{"id":1952,"date":"2013-08-04T22:14:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-05T05:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1952"},"modified":"2013-08-04T22:14:01","modified_gmt":"2013-08-05T05:14:01","slug":"worlds-preview-moscow-mid-long-distance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1952","title":{"rendered":"Worlds Preview – Moscow Mid & Long Distance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mo<\/a>Time to take a look at the middle and long distances before the starting gun goes off. Right off the bat, I have to say that we’ll be minus one of the biggest stars in the sport with the loss of David Rudisha – out due to injury.<\/p>\n

That won’t diminish things overall however, as London star Mo Farah and all time greats Bernard Lagat, Meseret Defar, and Tirunesh Dibaba are all healthy and on board for this one. So, while it’s unlikely we’ll get a WR performance like we got in London, we should get some tremendously exciting competition! And that, after all, is what a championships should be about.<\/p>\n

So let’s take a look.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Men\u2019s 800<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Without Rudisha it’s an open race again. We’re also missing Timothy Kitum. Meaning this one could go in the high 1:42s to low 1:43s. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Mohammed Aman<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Ayanleh Souleiman<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Duane Solomon<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Men’s 1500<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Asbel Kiprop is now the 4th fastest man in history over this distance. Looking at how he dominated that race, he should be dominant here. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Asbel Kiprop<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Silas Kiplagat <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Mekonnen Gebremedhin<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Men’s 5000<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

This should be second half of the Mo Farah show, as I expect Mo to repeat his double from London. Lagat may still be the best kicker in the business. We’ll probably find out when this pair unleashes their kicks on a field that should know better than to let the pace lag. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Mo Farah <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Bernard Lagat<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Hagos Gebrhiwet<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Men’s 10000<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

The meet will open with the first act of the Mo Farah show. Farah is currently racing like Bekele and Gebrselassie in their primes. Deadly off any pace. He’ll run as slow as the others let’s him before he cuts them up. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Mo Farah<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Imane Merga <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Galen Rupp<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Men’s Marathon<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Kenya and Ethiopia will dominate. With athletes contesting so sparsely, it’s a crapshoot to call places.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Men’s Steeplechase<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

If any event is a "lock" for a sweep it’s this one as Kenya dominates like no other event on the planet. With some luck, perhaps Yager can move the AR closer to 8:00. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Paul Koech<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Abel Mutai<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Ezekiel Kemboi <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Women’s 800<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

This event is more wide open that it’s been for a while, but Niyonsaba is the best talent out there. The question is how the podium fills behind her. How well you can compete will strongly affect this race. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Francine Niyonsaba<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Janeth Jepkoskgei<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Brenda Martinez<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Women’s 1500<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Fast pace or championship pace? I say championship which plays into the smart runners, and that favors Simpson. Can Mary Cain get to the podium? Yes, I’m assuming she gets to the final. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Jenny Simpson<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Abeba Aregawi<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Genzebe Dibaba<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Women’s 5000<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Defar and Dibaba are doubling up and we should be treated to two outstanding distance battles as as result. Can Shannon Rowbury run well enough to get to the podium or will D & D take this out too fast? <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Tirunesh Dibaba<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Meseret Defar<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Shannon Rowbury<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Women’s 10000<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Act 2 of the Defar & Dibaba show (though first on the schedule) should provide another great battle between two of history\u2019s best over the long distances. Can they be broken up? <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Meseret Defar<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Tirunesh Dibaba<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Gladys Cherono<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Women’s Marathon<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

I mirror my thoughts from the men’s event. Difficult events to call given the nature of competition in these races. Suffice to say that at this time Ethiopia and Kenya are the dominant competitors.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

Women’s Steeplechase<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
\n

Milcah Chemos<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Sofia Assefa<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Hiwot Ayalew<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Those are my thoughts on the mid and long distances. After some comments regarding the Sprint and hurdle predictions, let me make one statement. At some point things change – that’s why they compete. Everyone that medaled before won’t necessarily medal this time. At some point youngsters cross the line from youngster to accomplished vet. Sometimes they simply break through. Sometimes you medal against a weak field, perform better but don’t medal against a strong field. There are a multitude of situations that occur in sport that affect the bottom line. So simply writing down a repeat of the previous championships and\/or listing the top of the yearly list is not enough come prediction time. So yes I take some risks. And yes there are times when I search for reasonable scenarios where athletes that I’d like to see do well can do so. There are infinite possibilities in sport – not just one or two. There IS a scenario, for example, where Mary Cain can medal – and it’s not that far fetched. That’s the beauty of sport. Personally I’m looking forward to this Worlds primarily because it is going to be unpredictable. Because THAT’S exciting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time to take a look at the middle and long distances before the starting gun goes off. Right off the bat, I have to say that we’ll be minus one of the biggest stars in the sport with the loss of David Rudisha – out due to injury. That won’t diminish things overall however, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-vu","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}