Webb ran 1:47 in HS, along with a 47 split.
Webb ran 1:47 in HS, along with a 47 split.
How many times has Ritz beat Torres?
How many time has Ritz beat Kennedy?
How many times has Ritz beat Meb?
How many times has Ritz beat Cragg?
He may come ahead of them in certain races, but put him head to head with any of these guys and he will probably be 1-3 or 0-4.
Ritz is a great runner and runs great PRs when there are great runners dragging him along, but he doesn't have it yet to win races. By no means is he even close to being the greatest american hope.
I wasn't implying that Cragg was an american...FYI
How old is Ritz? How old are the others? What were the others running when they were Ritz's age? That's why he's the 'hope.' Really not that complex.
Has Ritz raced Torres since his freshman year? (thats question im not sure)
Kennedy is one of two non african runners to run under 13 for the 5000.. i think that speaks for itself
Meb is the an Olympic Silver Medalist...
I dont know much about Cragg to say anything
I think we just need to appreciate what Ritz did, He ran very well in his professional debut against a solid field. Will he medal at the olympics or break world records i dont know. If he stays healthy then he certainly has the balls to run that fast
Ritz has raced well here, but you have to look at the reality of who he was actually beaten by.
Lebid does have a 13:10 5k pr, and did run 13:13 in 2004, but this is only the sort of time that you are all predicting for many of your US team this year, so its not outrageous to think of Ritz being outsprinted by this guy. Lebid however has failed to post a 10k pr to challenge that of the best current best US athletes and i would have no doubt that not just Dathan, but many US runners could match this guy if they were to come over and race more often. However, a mixture of sponsorship pressures and the easy money to be made on the US road circuit, seemingly stops them from mixing it abroad. What Lebid has it seems, is a great ability to race very close to his track pace, whilst on shitty xc courses....a valuable asset for those racing in europe. He also has a pretty good finish, often holding back way way too much in track races though, just in order to use this....i have seen him race his way to the rear of the field before tearing through the back markers in the final km too many times to like him as a track athlete!
As for Baldini, well, at anything under 10 miles he is nothing above a national level competitor. What i mean is, that he could compete very well in National Championships and possibly win over 5k or 10k against the right opposition, but at international level, such as the European XC champs or European T&F champs, he is an also ran. His 5k 13’23”43 and 10k 27’43”98 are solid, but not fantastic and date back to 1996. As much as i admire him, Baldini is no better, in my opinion, than Ritz at the distance of 10k.
Both athletes are very steady, very consistant performers, but are not world beaters, so dont get over excited about them. Do however, get excited about your young stud Ritz, as he is set for very great things if he can only take the right route. I am personally very surprised and a little dissapointed that he has chosen the marathon running route so early on in his career, but this will not rule him out of track racing and will not neccessarily stop him racing the world xc either. You have lots of potentially good guys in the USA who for one reason or another do not make it out of North America....and hence fail at championship level on the world stage...........i hope that this performance shows them all that there is life after college without sticking like glue to the US road circuit.
these guys are good at xc or marathon, Ritz is just as good at 10k though.
I think the point is that Ritz is just coming out of base training. The last time people saw him he was banged up. I hope he stays healthy and has a great year. It is a good test for him to come from no races and chalenge the European champ. I agree that all it shows is his training is heading in the right direction. In his interview he said he had just started some long tempo and muscular work outs. I think people in the US are just a little excited that he went to europe and mixed it up. Go Ritz!
Ritz has won at least one very big race. Look it up and then admit your argument is wrong.
Lebid & Baldini have only raced once or twice each since the summer season. They too are just out of their winter base work and will now target their own personal targets in early/mid spring.
This kid in my neighboor hood that is only 16 ran three miles to the mailboxes in 14 minutes and 50 seconds. He is the next great thing, he never trained a day in his life, I'm going to get him to go out for track. We measuered the course too.
Not sure if that is funny, or as boring as vipams original post? Going with funny though.
who's saying that ritzenhein hasn't won the big races? he won xc and track state titles, granted that's not as full-blown an event as ncaa xc, that was the biggest he could win at the time. not to mention a few national high school xc and track titles. he won ncaa xc. he didn't win world jr xc, and he wasnt expected to. he didn't win this past year senior nationals at 10k because he had a broken bone in his foot. granted he hasn't won every single important race he's ever been in, but how can you honestly expect him to?
this thread gets funnier, so i have to contribute.
umm, Ritz did not lose the 10k 'because of his foot'.
He should not have even started that race 'because of his foot'.
his race wins have been minor in comparison to the races that he will be in when travelling the world. Do not expect many wins from him, but then again, don't be surprised if he does. It all depends on the opposition. Kenyans are there to be beaten, mostly turning up for the paycheque. If they are relying on the prize money, then they may race harder, but if they are on appearance money, then they could jog in after the first 1/2 of the race. They are so unpredictable and not all of them are as great as you may think.
i want to see Torres in Europe!
hey guy.
i was mostly replying to the quote i saw before by happy new ears, in which he or she mentions that ritzenhein doesnt come in first all the time. i said that he didnt win the trials because of a broken foot. while i agree that he should not have run, i was mostly making the point that how can he be expected to finish first in a race under those conditions like the poster i mentioned above might expect him to. but otherwise he's done pretty well for himself in a lot of races. he's 22, gaining more experience with every race. why make condescending posts when i'm sure you understood what i was trying to say?
BOOYAHKASHA. big up yourself.
Umm, think it was just your long winded way of putting it that attracted the shit. We all understand what you are saying, and most of us agree. But you went on and on and on, then said something stupid too....so you got slapped.
Are u serious?
does anyone know what kind of prize money was awarded?
....are YOU serious???
[quote]no better than Ritz! wrote:
Ritz has raced well here, but you have to look at the reality of who he was actually beaten by.
Both athletes are very steady, very consistant performers, but are not world beaters[quote]
Actually, that's exactly what they give out gold medals for.