Headliner- Men's 5000m:Languishing in the shadow of the greatest distance runner of all-time would not be easy for any athlete, least of all a practitioner of the same disciplines. So, in a season where Tariku Bekele was afforded a fleeting chance to emerge out of the shadows and seize some of the spotlight from his renowned but injured brother, he has capitalized on the opportunity and made a name for himself. With a resounding victory over a stellar field, Tariku firmly stamped himself as a medal favorite for next year's World Championships.
Only a few seconds after Bekele put the finishing touches on his victory, British and American medal hopes were galvanized by the courageous runs of Chris Solinsky and Mo Farah. Solinsky nearly landed a knockout blow on the best 5,000 meter runner this year, Imane Merga, before succumbing to Merga's last $40,000 surge(a second place clinched the DL prize). Farah, on the other hand, earned a long sought and overdue PB shattering the British Record with a 12:57 that added further legitimacy to his status as double European champion. Elsewhere, the Kenyan athletes in the field struggled, renewing the country's worst fears of a second consecutive global championships without a Kenyan vest gracing the podium.
Race Dynamics: As expected, Bethwell Birgen, handled the early pac-making duties taking the field through in a brisk 2:32.19 and a solid 5:06.90. The pacemaking was good from Birgen as the field strung out appropriately and most athletes were able to run comfortably in the early stages. Next to handle the pacemaking duties was 1500 runner Daniel Kipchirchir Komen. who slowed down the field a little bit to 7:44.79 at 3000 meters with a 2:37.79 kilometer. The pace was still good enough for a 12:50 performance if someone would take it on and ratchet up the pace a little bit. The expected characters to do such a thing were Eliud Kipchoge, the world leader with a 12:51 in May, or perhaps Moses Masai, an accomplished 10,000 meter runner owning a 12:50 personal best. Neither man, evidently, felt up to the task even as they lurked a the front and second tier Kenyan, Titus Mbishei, who finished a disappointing 9'th in the 3000 in London after leading in the middle of the race ended up doing the same here. Kipchoge overtook him later, but did not increase the tempo as the mammoth field (still a dozen in contention) bunched up was lulled into a pace of 63s and 64s, a 2:39.26 fourth kilometer followed by a 1:36 600 from 4000 meters to the bell. On the backstretch of the penultimate lap, finally the race began to take shape. The only spry looking athletes in the field appeared to be Vincent Chepkok and Tariku Bekele who jockeyed at about 600 meters to go for first in front of a wavering Kipchoge. Bekele got the pole and asserted himself before the bell where he began an unchallenged finishing kick of 55 seconds even. Meanwhile, Chris Solinsky kept himself attached to the shoulder of Diamond Points leader Imane Merga. When Merga made his move to pass an out-of-gears Chepkok at 250 to go, Solinksy aggressively followed and ran right on his shoulder. The two easily put away Chepkok and the rest of the field with a 27 point last 200 meters in which the lead changed hands twice. Solinsky surged past Merga at 80 meters and held the lead until Merga unleashed one more subtle injection of pace to hold him off the last 40 meters. Behind them, a slowing Chepkok was nearly pipped by Briton Mo Farah, who closed his last 200 in under 28 seconds.
Athletes and Storylines that may Interest Only Me:
1. The victim of a fall two weeks ago in Stockholm, American Galen Rupp got a second chance to set a personal best at 5,000 meters and delivered with what was surely a painful 13:07.35. Rupp was at the back of the pack for much of the race, but still almost certainly positive split after the fast first two kilometers. He also was leading a chase pack for part of the race, which couldn't have helped maintain the freshness of his legs. After watching his workout Wednesday on Flotrack, I have the feeling he'll be a bit disappointed with his finish. Still, this is a good, tough run and sets Rupp up well to be increasingly competitive at the 10,000 meter distance. I don't see Rupp as a prospect at the 5000 distance, but he needs to be able to run in the low 13's because 10,000 finals may often dip into that type of range after a lackluster first 5,000 meters.
2. My dark-horse pick, the African Champion, Edwin Soi finished a respectable 6'th with a time of 12:58.91 that was a seasonal best. Still, Soi defeated the athletes who finished 1-2 in this race, Merga and Bekele, at those championships and competitively this has got to be a disappointing effort.
3. 12:50 man and 10,000 meter World Bronze Medalist Moses Masai made his return to the track and ran 13:02.45 for seventh. I doubt Masai is fully sharp, and in the 10,000 meters he is a perennial contender who can endure some of the surges of event favorites Zersenay Tadesse and Kenenisa Bekele better than most.
4. World Junior Champion, David Kiprotich Bett, set a massive personal best with his 13:06 clocking. Of course, some of the Kenyan birth ages are dubious, but more importantly Bett is an athlete who is likely young in his career. I won't be surprised if he sneaks onto a major Kenyan team and performs well in the senior competitions.
5. In the Two weeks makes all the difference dept.: 1'st place finisher in Stockholm, Mark Kiptoo, was a DNF, 2'nd place finisher Dejen Gebremeskely did not start despite being on the start lists, and 4'th place finisher, Eliud Kipchoge faded to a miserable 11'th. Imane Merga was the only guy to show well with his runner-up finish.
6. How does Tariku Bekele's finish today match up with his brother's gold-medal winning finish of the 2008 Beijing Olympics? Unfortunately, not well. In that race, Kenenisa ran his last lap a little over a second faster in 53.87. Moreover, his last kilometer was a frightening 2:25.30 to little brother's 2:30 yesterday. His time was only a little under 3 seconds slower, too. Not trying to rain on pretenders to throne like Tariku, Merga or Kipchoge, but they've got a long way to go if Kenenisa is back to his old tricks next year.
7. Lastly a word on the Chris Solinsky's medal shots: As exciting as Solinsky's performance was yesterday, it is worth keeping some perspective here and acknowledging how hard it will be to duplicate a third place finish (or better) at a major championship. First of all, absent from the race was Kenenisa Bekele, and that's one guy who can nearly be penciled in as champion if he is back in form by next year. Second of all, his brother Tariku Bekele went 3-0 versus Solinsky and none of the matchups were even close. That's two guys who are going to require even more improvement from Solinsky. Next, there is Dejen Gebremeskel who did not compete, but is also 2-0 versus Solinsky this season with significant margins of victory. Then, there is countryman, Bernard Lagat, who is the American record-holder and beat Solinsky by a considerable amount in the record-setting race. Lagat, like other contenders including Eliud Kipchoge and Edwin Soi have greater experience in the global championships 5000 meters as well as medals to back it up. Solinsky's performance was encouraging and inspiring, and I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but he faces a steep challenge to duplicate a third place finish in Daegu or London.
Stay tuned for the Best of the Rest Cooldown tomorrow, and an off-beat edition on Sunday. Thanks for reading, and feel free to let me know what you think in the comments section
No comments:
Post a Comment