Official 2017 Rome Diamond League Discussion Thread

LetsRun.com wrote:stacked field which also surprisingly includes 1500 ace Elijah Manangoi

Kiprop may be unbeatable, but then again, one should never count out a Maasai. After the Thursday prelims, I had the privilege of driving back to the city with 2015 1,500 World Championships silver medalist Elijah Manang’oi. The 25-year-old Maasai has been sensational this year, cruising to victory in every race he’s entered (I know that the IAAF has his birthday listed as 1993, but 25 is what he told me. In fact, he claimed that we were age-mates, a term used by Kalenjins and Maasai that designates persons born around the same year. Since I’m 25, you can rest assured that Elijah is too. He also said that his name is spelled “Manang’oi,” not “Manangoi” as listed on the IAAF site). Two weeks ago in Eldoret, he negative-split his way to a convincing win in the 800-meter semis, rocking a USA singlet en route to running 1:46 at 7,000 feet of altitude. This weekend, he was again looking to fine-tune his speed with a couple of 800-meter efforts. I knew that Manang’oi had originally been a 400-meter runner, and as we careened down Nairobi’s highways in his black Subaru Forester with Nike swooshes on the front and back, I asked him how he managed to transition from a long sprinter to miler.

“It only took about two weeks,” Manang’oi replied with a smirk. My doubtful look prompted him to continue.

“Seriously! I was always training hard for the 400, and much of that training worked for 1,500. My weeks were full of running 40- to 50-minute runs between my speedwork days. So when my manager encouraged me to move up in distance, it just came easy.”

Manang’oi’s manager is Jukka Harkonen, a Finnish agent who is a dear friend of the young Maasai. His respect for the elderly manager was so great, in fact, that above both Nike swooshes read, “Jukka” in an italic font: he named his car after his agent.

“I would not be the runner I am today without my manager,” Manang’oi said. “When people are good to you, you must be good to them in return.”

It was impossible for me to not be astounded by the young man’s almost supernatural talent. I have heard of long sprinters making successful moves to the middle distances before, but to go from a 400-meter runner to the world silver medalist at 1,500m in only a few years … well, that’s almost providential. I guess that’s why I wasn’t surprised to discover the meanings behind his names. “Elijah” is his given Christian name, the name of one of the greatest prophets in the Bible, who is supposed to have been able to outrun chariots (1 Kings 18:46). And as for the Maasai word Manang’oi, “It means many things,” said Elijah, “but most of all, it means blessed.”

All I can say is that after watching Manang’oi race the two-lap distance twice over the past weekend, its obvious that he has a gift. In the Friday semifinal, Elijah absolutely torched his competition, sprinting away over the last 150 meters from a field of Kenya’s finest 800-meter athletes to a time of 1:47. During his race, I was standing at the 200-meter mark, and when I shouted some encouragement to Elijah, he just winked and gave me a “thumbs up” before catapulting himself around the turn to win by over a second. After the race, he told me, “I was relaxing today, just wait for tomorrow.”

True to his word, the final of the men’s 800 meters was something to behold. It featured a talented cast of characters, including Jeremiah Mutai (1:43.9h 800-meter PR), Timothy Sein (2:17 1k PR) and Job Kinyor (1:43 800-meter PR). But as the competitors emerged from the tunnel that Saturday afternoon, all eyes were fixated on the young Maasai in the pink singlet. Like Kiprop, Manang’oi was a member of the Presidential Escort Unit, and most likely the youngest athlete to have been invited by President Uhuru Kenyatta. As he took his strides before the race, it was hard to imagine a better form for running the middle-distances. Manang’oi has a slender yet muscular body with long limbs that extended his stride to lengths envied by taller athletes. His posture is aggressive as well, with his torso and hips constantly pressing forward in such a way to give one the impression that his whole being was begging to go faster. After being called to his start line in lane 6, he was afforded that opportunity.

The gun fired and the eight racers charged around the turn, staying in their lanes until the break on the backstretch. This final featured a rabbit, and he was making certain that the race was anything but slow. Hitting the 200-meter mark in 23-mid, the competitors were already strung out single-file, with Manang’oi looking good in the fifth spot. They reached the bell in 49-high, and the rabbit slid out into lane two, his work finished for the day. That’s when Kinyor charged to the lead, shadowed closely by Sein and Mutai. Manang’oi was still lurking back in fifth place up until the pack hit 250 meters to go. There, Manang’oi launched into his signature kick, shooting into the lead with only 200 meters remaining. The entire police force was in a frenzy, cheering Elijah on to what we all hoped would be a fast time.

But right at the start of the final turn, Manang’oi did something strange. He looked backed at his teammate from the PEU, and pointed at him to come up and run on his shoulder. The fellow PEU athlete obliged, and the two men in pink singlets cruised down the final turn together, effectively blocking out their competitors from passing. It was an odd show of sportsmanship, but a powerful demonstration of how confident Manang’oi is in his kick. Coming off the final bend, with the top two spots safely in the PEU team’s hands, Manang’oi shifted gears and rocketed across the final 90 meters, waving to the crowd and sticking out his tongue in stride as he crossed the line in a world-leading 1:44.1. Manang’oi must have been watching some of Usain Bolt‘s highlights from the 2008 Olympic final