Almirew Yenew runs 7:28. Wait, Ye-who?

It's official: in 2010, the elite distance world hierarchy has gone into its own version of "Bizarro-World". What was already shaping up to be an inconceivable list of world-leaders composed of athletes who before this season were either unknown (Silas Kiplagat 1,500) or obscurities on the world scene (Chris Solinsky and now Josephat Menjo- 10,000) was just over a tenth of a second from adding yet another mysterious character to the fold. While it is being overshadowed by the commendable comebacks of Nick Willis and Alan Webb in the 1500 meters race, simply put, the previously unheard of 20 year old Almirew Yenew (left) ran one of the most impressive 3000s of all time.

Let's review the facts and stats:

1. Yenew's time of 7:28.82 is #36 All time(top 20 performer all time, too)- and faster than the American record Bernard Lagat (he of 3:26/12:53 PBs and multiple medals in the 1500 and 5000) set just a few weeks ago

2. Yenew's last Kilometer split was a blistering 2:25 and change (splits were in the ballpark of 2:31/2:32/2:25), so it was an unevenly and sub-optimally run 7:28!

3. The margin of victory was a staggering 11 seconds against a field including a man who ran 7:29 this season (Edwin Soi), and a 3:29.2 1500 performer this year(Silas Kiplagat). Adding onto point two now we have: An unevenly and sub-optimally run 7:28 with a strong field that Yenew crushed by so much that it's hard to believe he received any aid from them in terms of drafting, chasing or even feeling pressure to go faster.

4. The time was a 17 second personal best for Yenew, whose heretofore modest performances in this year included an easy 7:46 win over second place finisher Will Leer and a 13:16 5,000 against some obscure Ugandans (ho hum). So, this 3000 basically came out of nowhere and Yenew was running at a different caliber than ever before against much-improved competition.

So who is Yenew? Even in the wild and information-rich expanse of the internet where a whole post-worth of material could be found on the world#1 solo artist(sorry Lady Gaga), Josphat Menjo, it appears no one really knows. His IAAF profile is not functioning, and he is a relatively new athlete to the European scene with no easily searchable results in terms of World Juniors appearances and the like. A letsrun poster has said he saw Yenew running in some of the obscure meets and he was toying with the fields and dismantling them once he decided to win. Certainly, this seems plausible now. Helplessly, the only thing I can say with certainty about Yenew is that he is very, very talented and what he did makes him an immediate medal threat in the 5000.

And the only thing I can say about the talent pool in Kenya and Ethiopia is that it is very, very deep. With the emergence of Yenew and Kiplagat, it is becoming apparent that the two distance powerhouses are just overflowing with talented prospects who just need an opportunity to run fast. In fact, considering the difficulties early season find and 1500 world leader Silas Kiplagat faced in getting to Europe despite some favorable results in Kenya (read this letsrun thread for Coach Renato Canova's description of the process: http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3633312&page=1 ), there likely are a half dozen more young Kenyans and Ethiopians in any given year capable of crashing the world lists if given the opportunity. Truly a harrowing thought considering the strength of the East African corps as it already is.