Ezekiel Kemboi had an excuse for his subpar showing in Paris - didn't get their until 6:30 am day before the race

Didn't get their what?

There is no way anyone can count him out for Worlds. He is the greatest steepler of all time. He ran 8:01 earlier this year. I think if he's in that shape for Worlds all he has to do is sit on Jager and power past him the last 100m.

I think a big problem with some competitors is that they give up once they know they can't win. Birech even said he knew Jager had won and didn't put up a fight the last 100m because he knew it would be futile. I think once Kemboi realized he didn't have a shot at closing the gap he just packed it in.

To beat Kemboi, you must drop him. If it's slow, he smells blood and can close in 55. No one else can do that in the steeple.

their is no way he didn't get their.

LetsRun.com wrote:

Looks like the 2-time Olympic, 3-time World champ had some visa problems.

http://www.nation.co.ke/sports/athletics/Ezekiel-Kemboi-arrival-completes-3000m-SC-stellar-cast-in-Paris-/-/1100/2774202/-/10imvyy/-/index.html

The article also explains why he was awful in Oslo (8:30). He had 'stomach isssue.'

No wonder you guys are such bad journalists. You don't even know the difference between there and their. Wow.

"didn't get their until 6:30 am day before the race

So he had about 36 hours before he had to race after arriving? Ignoring "their" as others have pointed it out.

He didn't get them their visa until then.

road rashed wrote:

To beat Kemboi, you must drop him. If it's slow, he smells blood and can close in 55. No one else can do that in the steeple.

The problem is he can do that off just about any pace. Rarely does he get dropped.

8 hours of relaxing in a comfortable first class chair, the day before, isn't a great excuse. There is only a one hour time zone difference between the 2 ports, so jetlag isn't an issue. Pretty piss poor excuse.

Dwayne wrote:

8 hours of relaxing in a comfortable first class chair, the day before, isn't a great excuse. There is only a one hour time zone difference between the 2 ports, so jetlag isn't an issue. Pretty piss poor excuse.

I know this subject has been up before, but why do East African runners so often come up with these childish excuses? Remember when Geb explained that he had run bad because his pillow at the hotel was uncomfortable?

Dwayne wrote:

8 hours of relaxing in a comfortable first class chair, the day before, isn't a great excuse. There is only a one hour time zone difference between the 2 ports, so jetlag isn't an issue. Pretty piss poor excuse.

If you think that Kenyans are getting flown first class to DL meets, you are a true moron.

curious. wrote:

I know this subject has been up before, but why do East African runners so often come up with these childish excuses? Remember when Geb explained that he had run bad because his pillow at the hotel was uncomfortable?

You don't have any idea.

Geb is the exception, since he is truly pampered at races.

Most of the Kenyans on the circuit are getting flown for a minimum of cost, with a minimum of accommodation before and after. (They and their agents probably don't mind, since this way they are keeping more of their limited fees and winnings.)

The result of booking everything on the cheap and the razor's edge of timing is that if the slightest thing goes wrong, and it often does go wrong in East Africa, they are getting routed all over the place and sleeping in airports. Most every veteran Kenyan runner has spent a night in Schiphol airport (or Dubai these days), ask Canova or anyone else. Not in an airport hotel, on the airport floor.

If you want to talk about whiners, talk about Centrowitz getting flown in days early (probably actually business unlike the Kenyans) and still flubbing races with the excuse of travel.

road rashed wrote:

To beat Kemboi, you must drop him. If it's slow, he smells blood and can close in 55. No one else can do that in the steeple.

his FASTEST close all-time is 57. As for tactics, I say Jager and Birech alternate the lead until the last 500m and then haul @ss. Then we'll see if Kemboi really is in shape.

let me clue you in wrote:

(They and their agents probably don't mind,

*there agents*

This is the only poster on this thread who understands the logistics and economics of what track athletes actually go through to get to meets. We're talking about a sport where the average yearly income from it is about 20k. Three is nothing glamorous about it. Having your sleep disrupted two days before an important competition is absolutely the worst timing for high performance.

Kemboi's last race was subpar too, so his excuse is moot.

Jager is gonna whoop him but good, and his padawan Birech too. He is strong with the dark side of the force.