as much as the comments. Bring the hype!

This is what you consider trash talk?

Mutai is expressing concern over his health and Kiprotich is basically saying that he thinks Mo is too good to have moved up to the Marathon... I can't even detect a hint of an insult...

However it manifests itself, pre-race/fight 'trash talk' has the sole intetnion of trying to unsettle your opponent, and that is exactly what Mutai and Kiprotich are doing here, trying to put doubt in Farah's mind. To that end, it probably is trash talk on some level

Seyta wrote:

[quote]yourmom.com wrote:

I love it!

They should set this up like they do for boxers pre-match. Have all the top contenders in a room, talking trash, staring each other down (which, alone, would be hilarious), Q&A session where everyone is asked about the other guys, cameras focused on the reactions as much as the comments. Bring the hype!

This is what you consider trash talk?

Mutai is expressing concern over his health and Kiprotich is basically saying that he thinks Mo is too good to have moved up to the Marathon... I can't even detect a hint of an insult...

If you read carefully, i do not call this trash talk -- i said that pre-race should be setup conducive to trash talk.

But since you ask, this is not aggressive "trash talk" but i do think these are more than just casual comments about Mo's situation. These guys have to be super-competitors to get to where they are. This isn't Rucker Park, but they know what they're saying with these jabs.

Kiprotich might be on to something, but by the sounds of Mutai, his quote translates to "I am scared that Mo Farah will also be the best marathoner in the world"

I agree with whoever said that they are simply expressing concern. If you think that this is trash talk or an attempt to invoke self-doubt, you are probably projecting your way of thinking on to people from a different culture who think very differently than you.

Agree with Kiprotich - after the 3.28, the last thing I would be doing would be racing a marathon. BUT, he had already committed himself to it by running half the distance last spring (for a good payday), and promising to debut this year.

That is tremendous range to be able to run a world-class 1500m at the same time (within a year)as a marathon (if he runs fast). He has time on his side to run a fast marathon in a few years, but the window (look at Bekele) to run really fast on the track for 2k-10k (which the 3.28 says he has the speed to do) is going to close sooner than for the marathon.

Pre-Race Head Games.

Schoolyard stuff.

Mo perhaps a bit too sophisticated to put much stock in hot air blowing around.

I tend to think that Mo will have a decent race in London, but as a fan I'd much rather seem him chase Asbel Kiprop to a sizzling 1500 again in Monaco!

Can't we have the runners wearing boxing gloves ? During pre-race interviews and in the race itself would be good, and there are actually no IAAF rules that prevent this.

TV slow-motions at the drink stations would be fantastic.

What Mutai says makes sense and I wish Mo would heed his sentiments. Mo's aggressive competitiveness(which is proof of inexperience over the longer distances) largely contributed to his passing out at the end of the New York half marathon. There, he only had Mutai and 13.1 miles to worry about. In London, the distance will double and Mo will have to worry about at least six top runners, maybe seven. Anyone would be worried he might pass out for good-never to wake up. I am worried of the same too.

Seyta wrote:

yourmom.com wrote:

I love it!

They should set this up like they do for boxers pre-match. Have all the top contenders in a room, talking trash, staring each other down (which, alone, would be hilarious), Q&A session where everyone is asked about the other guys, cameras focused on the reactions as much as the comments. Bring the hype!

This is what you consider trash talk?

Mutai is expressing concern over his health and Kiprotich is basically saying that he thinks Mo is too good to have moved up to the Marathon... I can't even detect a hint of an insult...

Horst Girth wrote:

Pre-Race Head Games.

Schoolyard stuff.

Mo perhaps a bit too sophisticated to put much stock in hot air blowing around.

What a stupid post.

There are not head games here, only reasonable answers to boring questions by journalists.

Is passing out after a ho-hum half marathon a sign of a great marathon in store? No.

Are there benefits to debuting in races that don't have five of the world's greatest ever and a planned WR pace? Yes.

I would consider it trash talk. These guys are concerned about the training that Farah and his coach have confidence in. As long as he doesn't pull out, I don't think it would be going too far to call it disrespect

yourmom.com wrote:

I love it!

They should set this up like they do for boxers pre-match. Have all the top contenders in a room, talking trash, staring each other down (which, alone, would be hilarious), Q&A session where everyone is asked about the other guys, cameras focused on the reactions as much as the comments. Bring the hype!

Mutai - "Mo, you look pale. I think you shouldn't run"

Kiprotich - "Mo, you're a great track runner, why don't you stick to that for now?"

Mo - "relax guys, you know I'm going to kick your arses"

George - "Well I had sex, with your wife!"

catnip is a PED wrote:

He has time on his side to run a fast marathon in a few years, but the window (look at Bekele) to run really fast on the track for 2k-10k (which the 3.28 says he has the speed to do) is going to close sooner than for the marathon.

Look at Bekele for what? Bekele has been injured. There's no indication that he can't still run fast on the track. Everything says otherwise. After just a few months of training, he's shown that he can get back to 26:40-50 shape fairly quickly. His window is still open.

Newfangled Words wrote:

No, they are using the annoying new term for a press conference.

^

This is less trash talk and more simply trying to get in his head. And also just hoping out loud he won't beat them in his debut which would kill their confidence to be world-beaters themselves.