Geoffrey Kirui had no idea who Galen Rupp was - he just asked him what his name was in the press conference

macdaddy wrote:

NativeSon wrote:

I think I'd throw in Emma Coburn to to a little extent. She is good!

The USA steeplers are repping hard in Kenya apparently.

They probably know Jager best (at least the one's who follow the sport actively) because, a Kenyan friend of mine who I met at the Tokyo Marathon, from Eldoret, says the steeplechase might be the most important event to Kenyans. And it makes sense. They've dominated that event more than the other events.

Everyone saying these Kenyans are bullshitting when they don't know Rupp, have to remember that in Kenyan, Rupp isn't a celebrity, and that your own perspective in America, following mostly American running media who cherish Rupp and Med above all others, aren't household names there. Also, Rupp is still only a new name in marathoning.

When Mo Farah lost to Ethiopian Jeilan in 2011 he and Al Sal had no idea who he was! They'd never heard of him nor knew he'd three times ranked in the top ten for 10,000.

in japan wrote:

Also, Rupp is still only a new name in marathoning.

Nah, don't buy it. How are you a top marathoner and not know who just medaled in the marathon in the Olympics??

Does he also not not know who Kipchoge is?

True that Rupp has a bronze at the Olympics, but I hope you are aware also that he has exactly 3 marathons under his belt as well. Rupp just happens to be a "better known athlete with 2 or 3 marathons under his belt beat by a lesser known athlete with 2 or 3 marathons under his belt. Makes sense?

what a legend.

great performance by Kirui, and also Rupp.

Give him a break wrote:

There may be 30 to 40 Kenyans and 30 to 40 Ethiopian who are faster than Rupp in the marathon.

I would say that Rupp is a racer. He knows how to race and place. He hasn't run a rabbited time trial marathon, so we have yet to see what he can do. In Rio and today he's beaten runners with faster times. Meb has done that too.

Who is a better marathoner - someone who runs a fast time or someone that doesn't get beat?

There's a lot of East Africans with fast times but let's see how they do against Rupp in a race.

Ryan Hall ran some great times but couldn't get on the podium. Galen and Meb have a way of doing that

Not being a jerk.

But seriously, how low IQ is Kirui if he doesn't even know who Rupp is?

imdyinhere wrote:

rafarafa wrote:

I truly believe Jager is probably one of the only white guys they know/respect. He's the only one able to put up a fight in his event. The rest, not so much.

Quotes like this are silly. Rupp is an Olympic medalist on the track and in the marathon. If professional runner doesn't know who he is and respect him as a legit competitor, he or she is ignorant. And I'm far from a Rupp or Saladbar fanboy.

What you call a pro runner in the US/West is very different from an East African pro (can they even be called pro?). These guys bang sub 2:10 marathons in training and don't even register on their own radars. Let's not fool ourselves and think the whole world is a reflection of our own reality.

Without looking it up can you name the podium fort the last men's Marathon World Champs?

Don't worry, I'll wait…

sundown wrote:

Rudisha knows who Murphy is--he was celebrating with him after Murphy beat the other Kenyans.

I'd think the Kenyans would know who Centro is after winning four World and Olympic medals, including two gold.

I think it's necessarily about medals for Kenyans -- it's more about racing style. They admire/remember competitors who go for it like Jager in Paris. Had Jager not done what he did in Paris he might still be unknown to most Kenyan runners, despite his Olympic medal.

nah dont think so wrote:

in japan wrote:

Also, Rupp is still only a new name in marathoning.

Nah, don't buy it. How are you a top marathoner and not know who just medaled in the marathon in the Olympics??

Does he also not not know who Kipchoge is?

You don't understand. The top marathoners these days are the runners who win London/Berlin. For that event, Olympic/World Championship medals are a step down. Kipchoge made his rep winning those races -- not from winning the Olympics, that was just gravy.

FatWife wrote:

Not being a jerk.

But seriously, how low IQ is Kirui if he doesn't even know who Rupp is?

Don't think any recognition of distance runners features in any standard IQ test

rojo wrote:

People who’ve dabbled in sports psychology, they say, “Well, the kid who’s the better performer, they think differently.”

The reality is not that they think differently. It’s that they don’t think. It’s the absence of thought. It’s the absence of cognition. It’s the absence of emotion. That really is the advantage.

I know a scratch golfer, he says that this is the main thing he notices about top golfers, in interviews they seem functional due to media coaching.

I don't find it disrespectful that he doesn't know much about long distance running. If he had said that Rupp is a no one, that would have been disrespectful.

In America Rupp is well known (in running circles) but he isn't outside of America. Yes, fellow pros should know who he is, but it isn't mandatory.

Kirui traveled half way around the world to run in a major marathon. Wouldn't you think he would have at least bothered to find out who his main competitors were? Doesn't he have a coach? Wouldn't his coach have mentioned who else was in the race? Rupp was clearly one of the favorites, even if he only had run 2 marathons.

It is also widely known by those only following distance running marginally that Rupp was Farah's training partner - or maybe Kirui doesn't know who Mo Farah is either. Not really criticizing, it just seems odd he had no idea who Rupp was.

Les wrote:

sundown wrote:

Rudisha knows who Murphy is--he was celebrating with him after Murphy beat the other Kenyans.

I'd think the Kenyans would know who Centro is after winning four World and Olympic medals, including two gold.

I think it's necessarily about medals for Kenyans -- it's more about racing style. They admire/remember competitors who go for it like Jager in Paris. Had Jager not done what he did in Paris he might still be unknown to most Kenyan runners, despite his Olympic medal.

This guy gets it. And it's not just about Paris too, that guy is a true lion (appropriate mane again) and always brings it even when he doesn't do well, like the WC final in Beijing. Always a factor. And no lame excuses when he loses. His silver medal at the Olympics was due to his own doing, not the result of a perfect storm of luck, accidents and circumstances like the 1500m.

Find video interviews of Kenyan runners and notice the tone when they talk about Jager - all admiration and respect.

This entire thing reminds me of the Helsinki WC when Todd Williams (at the time many time US 10k champ and TV was building him up as somebody who could contend with the Kenyans/Ethiopians). Early in the race Williams bolts out to a 100m lead which I think he lad onto till just after 2 miles when the pack gobbled him up and spit him out the back. After Geb kicks to the win TV asks him if he was worried when Todd Williams was out 100m ahead of the the field early on. Geb's reply "Todd Williams I am no aware of who this man is"

line up the shot wrote:

This entire thing reminds me of the Helsinki WC when Todd Williams (at the time many time US 10k champ and TV was building him up as somebody who could contend with the Kenyans/Ethiopians). Early in the race Williams bolts out to a 100m lead which I think he lad onto till just after 2 miles when the pack gobbled him up and spit him out the back. After Geb kicks to the win TV asks him if he was worried when Todd Williams was out 100m ahead of the the field early on. Geb's reply "Todd Williams I am no aware of who this man is"

The situation you have described is in no way equivalent. Rupp has appeared in every WC and Olympic 10K final since 2007. In the last 4 he has finished no worse than 5th and no worse than 8th going back to 2009. He has won Olympic medals in 2 events. He has probably the best known coach in the business.

I understand that the average American has no idea who Galen Rupp is, let alone non-Americans, but I'm pretty sure most world-class East African runners know him.

Urine post wrote:

[quote]FatWife wrote:

Not being a jerk.

But seriously, how low IQ is Kirui if he doesn't even know who Rupp is?

Don't think any recognition of distance runners features in any

Kirui thought Rupp is a regular American runner on Alberto Juice

Many of the Africans are so new on the scene they probably are barely aware of their countrymen who are currently dominating.

Kirui was probably too busy training and getting to the top level to worry about doing his homework on other athletes.