belial wrote:
Who would you rather be:
(1) A lousy time trialer who, with luck and enough savvy, was able to win Olympic gold in a slow race.
(2) The best time trialer who no Olympic gold.
Most pick (1); few people are aware of you if you're (2), but if you're (1) you get on Wheaties. (And even then, most still won't know you, but you're not in total obscurity either.)
It remains to be seen if Timothy is (1) or (2).
The people on the Wheaties box may know you briefly, but they won't understand what you did, and they will soon forget. Pearls before swine.
Do the cereal people remember Nils Schumann? Do 800 meter die-hard fans even talk about him? The enduring glory belongs to you-know-who. Don't even need to mention his name! Even though he was beaten by Nils in that very race. If Nils is remembered at all, it's not because of the medal itself but who he beat to get it.
It is also not unthinkable, considering how corrupt the IAAF is, that Kiprop was forced to throw the race in Rio. I don't trust championships, now more than ever after the smelly performances in Doha when everyone was supposed to be past their peak.