In a slow race anything can happen. The pace was so slow in the men's
5k the race was left wide open so to speak. Mottram also engaged in bad
tactics. I don't think I've ever seen him run in a race as slow as the final
in Osaka. The flip side is that Tegenkamp just missed a medal and is
undoubtedly capable of sub 13 based on his 2 mile AR earlier this year
and his PR last year of 13:04.
Same problem hit Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia. He was favorite in the
800, but the pace was slower than most district level HS races for the first
400 meters. Once that happens, you'll find yourself blocked out and
almost everyone has energy left for a good finish. The race did point out
how things have regressed over the years in some ways. In 1980 when
the Olympic 800 had a first lap this slow, Ovett and others took off with
Ovett winning with a last lap of 50.8! Coe ran about the same for second.
These guys aren't capable of doing that, obviously.
BTW - if anyone likes, they should go over to the Track and Field News
website and sign up for their message board and hammer the Wariner
haters in the Osaka section of the board. I won't bother, been kicked out
of there too often
but one guy, Johnny Walker Red has been
diplomatically sticking it to the anti-Wariner crowd rather well. He calls
them on their "reverse racism". These white guys over there are pathetic,
they're praying for Wariner to lose to Merritt, etc. Then when JW mentions
it they go nuts. They are pathetic sniffers of the sweat stained shorts of
the wondrous ***** afflete.
Wariner will break 20 in the 200 next season. The only way Merritt is
going to stand a chance to beat him is to continue with what looks to be
an obvious doping regimen. Look at his physique of late. I rest my case.
