mplatt wrote:
one of the all time best distance race kickers and you question his form?
Your eye is not good enough to "judge" form. Too many contributors to motion.
by the time Tergat leans he is done, out of gas. It wasn't the form that beat him, it was the all-time best kicker(at that time) that beat him.
I disagree.
Tergat is 'one of' the best kickers, but not the best. Why not? I can judge his form when in a fatigued state from watching video. His was the first form to break, thus, he lost. I feel I can reverse your statement above to "by the time Tergat was out of gas (breakdown of form), he leans. If he wasn't overstriding, maybe, and that's a big maybe, he holds it together 5-10 more meters.
At that level the difference between great and the greatest is infinitely small. Why wouldn't the ability to hold form be a contributer? It happens at all levels, but magnified when seen in two of the greatest ever who were so similar in all other aspects of racing on that day.