Algerian and Moroccan runners are always suspicious. Heck, even most of the European (running) doping busts are related to runners with former allegiance to Morocco and Algeria (Mourhit at al.) - even Spanish busts were also related to easy access to drugs in Morocco.
When I think of Algeria, I always picture Ali Saidi Sief - anybody remember him and his dominance in 2000/2001? (Makhloufi and Morcelli too, but they were never caught despite very strong suspicions and ties to dirty groups/coaches)
On basis that WA must know that he converted from amateur football to 800s with no known running background and did 1.45 in Year 1 I'd guess that he's being tested regularly. Could be that North Africa doping is so entrenched that almost as soon as he joined the sport (with, no doubt, loads of talent) he went on The Programme.
His coach is Amar Benida. He is the husband and former coach of Nouria Mérah-Benida, who you may remember literally came out of.nowhere at the age of 31 to win the 1500m Olympic gold at Sydney, and then promptly retired.
You do understand that 1:43.2 is 4 x 25.8 seconds in a row?
So why is a 26.0 last 200m impressive?
Seems like he just ran the race properly, rather than dying in the a*se (like most 800m runners do in every race).
No, it seems like you know nothing about the 800m. Your use of the word "properly" to describe an even-split 800 shows basic ignorance of the event.
Listen and learn: Nearly ALL elite and sub-elite PRs are run with a positive split of 1.0-2.x seconds. This has been shown across literally thousands of runners.
The fact that Sedjati ran nearly dead-even 200 splits shows it was simply NOT ideally paced in terms of time. (Though it was a smart tactical race to get the win.)
Of course he can run faster if he properly distributes his effort with the goal of the fastest time possible. In the 800, this means a small positive split.
On basis that WA must know that he converted from amateur football to 800s with no known running background and did 1.45 in Year 1 I'd guess that he's being tested regularly. Could be that North Africa doping is so entrenched that almost as soon as he joined the sport (with, no doubt, loads of talent) he went on The Programme.
A 1:45 debut does indicate fantastic talent, but he did appear out of literally nowhere.
I ran 1:50.x clean while being relatively lazy, without phenomenal leg speed at all (50.x) so I think a truly dedicated, bigger talent could run 1:44 clean, with the pinnacle being 1:43 mid or low, assuming 2010s spikes, maybe 1:42 high with new spikes But running that with a 25.8 final 200? Ramzi type finish
His coach is Amar Benida. He is the husband and former coach of Nouria Mérah-Benida, who you may remember literally came out of.nowhere at the age of 31 to win the 1500m Olympic gold at Sydney, and then promptly retired.
Dirtier than a Calcutta sewer.
By your standards, this is pretty accurate commentary. You are missing the fact that she did promptly retire, but we did find out that was perhaps due to her having a kid? She DNS'ed her semi at Worlds but if my math serves me she was ~2 months pregnant at that point, so I wouldn't frame it as you did. She came back and ran all the way into her late 30s.
The 2000 season is a definite outlier though, and certainly one of the more surprising champions ever. She had a 1:59.49 800m and a couple of 4:05s in 1999, but nothing like that season.
Here is more on her, as she was a sprinter until meeting her coach and husband, it's maybe not as surprising she'd find her peak as a middle-distance runner later:
L’algérienne Nouria Mérah-Benida rend visite au club stéphanois du coquelicot 42 ce mercredi. Un club où elle était licenciée en 2000 lorsqu’elle est devenue championne olympique du 1500 mètres. Elle est revenue sur sa carriè...
His coach is Amar Benida. He is the husband and former coach of Nouria Mérah-Benida, who you may remember literally came out of.nowhere at the age of 31 to win the 1500m Olympic gold at Sydney, and then promptly retired.
Dirtier than a Calcutta sewer.
Not as dirty as Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram, the greatest dopers and the shame of middle distance. They benefitted from early EPO developed in the "sports lab" in Loughborough university, well before it became available to the rest of the world (late 80s , 90s). They led the way in doping, all subsequent doping eras and programmes are a direct consequence of their cheating.
He’ll get a medal in Paris and in a few year’s time his medal will need to be reallocated. Same story over and over again from these North Africans.
More likely he will win gold in Paris, then in a couple of years get a whereabouts failure suspension. When he returns from suspension, he will struggle to break 1:50. Rekkie and Thoughtlessleader will continue to defend him.
If you stuck reasonably close to the facts and the truth, I wouldn't reply.
I was unsurprised to see someone else say "Historically there isn't a single runner from North Africa that was stripped from a world or Olympic medal."
And in light the fact that Coe is still #3 all time, with a performance from 1981, just how are you calculating these likelihoods?
By your standards, this is pretty accurate commentary. You are missing the fact that she did promptly retire, but we did find out that was perhaps due to her having a kid? She DNS'ed her semi at Worlds but if my math serves me she was ~2 months pregnant at that point, so I wouldn't frame it as you did. She came back and ran all the way into her late 30s.
The 2000 season is a definite outlier though, and certainly one of the more surprising champions ever. She had a 1:59.49 800m and a couple of 4:05s in 1999, but nothing like that season.
Here is more on her, as she was a sprinter until meeting her coach and husband, it's maybe not as surprising she'd find her peak as a middle-distance runner later:
What North Africans have been sanctioned for doping?
19 Moroccans currently serving suspensions or bans. Probably at least 20 'Europeans' busted in the last decade have been of NA descent. Then all the 'Bahranian' Moroccan and Algerians busted...