Hingle McCringleberry wrote:
Mo might be a champion, but he isn't in the same category as all time greats like Geb, Tergat, and Bekele. The 5,000 and 10,000 meter is taking a backseat to road racing.
In a real race from start to finish Mo can't hack it. He shouldn't have ventured into half marathons, and marathons. Now he has been outed for what he is. He is B-level runner with good speed, running in tier 2 races. All the big boys are running mostly marathons and some other road races.
BBC has been outed too. It is pretty sad when the 8th place finisher get paid more and get more time on tv then real world class talent ahead of him. The announcer pretty much admitted the marathoners of the world were the real deal and Mo should go back to the schoolyard.
Several flaws with this analysis:
1) Mo's lack of judgment does not mean that he is a B-level runner. What I mean by this is that he chose to debut in a race with the incumbent record-holder, the unofficial runner of the world's fastest time, the Olympic and World Marathon champion, former champions and record-holders, etc. Only someone who is delusional could possibly think that he would do well in a DEBUT with this kind of field.
There is a reason Bekele intelligently chose to debut in a MUCH more low key race. He at the very least knew that he could have a debut that was much more reflective of his ability, as he could be in full control.
2) By your logic, Kiprotich, the Olympic and World Champion, both Mutais who are sub-2:04 Marathoners, and Desisa, who is a 2:04 Marathoner and World Silver medalist are also B-level runners because they finished around or behind Farah.
3) BBC hasn't been outed at all. They're a British company. They would be morons if they promoted a bunch of foreigners over a British citizen who was a World and Olympic gold medalist.