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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
Should be a barn-burner. Bekele knows he's going to have to push the pace but if Geb is in form there is know way Bekele will be able to break him. Bekele will more likely become a rabbit for a new WR for Geb.
Bekele will likely never be the track star Geb has been. He just doesn't have the finish - which is what really allowed the Great one to become so great. Run faster than hell and finish even faster.
Geb could have been an intenational cross country star but to his credit never focused off road. He preferred to save himself for the big money and fast time on the track and for a longer career. Running cross would have likely made both of these much less likely.
I only wish that Geb would have dropped down a few years back to challenge in the 15 more often. I think he could've done some international damage. Maybe even challenged El G.
Oh well, we'll never know - it should be interesting to see if he is still dig into that remarkable finish. -
Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
I had the good fortune to meet Geb in Athens in 1997 at Hotel Brittania...
..he is truely a gentle giant.Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
That's great. He is a great role model. Modest in his dominance. He is everything that is good about sport!Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
Y'all might have interest in an article I wrote back in 1999. Please be kind and keep in mind I wrote it for film geeks, not track geeks.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/v ... rance.html"Run fast and keep turning left."Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
What the article doesn't reveal is that in deference to Geb's seniority Bekele will actually just be rabbiting the race.Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
good article from trackstar..
thanks for posting the link.Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
>Bekele will likely never be
>the track star Geb has been. He just doesn't have
>the finish - which is what really allowed the
>Great one to become so great. Run faster than
>hell and finish even faster.
Hey, as far as I know, Zatopek wasn't a great kicker, either. Neither was Ingrid Kristiansen, or Wang Junxia (or Paula Radcliffe, for that matter). If your margin of superiority is big enough, you don't need a sprint finish to win races. Just look at what was happening on the XC circuit this winter. Brussels is the best example - Bekele won by well over a minute ahead of Sergey Lebid and Paul Kosgei :-o Obviously the margin wasn't that big in the WXC, but with 2 races on consecutive days, he had to save himself a bit...
Having said that, I'm not totally convinced myself that Bekele will be all that on the track. Many athletes have done great things in XC but not on the track (or vice versa) - it's just a whole different kind of running.Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
Why was Komen always in Geb's shadow - no big kick. Things are different these days. Zatopek was great but he wouldn't be great these days. The bar has been raised too high. Now it takes 24 65s, and finish with 54/26. As great as Zatopek was he wouldn't have been able to do that.
Bekele is a great runner and obviously a world class competitor. Maybe he will be able to develop a stinging finish but this has yet to be seen and will be needed to win the big ones on the track. You can't win from the front on the track in 2003.Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
Agreed, Gebre was winning major championships with his sprint finish. But the point is, being able to run 12:39/26:22 he could have won from the front, pushing the pace, had he wanted to - he just didn't have to do it. Look at the times the world's best are running these days - the fastest times in the world last year were 12:55 and 26:49. If Bekele was able to approach the WR territory, he could manage perfectly well without a sprint finish.
My point about him possibly not being a track specialist received some support, however. At the Ethiopian national champs last weekend, Bekele lost the 5000 meters to Sileshi Sihin by 12 seconds... That sort of a margin suggests it wasn't just a matter of not kicking fast enough.
Re Gebrselassie vs Komen: How many times did they even race each other in their prime? I can only remember two such races - the 5000 meters in Zurich in 1996 and 1997. In the first case, Komen won (admittedly, Geb wasn't 100% in that case). In the second, indeed he was outkicked, but can we really generalize on the basis of one race? Komen's lack of a sprint finish didn't stop him from winning a world championship gold in 1997 - he just attacked early and manage to lose everyone with the pace. In fact bringing up Komen proves my point exactly - if your margin of superiority is big enough, a sprint finish isn't required. Of course you then have to do it the hard way, but it is perfectly possible.Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
I have a little fantasy 10k race...
Geb, Yifter, Viren all enter the bell lap together ...
who wins??
Is it the guy who makes the last move??
Or can one of the three make a move from far enough out to sustain his kick??Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
Geb would win that race. If it were 27:00 pace, the others would be dead with a lap to go. If it were 27:30 pace, Geb would be jogging and could easily throw down a 53.Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
>Agreed, Gebre was winning major championships
>with his sprint finish. But the point is, being
>able to run 12:39/26:22 he could have won from
>the front, pushing the pace, had he wanted to -
>he just didn't have to do it.
I don't think Geb would have won as frequently running from the front. How many major championships since Zatopek have been won with front running tactics? Geb's superiority is/was his finish not his mid-race strength. He is strong but given an equally determined and gifted competitor he would with with his his finish.
If there is no Geb or if Geb has lost his a bit of his speed he Bekele may have a shot. But there are some very strong and very fast finishing Kenyans who are not likely to give him the race.
Geb is very special as is El G. Will Bekele be in that class? Only time will tell but it will be very difficult without the finishing speed. It will be exciting to see him try to take some of the sting away from his competitors.Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
>I have a little fantasy 10k race...
Geb,
>Yifter, Viren all enter the bell lap together
>...
who wins??
Is it the guy who makes the
>last move??
Or can one of the three make a
>move from far enough out to sustain his kick??
No question - Geb. All great finishers but he's in a class of his own.Comment
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Re: It's on! Geb versus Bekele over 10K in Hengelo
Watch for Meb.Comment
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