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2004 SHOULD have ushered in a new era for the m800. With Kipketer out of the picture, runners like Borzakovskiy, Bungei, and Mulaudzi seemed to have emerged as the most likely candidates to replace him at the top. Certainly Borza’s fearsome kick made him the Annointed One. Indeed when the dust settled from the 2004 Oly Games, there he stood at the top of the podium with Bungei second.
But since then it’s been a Total Shambles! Ramzi won the 2005 WC, but it was Bungei who rated #1, Borza 4th! Then in 2006 Mulaudzi ranked #1 with Bungei third, Borza a mere 8th. In 2007 it was journeyman Yego (ranked 7th) who won the WC, and virtual unknown Rudisha ranked #1.
So as 2008 dawned, weren’t we all hoping for a return to form of the ‘favorites’, restoring order to the universe?
Naaaah. More of the same. Bungei did win the OG, but has little else to commend him and surely won’t rank 1st. Borza ran a great early season 1:42, but then pulled his usual dunderheaded stunt of waiting till too late to kick and DNQed for the Beijing final. So we’re left with another ranking mess.
Using the tried-and-true criteria of the Marks Snob Rankings :roll: , which values marks as much as win-loss record (but not as much as Honors Won), because there are too many variables in the win-loss record, we can sort through this mess. Knowing that some athletes train through meets and others are on a specific peaking program for the Olympics that does not afford great performances in the early or late going. To this end, we must rank the competitions themselves, not only for their intrinsic merit, for that event, but their proximity to the Games and the quality and depth of the field.
In the m800 we rank the races this year thusly:
1. OG
2. Monaco
3. WAF
4. Oslo
5. Athens
6. Madrid
7. Rome
How the top athletes finished in these races is paramount, in descending order of the meets.
Looking at the 1-6 order of the OG, we see
1. Bungei did little else
2. Ismail had a 5th in Monaco and a 3rd in Madrid, which, added on to the fact that he was only one place behind Bungei in Beijing, jumps him over the Oly champ! Third and first in the 1st and 3rd most important meets counts more than 1st
3. Yego won the WAF, so he's above Ismail.
4. Reed was 4th in Monaco
5. Kamel has big back-up credentials: 2nd in Monaco, 3rd at WAF, 3rd in Athens, 3rd in Rome. That jumps him clear above the pack!
6. Lopez won Athens and that's it. Not good enough to jump him over Reed.
Anyone else of merit? Oh yeah – Mulaudzi! He was 3rd in Monaco, 3rd in Oslo, won Madrid, 2nd in Rome, but only 6th at WAF. Should he get extra credit for running (well) in so many more races? Heck yeah! It puts him above Reed, but below Bungei.
So we end up with these standings:
1. Kamel
2. Yego
3. Ismail
4. Bungei
5. Mulaudzi
6. Reed
7. Lopez
Simple, huh? Feel free to disagree; I need the laughs. :wink:
But since then it’s been a Total Shambles! Ramzi won the 2005 WC, but it was Bungei who rated #1, Borza 4th! Then in 2006 Mulaudzi ranked #1 with Bungei third, Borza a mere 8th. In 2007 it was journeyman Yego (ranked 7th) who won the WC, and virtual unknown Rudisha ranked #1.
So as 2008 dawned, weren’t we all hoping for a return to form of the ‘favorites’, restoring order to the universe?
Naaaah. More of the same. Bungei did win the OG, but has little else to commend him and surely won’t rank 1st. Borza ran a great early season 1:42, but then pulled his usual dunderheaded stunt of waiting till too late to kick and DNQed for the Beijing final. So we’re left with another ranking mess.
Using the tried-and-true criteria of the Marks Snob Rankings :roll: , which values marks as much as win-loss record (but not as much as Honors Won), because there are too many variables in the win-loss record, we can sort through this mess. Knowing that some athletes train through meets and others are on a specific peaking program for the Olympics that does not afford great performances in the early or late going. To this end, we must rank the competitions themselves, not only for their intrinsic merit, for that event, but their proximity to the Games and the quality and depth of the field.
In the m800 we rank the races this year thusly:
1. OG
2. Monaco
3. WAF
4. Oslo
5. Athens
6. Madrid
7. Rome
How the top athletes finished in these races is paramount, in descending order of the meets.
Looking at the 1-6 order of the OG, we see
1. Bungei did little else
2. Ismail had a 5th in Monaco and a 3rd in Madrid, which, added on to the fact that he was only one place behind Bungei in Beijing, jumps him over the Oly champ! Third and first in the 1st and 3rd most important meets counts more than 1st
3. Yego won the WAF, so he's above Ismail.
4. Reed was 4th in Monaco
5. Kamel has big back-up credentials: 2nd in Monaco, 3rd at WAF, 3rd in Athens, 3rd in Rome. That jumps him clear above the pack!
6. Lopez won Athens and that's it. Not good enough to jump him over Reed.
Anyone else of merit? Oh yeah – Mulaudzi! He was 3rd in Monaco, 3rd in Oslo, won Madrid, 2nd in Rome, but only 6th at WAF. Should he get extra credit for running (well) in so many more races? Heck yeah! It puts him above Reed, but below Bungei.
So we end up with these standings:
1. Kamel
2. Yego
3. Ismail
4. Bungei
5. Mulaudzi
6. Reed
7. Lopez
Simple, huh? Feel free to disagree; I need the laughs. :wink:
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