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Is he still running?
He seemed to be really burnt these last years.
Did he run road races recently?
He seemed to be really burnt these last years.
Did he run road races recently?
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
He still runs, but he's really only going through the motions. You could probably say that's been the case since about '99 or so. Here's his 2003 season, which doesn't include road races:
8:05.67 5)Canberra 02/22
13:28.56 10)V-d’Ascq GP 06/15
7:52.52 4)Lucerne 06/25
His manager told me that even after '98, he would show up and do some amazing track workouts with other top Kenyans, but they had no idea what he was doing for training on other days. They suspected it was little or nothing.
He made a lot of money '96-'98 and I think that took away the true desire to train as hard as he had when he was truly on fire. -
Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
To be honest, he hasn't run well since he was suspended for "excess caffeine" or whatever was really found in his system. This is a fact.Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
We "discussed" this ("The Komen Question") on a thread 4 or 5 months ago. Komen's fall from greatness happened with remarkable speed. As I commented on the original thread, in all the times I saw him run I never once got the feeling that he actually enjoyed it: it appeared to be simply a job for him. That said, I'm amazed that he bothers with it at all now. If he can't run the 5000 within, say, 40 seconds of his best, why bother at all? Meet promoters surely can't be paying him much of anything these days...Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
>To be honest, he hasn't run well since he was suspended for "excess caffeine"
>or whatever was really found in his system. This is a fact.>>
Actually, it's NOT a fact. He was never actually suspended when it was discovered that he is one of those people with the metabolic anomaly that gives bad readings. See this from March of 1997, referencing his "suspension" in January of that year
http://www.runnersworld.com/dailynew/ar ... 70326.html
Then note that six months later he set a World Record in the 5000 and won the gold medal at the World Championships.
If you're gonna toss shit around about people get your facts straight instead of promoting internet rumors.Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
>>To be honest, he hasn't run well since he was suspended for "excess
>caffeine"
>or whatever was really found in his system. This is a
>fact.>>
Actually, it's NOT a fact. He was never actually suspended when it
>was discovered that he is one of those people with the metabolic anomaly that
>gives bad readings. See this from March of 1997, referencing his "suspension"
>in January of that
>year
http://www.runnersworld.com/dailynew/ar ... 70326.html
>hen note that six months later he set a World Record in the 5000 and won the
>gold medal at the World Championships.
If you're gonna toss shit around
>about people get your facts straight instead of promoting internet rumors.
It's interesting how such a high percentage of athletes can have such metabolic problems. We have droves of US sprinters who apparently are narcoleptics among other things. E. African "purists" who have systems that show too many trips to Starbucks - or other problems that lead to things like the "technicality" that gets Lagat off - according to the IAAF - while of course his "b" sample was negative, after much show and maneuvering by lawyers and the like. Has anyone else noticed by the way, the drop in times and performances by individuals when Dr. Rosa first went to the Kenyans, then similar things happening with other stand up forthright guys like Hermens, Templeton and so on deciding to ... well, work with guys who can stay away from the hustle and bustle so to speak, a few months per year? Oh, it's all conjecture, or racism, or jealousy or something else, right?
The PC stuff is killing your site.
Komen's fall is very suspicious. Just as suspicious as Geb improving at (probably) age 34 to the level of sub 13 for the second half of his 10k race at the World T&F champs last summer. Track has been ruined in many ways, but keep those blinders on.Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
You're comments about Geb are completely unfounded. He's had ten years of training sice he first broke 13min. Is he just supposed to stagnate and not improve? If a guy like Alan Culpepper broke 14min at 20, wouldn't we all think he's made great improvements if he can run sub14 for the second half of a 10k that went out relatively slow?
Try Todd Williams -- He goes out at 14:07 (15k pace) for the first 5k and then runs that second 5k at 5k effort (98% of true 5k ability) which would be a 13:36 second half to give him a time of 27:45, slower than his PB but a monster negative split and very doable considering the paces he ran them at (15k pace for the first half, 98% of 5k ability the seocnd half).
How is that any different than what the Ethiopians did? They went out at 15k pace for the first half (which, based up Geb's 41:38 is exactly 13:52 per 5k which was their exact split for the first half of Paris) and then turned it on to 98% of 5k ability the second half, making it basically 5k of high-level LT and then running an all-out 5k at the end of it (based upon 12:39, their 12:58 second half is 97.6% of their 5k ability).
So what is the difference then between a very beleivable race that Todd could run, and what the Ethiopians did? The only difference between them is that Geb and co. are more talented than Todd and faster at shorter distances (49s/3:31 vs. 54s/3:42).Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
<<The PC stuff
>is killing your site. >>
Let me see if I have this right. "Retouch Man" said that Komen was banned for caffiene and was never the same again. GH posted details that he was never actually banned and that subsequent to that non-incident he was better than he had ever been. This is PC how?Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
You live in Kenya where $2000 per year is means a fairly good life, relatively.
You earn close to $1million or so in two years time.
How high is your motivation going to be to continue to train as hard as you once did?
Let's not forget that Komen still came back and ran 12:55 (twice) in 1999 while partially just going through the motions. The dude was an amazing talent who was at his best at the height of one of the greatest upswings in distance running history.Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
>You live in Kenya where $2000 per year is means a fairly good life,
>relatively.
You earn close to $1million or so in two years time.
And Komen wasn't the only Kenyan who viewed running as a means to an end--a better financial life--and was very happy to quit the whole thing once that end was met.
Richard Chelimo comes quickly to mind...jusr a few short years after his 10,000m. WR he was a fat businessman (who still ran down some guys trying to steal his car, if the story is true!).
These guys don't see running as an needed thing in their lives, beyond a certain point.Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
I suspect that some of the people who can't understand the early retirement of these guys have never actually done anything on the track that even remotely approaches what these guys had to do to keep body and soul together-even on a relative basis.Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
>>>or other problems that lead to things like
>the "technicality" that gets Lagat off - according to the IAAF - while of
>course his "b" sample was negative, after much show and maneuvering by
>lawyers and the like.
not sure how a "lawyer & the like" can alter the outcome of a urine test analysed in IAAF-approved lab
& i always thought it was because the urine test analysis of EPO was unreliable - perhaps the reason why the IAAF want to introduce blood-testing for EPO ?Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
I'm not so sure about the "unreliability" of the epo test. If indeed it is frequently producing false positives, the errors would be randomly distributed among the track and field disciplines; that is, we would see shot putters, pole vaulters, and triple jumpers flunking epo tests. The only ones I have seen flunk are distance runners.Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
>I'm not so sure about the "unreliability" of the epo test. If indeed it is
>frequently producing false positives, the errors would be randomly distributed
>among the track and field disciplines; that is, we would see shot putters, pole
>vaulters, and triple jumpers flunking epo tests. The only ones I have seen
>flunk are distance runners.>
Forgive the dumb question but are weight athletes tested for EPO. In other words are all athletes tested for all substances?Comment
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Re: Question about Daniel KOMEN...
I would think everyone would be tested for everything. I've heard of top sprinters taking EPO; remember the 400m is 30% aerobic.Comment
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