El Keniano wrote:
Abeneziel wrote:
And Bekele is 13-3 on the track and Xc.
If Bekele has his Berlin shape, it will be a great show down and I think he would win. Fingers crossed he came in the same shape or better.
He obviously wouldn’t sign up if he wasn’t in shape. This is his best and last chance to win. No more excuses if he doesn’t. And you’ve beaten a dead horse with that track and XC stat. No one cares.
+1
This isn't track or xc anymore. Those days are long since in the past.
SteelTownRunner wrote:
rojo wrote: Kipchoge v Bekele
I assume Mo knew they'd both be running. It would not be unreasonable for this to have factored into his decision not to run it.
Mo is already here in Kenya training with Butchart for 5 weeks. He is not wanted in Ethiopia after how row with Haile, so he brings his baggage to Kenya.
colorunner123 wrote:
Whoever wins, I bet there will be a rematch in Sapporo.
Of course, and then we get to hear all over again how much better Bekele is than Eliud...and what if this...and what if that...and Kipchoge will beat him again like a Kalenjin drum.
Imagine having a 2:02 PR and being third seed.
Kipchoge is coming off a sub 2. His marathon build up and durability is the best we’ve ever seen. To say Bekele has a chance is slim. We know Bekeles’s marathon build history. If he can be healthy he rips. But that has happened once???
Wow, this is quite a rare treat. And to think... this may only be an appetizer for their Tokyo Olympic showdown. I think Kipchoge has a clear advantage based on consistency alone. Bekele generally needs to outclass the field to win. In ugly dog fights, I give the edge to Kipchoge.
the hyena you’ll see wrote:
Jonathan Gault wrote:
What a ridiculous post. Kipchoge might be the most universally beloved runner in the sport.
Ummm ever heard of Jordan Hasay?
or alexi pappas?
browneye wrote:
Kipchoge is coming off a sub 2. His marathon build up and durability is the best we’ve ever seen. To say Bekele has a chance is slim. We know Bekeles’s marathon build history. If he can be healthy he rips. But that has happened once???
Kipchoge is coming of a " sub 2" in a the most protected , favourable and artificial event which bear no similarities to a true race.
He is only going to do worse.
“True race” I’ll give ya that. But the most impressive effort over the distance... for sure. Kipchoge is a Toyota. Reliable as hell. Bekele is a Cadillac....a powerhouse with reliability issues.
Armstronglivs wrote:
It will be the two cleanest athletes of all time showing - once again - how much faster they are than the best doped athletes out there. Rekrunner will approve.
What is the fastest known doped marathon performance? Is it Luka Kanda's 2:06:15?
YMMV wrote:
Imagine having a 2:02 PR and being third seed.
This. I think bekele is competing for second with the man who was runner-up both in London and the world champs last year. Why would he settle for third when he has tasted from the silver cup. Kipchoge won’t go sub 2 without the wing men/pacers to cut draft. I say still a WR but 2.00.20. Geremew 2.01.30, five seconds in front of Kenenisa. Bekele was quick in Berlin but beat nobody. Legese and lemma are top ten based on that very result, not before it.
rekrunner wrote:
Armstronglivs wrote:
It will be the two cleanest athletes of all time showing - once again - how much faster they are than the best doped athletes out there. Rekrunner will approve.
What is the fastest known doped marathon performance? Is it Luka Kanda's 2:06:15?
On cue.
Aussiestatman wrote:
YMMV wrote:
Imagine having a 2:02 PR and being third seed.
This. I think bekele is competing for second with the man who was runner-up both in London and the world champs last year. Why would he settle for third when he has tasted from the silver cup. Kipchoge won’t go sub 2 without the wing men/pacers to cut draft. I say still a WR but 2.00.20. Geremew 2.01.30, five seconds in front of Kenenisa. Bekele was quick in Berlin but beat nobody. Legese and lemma are top ten based on that very result, not before it.
That's incredibly weak to say that.
Geremew is top 5 "just because of London 2019", that's the equivallent of what you said. He couldn't even win a weak field at the World Championship.
At least Legesse won Tokyo in a better times than any Geremew race other than London in 2019 and beat Geremew time in Berlin.
browneye wrote:
“True race” I’ll give ya that. But the most impressive effort over the distance... for sure. Kipchoge is a Toyota. Reliable as hell. Bekele is a Cadillac....a powerhouse with reliability issues.
Come on, man... A Cadillac? You can't give Bekele a fat car that doesn't go around corners. I reckon he's more like an Alfa Romeo, might be unreliable but he's damned exciting when he works.
Anyway, I am buzzing to be on the same start line as these guys...
This is a battle of the ONLY sub-2:02 runners alive: Kipchoge and Bekele. That's pretty much the marketing behind it. They hype reminds me of Mayweather v Pacquaio, and we know how that went.
All that sh!t said, it will depend on what kind of shape Bekele shows up. As I said after Berling '19, a well trained Bekele is a dangerous Bekele.
Bring in Doper Kipsang too and we can all relive Berlin 2017!
Armstronglivs wrote:
rekrunner wrote:
What is the fastest known doped marathon performance? Is it Luka Kanda's 2:06:15?
On cue.
Is he wrong?
Kudos to London for making this happen. It likely was not cheap.
Kipchoge seems to like challenges and the new 2:01 marathon Bekele is quite the challenge.
It has potential to be one of the greatest races we’ve ever seen.
hghj wrote:
Armstronglivs wrote:
On cue.
Is he wrong?
How is it possible that at the highest level in sport clean athletes are still better - in this case faster - than doped athletes, given the advantages that doping undoubtedly confers? Or if only 1-2% of top athletes are caught doping yet official estimates of actual doping are as high as 50% how can we believe that the only athletes doping are those who are caught?
Yes, he is wrong.
Still 14 weeks to race day.
First of all let's hope Bekele is healthy to race, which means healthy enough to train from now on. I don't think he is necessarily in shape right now, probably gained a bit of weight again after Berlin, tended his business, kept running, but not as focused as Kipchoge. Jos Hermens mentioned he needs a race in sight to get motivated. This is the best motivation he can get. He's never going to get a better shot at being the real GOAT.
As for Kipchoge, he's probably in 2:03 shape already, but man, he's never had an injury or a bad race. Maybe having to face Bekele he's going to push it a bit more, try some new things, make some mistakes, miss some key sessions.
It's going to be a big mental battle from now on too. I hope Global Sports Communication reports often about them!!