Mosop Wins in CR... Did he just win an Olympic spot?

imagine how hard this decision would be if sammy was still around

I don't think winning WCs should automatically give him a spot, but let's be honest, narrowing the Kenyan marathon team down to 3, without leaving out anyone capable of winning gold, is an impossible task.

paleale wrote:

I don't think winning WCs should automatically give him a spot, but let's be honest, narrowing the Kenyan marathon team down to 3, without leaving out anyone capable of winning gold, is an impossible task.

I just have this feeling that AK will mess it up - with regard to team selection.

As I've said here before, AK never misses the opportunity to bungle it up. They are experts. These are the same guys who sent Abraham Chirchir to Daegu in the men's 3,000m steeplechase.

It defied every logic.

We know how that ended up.

So what happens if someone -- any Kenyan, really, though I'd think G. Mutai is the best bet -- breaks the WR again before AK has to submit entries? Does Makau lose his spot?

trollmother wrote:

So what happens if someone -- any Kenyan, really, though I'd think G. Mutai is the best bet -- breaks the WR again before AK has to submit entries? Does Makau lose his spot?

Makau's spot is not cast in stone: unlike championship medals, world records have a limited sell-by date.

I do believe, however, that AK would be shooting themselves in the foot by forcing their Olympian hopefuls to run the London marathon as a trial. The athletes may not mind (after all, there's money to be made running in London, although the requirement to be in the race might affect their bargaining power when it comes to appearance fees), and I can understand why Renato is for it, but it's a very risky strategy.

David Kornacker wrote:

cooperman. wrote:

Don't write off Martin Lel just yet

Funny you should say that 'cause one of my first thoughts after Chicago ended was "that pretty much takes Martin Lel out of the running to make the Kenyan Olympic team." I guess it's true that if Lel runs a spectacular time in NYC to beat what is [currently, anyway] a stacked field, he could get himself back into the conversation, but as of now he's at best the #6 Kenyan.

Lel has already pulled out. Injured again.

WGEGA wrote:

Beats a Wanjiru CR, supposedly at about 85%.

I would hope AK does not make their decision based on which percentage of their capabilities they supposedly ran at.

As to whomever suggests having them all run London Marathon in April. This would be a tough race, 2xMutai, Mosop, Kirui, Lel etc. Add some pacers for fast times, some Ethiopians trying to "steal" the prize money and you got a crazy race. One, that could put some serious damage on the contenders, at least big enough to not recover in time for the Olympics.

There will be no wrong decision this time. If they send any of there top 6 guys and those guys run like they are suppose to they take all the medal spots. Really feel sorry for anyone outside of kenya that had a dream to medal at the London Olympics in the Marathon. Kenya has raised the bar and it looks like they will continue to raise the bar. Geb must really be scared bet he drops out when he realizes he won't medal. Only hope for any other country is that injuries plague the top 6 kenyan marathoners. I would pay a small fee to see the best marathon field ever assembled. It would include the top 10 Kenyans then take 10 more guys who have run sub 2 10 What a day for running that would be.

it would simplify things because you'd think a spot would be his automatically since he's the d.champ

Really wrote:

If they send any of there top 6 guys and those guys run like they are suppose to they take all the medal spots.

Ahem, Kebede? Kebede took Wanjiru to the line in Chicago. And if Wanjiru were around, I think I would take him against anyone in the Olympics.

Why would Mosop get a spot for running 2:05:37?

There are quite a few others higher up on the marathon list.

Mosop probably won't get an Olympic spot as it especially if Mutai runs a better time than him. The two Mutai''s might go 2:05 REGION, So let's wait and see.

Also someone else just ran 2:05:48, the same day Mosop ran.

And remember that Mosop said he is not so interested in Olympics. As innocent as that statement might have been, it will work against him.

many faster runners wrote:

Why would Mosop get a spot for running 2:05:37?

There are quite a few others higher up on the marathon list.

Yes, almost a minute slower than Wilson Kipsang ran in Frankfurt last year. This year's Frankfurt is only 2 1/2 weeks out and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw another high 2:04/low 2:05. Then Mosop would certainly be out.