I understand Ches wants to compete for the USA as he's lived here so long, however with how slow his transfer is going he is going to miss this Olympic year and possibly the next too. He should just compete for Kenya at this point, he can make the team as his indoor 13:09 indicates sub 13 potential which would make him the 3rd fastest kenyan right now, and would place higher in a championship race due to his great kick.
B star material wrote:
Hhshssh wrote:
Let’s be factual here. How has Ches done compared to the other top guys from the 2016 NCAA 5000m champ (his last outdoor NCAA participation)?
Ches now has a 13:08 PB (his PB in 2016 was 13:18)
McGorty now has a 13:21 PB (his PB in 2016 was 13:24)
Tiernan now has a 13:13 PB (his PB in 2016 was 13:20)
Curtin now has a 13:23 PB (his PB in 2016 was 13:27)
McDonald now has a 13:15 PB (his PB in 2016 was 13:29)
Fisher now has a 13:29 PB (his PB in 2016 was 13:30)
Walling who had a PB of 13:31 in 2016 has not run since.
He actually had the biggest improvement (other than McDonald) and also has the best PB out of all of them.
None of them are doing anything out of this world and none are doing better than Ches.
Knight, who was 10th in that race, is the closest to Ches with his 13:09 PB.
.
So he's on a par with Andrew Butchart. Wake me up when he runs 12.50 and has a medal shot.
Butchart is the #1 ranked European this year with his SB of 13:09.33. Butchart’s PB is 13:08.61, which is 0.6s slower than what Ches ran this year. So I’m not sure what your point is.
Is Ches as good as Bekele or Barega? Clearly not. Is he crap? No.
lilbyte wrote:
B star material wrote:
So he's on a par with Andrew Butchart. Wake me up when he runs 12.50 and has a medal shot.
Pretty unfair comparison. IMO Ches was in 12:50 shape this winter. Hopefully he’s used the time off from racing to get better, while other athletes torch themselves early in the season.
Ethiopia will clean sweep his event this summer. He's got a better chance of taking a medal from Kenya in the chase than getting anything at the 5000m.
The championship races are tactical.
lilbyte wrote:
He must’ve been peaking wrong when he won 17 NCAA championships. Poor guy
The reason he is injured now is because he was over raced at Oregon. Their desire to put team points ahead of the health of their athletes is why good distance runners should avoid Oregon like the plague and seek out coaches with a better long term approach to their athletes.
lilbyte wrote:
TTH wrote:
He needs a uniform first.
Very true. My guy has to expedite that damn citizenship
What's it been now? 11, 12 years?! And this is a kid who was arguably the best college runner of all time and he can't get citizenship. What's your average Joe to do? Try to enter legally like King Ches and wait 15 or more years?
Ggsgsgsg wrote:
B star material wrote:
So he's on a par with Andrew Butchart. Wake me up when he runs 12.50 and has a medal shot.
Butchart is the #1 ranked European this year with his SB of 13:09.33. Butchart’s PB is 13:08.61, which is 0.6s slower than what Ches ran this year. So I’m not sure what your point is.
Is Ches as good as Bekele or Barega? Clearly not. Is he crap? No.
I have a lot of respect for Butchart and what he has achieved. But we don't talk about him as a major contender - I could say 'yet' but sadly I think it won't happen.
Someone mentioned some 'kick' this collegiate runner supposedly has, who was that against? Again if he is leaving Kejelcha for dust in a sprint finish great. I genuinely may have missed it but I doubt it.
lilbyte wrote:
B star material wrote:
So he's on a par with Andrew Butchart. Wake me up when he runs 12.50 and has a medal shot.
Pretty unfair comparison. IMO Ches was in 12:50 shape this winter. Hopefully he’s used the time off from racing to get better, while other athletes torch themselves early in the season.
Your opinion is wrong.
kmaclam wrote:
What's it been now? 11, 12 years?! And this is a kid who was arguably the best college runner of all time and he can't get citizenship. What's your average Joe to do? Try to enter legally like King Ches and wait 15 or more years?
How is this foreign parasite even in this country. Surely his student visa has expired. He contributes less than zero to the economy. He has no technical skills. ICE needs to deport him now.
Ches is the best NCAA distance of runner of all time, and I agree he was overworked and over-run at Oregon. If Ches could have focused specifically on times rather than winning multiple events, I have zero doubt he would have gone much faster at Oregon. The only HS runner at his level was Verzbicas, who beat Ches in cc and track.
Ches has the requisite speed to be successful on the elite circuit for sure. Obviously he needs to get settled in either with US or Kenya. I have little doubt he can run sub-13 with focused training and good coaching.
kmaclam wrote:
What's it been now? 11, 12 years?! And this is a kid who was arguably the best college runner of all time and he can't get citizenship. What's your average Joe to do? Try to enter legally like King Ches and wait 15 or more years?
Can anyone actually confirm a Cheserek injury? Maybe he hasn't raced in Europe because he is worried that if he leaves the country he won't be allowed back in. I have a friend who got some grief for re-entering the country from Europe when she only had a couple of months left on her visa, but still a good visa because they were nervous that she was returning with the intent to overstay her visa. They eventually let her back in, but if people with good visas are having trouble entering the country, I can see why a professional runner who is still seeking citizenship might be wary about competing internationally.
He did run a 3:49 mile indoors through the guys pretty dam good