World junior "record" obliterated

[Fielding Melish]

According to Dave Monti of Race Results Weekly, Ethiopian Bazu Worku Hayla, who was 2nd at Paris yesterday in 2:06:15 in his marathon debut, was born 15-Sep-1990; this is revealed very clearly on a copy of his passport.

While it seems the IAAF does not ratify a world junior record for the marathon, the best statistically acceptable junior time has been a 2:10:13.

Given that Wanjiru ran 26:41.75 before his 19th birthday, maybe Hayla's teen age time is just in line with the level of performance for the high end of current open marathon performances.

[Marlow]

Re: World junior "record" obliterated

Ethiopian Bazu Worku Hayla, 2:06:15 in his marathon debut, was born 15-Sep-1990;

So he's 18? I can only wonder what the training required to run 2:06 would do to an adolescent body.

[crouch]

junior wr marathon

Is it possible that "we" think in "western" terms i n relation to youthful development and the East African background and culture is a situation that should be viewed differently?

[The Captain]

Hmm. I thought this was supposed to be the same athlete as Bado Worku d.o.b. 22 July 88, who ran 13:25.65 for 5000 back in 2004.

[Matt]

I would strongly doubt that a teenager can run a 2:06. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

[Marlow]

Re: junior wr marathon

Is it possible that "we" think in "western" terms i n relation to youthful development and the East African background and culture is a situation that should be viewed differently?

It doesn't matter what anyone 'thinks'; the human body at 18 is pretty much the same everywhere.

[eldrick]

africans do run fast at young ages

- komen ran a wjr of 12'56 aged 19y & that beat the ole senior wr of geb's of 12'56.96 - only problem for komen was that kiptanui was a sprint ahead in 12'55

- kirui front-ran 13'02 aged 18y to win '93 wc when wr was 12'58 of aouita - kirui ran a wild race & given a sensible wabbit on circuit, he wouda almost certainly broken the actual senior wr

this kid running 2"06 is no big surprise in that light

[Marlow]

this kid running 2"06 is no big surprise in that light

Yes, it still is.

[eldrick]

not to me :P

[MJR]

Re: junior wr marathon

Is it possible that "we" think in "western" terms i n relation to youthful development and the East African background and culture is a situation that should be viewed differently?

It doesn't matter what anyone 'thinks'; the human body at 18 is pretty much the same everywhere.

One only need to look at the average 18 yr old in the US and almost any other nation to know for a fact that this is NOT the case. Our kids think playing XBox is hard work. The Africans grow up in farming communities where the body is working hard doing manual labor asap to help the family. It leads to a much different scenario.

[Marlow]

Re: junior wr marathon

Is it possible that "we" think in "western" terms i n relation to youthful development and the East African background and culture is a situation that should be viewed differently?

It doesn't matter what anyone 'thinks'; the human body at 18 is pretty much the same everywhere.

One only need to look at the average 18 yr old in the US and almost any other nation to know for a fact that this is NOT the case. Our kids think playing XBox is hard work. The Africans grow up in farming communities where the body is working hard doing manual labor asap to help the family. It leads to a much different scenario.

I'm not talking about 'attitude' or even mental toughness; I'm talking about what a not-yet-mature body can and can't handle. 100+ miles a week of HARD training (what it takes to run 2:06) is not what the doctor ordered for an 18-year-old. Good luck in the future to him.

[nevetsllim]

Hmm. I thought this was supposed to be the same athlete as Bado Worku d.o.b. 22 July 88, who ran 13:25.65 for 5000 back in 2004.

I'm sure you are right - the commentators on Eurosport were chatting with the Ethiopian coaches the night before and they said that he was only 20 but hoped he would run 2:07. Besides which, he's the fella who was listed on the official Paris Marathon website entry list.

[Marlow]

Can you even imagine what would happen if a US HS kid of 18 ran a 2:06?!
If he got injured or burned out, the critics would cackle up a storm. Not to mention what Webbofanatics would post! Not to sound ugly, but we're used to young Kenyan and Ethiopian phenoms going super-nova and being reduced to smoldering cinders on a regular basis. Just look at the top-50 list of Marathoners from one year to the next.

[AS]

I'm sure you are right - the commentators on Eurosport were chatting with the Ethiopian coaches the night before and they said that he was only 20 but hoped he would run 2:07. Besides which, he's the fella who was listed on the official Paris Marathon website entry list.

Well if he is 20, then this aint a junior "record"

[MJR]

... and if an African runs that fast and you never see him/her again, they've already made enough money to live on for the rest of their life. In the US, we're too damn afraid to train our athletes hard enough to actually have them succeed. Long term success or enjoyment is fine if you want to run into your 50s, but if you want to be the best in the world it takes 100% effort, a lot of sacrifice and a drive that our kids AND coaches seem to be lacking in large quantities.