Asbel Kiprop, who finished second to Rashid Ramzi at the Beijing Olympics but was elevated to the gold medal after Ramzi tested positive for the banned blood-enhancer CERA), ran a 3:32.82 to win the 1500m at the Kenyan National Championships over the weekend.
Kiprop has developed a habit of celebrating for much of the final straight, so it's hard to tell if he's really going all out. But if he wasn't going all out, and if he ran a 3:32 at altitude, that's a serious, serious time.
According to the NCAA altitude adjustment tables, running at Nairobi's 5500 foot altitude slows a 1500m runner down by between 2.4 and 2.8%, or about 5-6 seconds. Even a more modest 4s faster would make Kiprop the fifth fastest metric miler of all time.
And this while celebrating for the final 60m!
I'm probably not the first to say it, but Kiprop is the Usain Bolt of the 1500m.
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3 comments:
On letsrun, they have a link to highlights that shows his last 80. It's not as crazy as at Pre, but he's having some fun & cruising. That Kenyan top 3 is amazing.
Wouldn't it be great to see him an elite 800 race. He along with Kakei and Rudisha could bring the event back to where it once was with the likes of Coe. Ovett and Kipketer.
It would be nice to see Kiprop vs. Kaki vs. Rudisha. Kiprop likes to run relatively even and run towards the back. Kaki is a frontrunner. Rudisha seems to run mid to front pack. I'm not sure if Kiprop will ever go for the double, and he's just so good at the 15. With all the rounds it is hard to pull off. Next year(with no championship) might be the opportunity to see them all match up in one meet.
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