IF Meb makes the U.S. marathon team...

Sketchers would love it.

Also, his price for attending marathon expos for the next 20 years would go up.

He has the incentive to do well.

Shameful? wrote:

I seem to recall a 37 year old who won the Olympic marathon in 1984. As a 38 year old, he won the World Cross-Country Championships and set the work record for the marathon.

Blood doping made its way to Portugal and your mature runner and his team mate both exceeded expectations of ability. We all were aware at the time of the breakthroughs...

Considering he won a major a year and a half ago he's clearly not washed up so it shouldn't be embarrassing.

Men was washed up in 08....then he won New York.

He wasn't ready for the London Games.... Then he took 4th.

Was too old to be a top class marathoner anymore..... Then he won Boston.

I won't count Meb too old and washed up until he proves it. Eventually Father Time catches up with all but I think he still has some in the tank. And given his Olympic track record I don't think he can be discounted if he makes the games. Especially since rio could be hot weather and Kenya and Ethiopia have every opportunity to mess up their selections again.

Lagat is 40. Are you embarassed that he is still fast?

Lagat is 40. Are you embarassed that he is still fast?

Anybody who qualifies to represent their country is not an embarrassment. It does not matter what the qualifying time is, the performance at the Olympics is all that matters. Meb was and is an accomplished champion. Period.

Yeah it is me wrote:

It would be like saying Kobe routinely scores 35 points a game. How stupid are you?

He routinely shoots 35%. He would have to jack up about 40 shots to routinely score 35 points a game. That would be like Meb running a 2:52 marathon and getting paid 30 mil to do it.

Ummmm No... wrote:

This only applies if Meb was qualifying when only in 2:13 shape. As is, Meb routinely runs sub-2:10 type performances.

2:10? That's about the distance/time most Kenyan boys run to school these days.

What if someone said "there is a 35 year old in the field who won Boston just under 2 years ago in 2:08:37 and was 4th in the Olympics 4 years ago and has multiple top 6 finishes in World Marathon Majors races in that same 4 years." If that guy made the team, would it be an embarrassment?

In the 2004 Olympics, Meb got Silver. He ran the OT record for the 10K and was the American Record holder at 10K and was likely in 2:07 Marathon shape. He has held very close to that form at the Marathon for 10+ years with 1st, 2nd, 3rd at NYC, 1st, 4th Boston, 2nd OG, etc. etc... His accomplishments and race times are so far beyond most other Americans that he can lose some to age and still be a contender. The same is true for Lagat. They were head and shoulders above other Americans and are aging well. There is no beating age, but Meb might make it one more time. He would be a great representative of this country and will run like a champion in the OG if he does.

To the ori-ginal poser: Go out there and kick his butt if you think he is such an embarrassment.

I NEVER stated that Meb himself is an embarrassment. However, it truly would be PATHETIC for the U.S. marathon team to have a 41 year old man as one of its members. Let's be real here. IF Kenya were to field a 41 year old, you'd know that there was something odd going on. Either the Kenyan was cheating, or Kenya had given up on distance running. It simply would make the U.S. look bad. Meb has no business making an Olympic team, and if he does, it is no shame for him. Just the opposite. The shame would be that the U.S. would show that it is a country of WEAK marathoners. There is no way the old man would have a chance in a country with respectable marathoners.

Yeah it is me wrote:

This would be an embarrassment of colossal proportions for U.S. distance running. Meb has been a great champion, but he is going to turn 41 in less than three months. For an almost 41 year old to make your Olympic team in a distance running event, you KNOW that this is symptomatic of a lack of depth and/or quality in U.S. marathoning. It would be similar to Lagat qualifying for Rio on the track this year. Really shameful...

Considering he won the Boston Marathon less than 2 years ago, I wouldn't call it embarrassing to lose to him.

So, the current crop of marathoners coming up are in a way the US "B" team for distance running. Only Curtis and Puskedra have solid track credentials of all the US marathoners with a shot at beating one of the three favorites. Guys like Eggleston, Arciniaga and Pennel pretty much skipped any sort of career on the track.

But skipping track (at least internationally) is en vogue in Kenya now. Of course there are always many factors over a long time to gain depth as a nation in any particular sports.

I think it would be awesome if Meb, at 40 years old and wearing Sketchers, beat all the much younger Nike sponsored athletes across the line once more at the OTs. Meb has had an awesome career. Nike blew it by dropping him.

Geb set the world record at pushing 40, so a 41 year old making the team doesn't seem embarrassing to me. I would add that said 41 year old is not too far removed from being the Boston Marathon champion. Boston, I'm told, is open to more than just Americans.

That said, I agree that the marathon is our weakest event.

> Geb set the world record at pushing 40, so

This is a fair point. At the age of 40, he lost Great North, placing third to Bekele and Farah. That's not really a performance to be ashamed of.

fools.

First or last, good on him.

Go Meb!

just_another_runner_567 wrote:

> Geb set the world record at pushing 40, so

This is a fair point. At the age of 40, he lost Great North, placing third to Bekele and Farah. That's not really a performance to be ashamed of.

You say "this is a fair point." But I do not understand how a false statement is considered "a fair point." I mean, really, is that how some of you deal with facts. For the record, Geb set the marathon world record twice, and the second time (for the obtuse, meaning the one in which he was the oldest) was done when he was 35 years old. I guess I would not say that 35 is pushing 40. There is a world of difference between the ages of 35 and 40 for athletes...

Oh man I enjoyed that comment.

The point is that Meb making it would be a bad thing.

And that's true. Meb isn't as fast as he used to be, right? So, if he makes it, that means at least one of the qualifying times didn't need to be very fast. Making it pretty pathetic.

Which is how it is. Never before this site profiled the top 20 men have I been so interested in guys who are exciting because they're running times that were half-assed 50 years ago.