UKC

All eyes on Mo at 12:30.

Can he do yet another double?

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:



Oh yes!!!!

In reply to Wainers44:

A weird race. Why do at least some of them go so much more slowly than they can for much of the race?

I really thought Mo had met his match in Ndiku, and it was thrilling to see Ndiku refuse to let Mo take the lead about 400m out, but the way Mo took him out in the last 100m was incredible and even more thrilling.

Salazar says he is ruthless on the track, apparently, but his post-race interview brought tears to my eyes. Such a nice guy.

In reply to mbh:




The very best seem to have his ability of race self and other self.

He is just one awsome competitor!!

In reply to mbh:

I just don't get why they took it so easy, that was pedestrian pace early on.

A number in the field had quicker PR's again so why dont they just blitz off and go for a PR.. he's one the last 6 major medals at the 5 and 10k so quite clearly the current tactics to beat him dont work.

In reply to rr5: because he's got a fantastic change of pace coming off a very fast tempo so if they go really fast they're just going to drag him along, then get pasted in the last 400m. Even if they go sub 13 they won't drop him. Ergo, slow it down and have a last lap, last km burn up starting from a fairly equal position.

The most effective tactic would be to throw in , as a team, some early, very fast laps , say pace it 66, 66, 54, 66 but that would require considerable team discipline, and isn't guaranteed to lead to a team victory.

I raced him in a couple of Surrey leagues in 98 I guess when he ran in senior races when he was a very young junior. That ability to change pace and go fast was very obvious then - we were running 3 min kms and he suddenly slung in a 2.45

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
Not even sniffy the sniffer dog could catch him/)

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Interesting article on Mo by Tom Fordyce

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/34096616


An every day training session:

"A mile knocked out in three minutes 55 seconds. Two-lap jog as recovery. Then a 1,200m run in 2:57. Same recovery. Then 1,000m in 2:27, two laps recovery; 800m in 1:57, two laps recovery; 600m in 80 seconds, two laps; 400m in 50.4, two laps; 200m in 25 seconds."

On the 5000m:

"Farah's was a last mile that half the entrants in the men's 1500m would have been unable to live with. It was a last half-mile that half the 800m field would have struggled with too."

At a similar age, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer are in decline (well, Woods certainly, maybe not the fabulous Fed, but a few younger ones have caught up with him) but Farah seems able to leave outstanding athletes a decade younger than him for dead, whatever they do.

I wonder if he has got a world record at a classic distance in him, or if his forte really is lining up against the best and just beating them, in style?

In reply to mbh: with respect to world records, the fast races at long distance don't happen very often unless they're set up with pacemakers etc. If you look at Mo's best times at 5k & 10k, there have only been 2 or 3 faster races at each of those distances since then. I suspect that if he had been in those races, then his best time would be better, but he has concentrated more on getting it right for championships.

It would however, be interesting to see a group really go for a fast time and see if Mo can still hang on and then beat them. Nobody's worked out how to beat him yet, pure sustained pace over the whole race may do it, but nobody's managed to try yet.

In reply to mbh:
That's an impressive set of figures and there's no doubting Mo's achievements but it's a 5000m race.
I really struggle to understand the tactics of Mo's opponents who seem content to take him on in a 'sprint' finish having 'ambled' round the previous 3500m - as that tactic has worked so well before!
Has Mo ever won a flat out start to finish 5000m race, do such things exist, are his opponents capable of executing such a tactic, is he unbeatable?

Pmc

In reply to baron:


Mo has won plenty flat out races, but really fast races usually require pace makers, they tend not to happen in championships, because someone with a medal chance would probably have to sacrifice themselves.