{"id":10321,"date":"2023-05-02T17:52:51","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T13:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tehrunclub.com\/?p=10321"},"modified":"2023-09-30T17:05:30","modified_gmt":"2023-09-30T13:35:30","slug":"what-went-wrong-for-eliud-kipchoge-at-the-2023-boston-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehrunclub.com\/en\/what-went-wrong-for-eliud-kipchoge-at-the-2023-boston-marathon\/","title":{"rendered":"What Went Wrong For Eliud Kipchoge at the 2023 Boston Marathon?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>\"\u0627\u0644\u06cc\u0648\u062f
\nThe marathon GOAT was beaten in a marathon for the first time since October 2020<\/span><\/h2>\n

BOSTON \u2013 What went wrong for Eliud Kipchoge at the 2023 Boston Marathon? It was the question on the mind of every running fan after the double Olympic champion and world record holder suffered his first defeat in two-and-a-half years,
\nfading to a 6th-place finish in 2:09:23 after leading almost every step of the opening half.<\/p>\n

Kipchoge remained with the leaders through 18 miles but had no answer to the surge thrown in by Tanzania\u2019s Gabriel Geay midway through the Newton Hills and would wind up more than three minutes behind winner Evans Chebet (2:05:54).<\/p>\n

Kipchoge did not speak to the media after the race on Monday, instead releasing the following statement:\n<\/br>\nI live for the moments where I get to challenge the limits. It\u2019s never guaranteed, it\u2019s never easy. Today was a tough day for me. I pushed myself as hard as I could but sometimes, we must accept that today wasn\u2019t the day to push the barrier to a greater height. I want to congratulate my competitors and thank everyone in Boston and from home for the incredible support I am so humbled to receive. In sports, you win and you lose and there is always tomorrow to set a new challenge. Excited for what\u2019s ahead.<\/p>\n

\"\u0627\u0634\u06a9\u0627\u0644From that statement, it\u2019s impossible to say whether Kipchoge battled any specific issues during the race.
\nBut Kipchoge and his coach Patrick Sang said his buildup was strong and did not mention any problems prior to the race or in the statement above. It appears Kipchoge was outraced today, simple as that.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Did he underestimate the course?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Throughout race week and in the early miles of today\u2019s race, Eliud Kipchoge made it very clear that he was not treating Boston any differently from his other World Marathon Major appearances. He did not alter his training to account for Boston\u2019s uphills and downhills, trusting that his usual training on the hills around Kaptagat would be sufficient.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

He did not run on the course before race day (though this is not uncommon for elite athletes), and said he did not ask anyone for advice about how to handle it. Then once the gun fired, he went out super hard (14:17 for the first 5k) and made sure he was the one to lead almost every step of the first half of the race.<\/p>\n

\r\n
\r\n\"\u0627\u06cc\u0646\u0633\u062a\u0627\u06af\u0631\u0627\u0645<\/a><\/div>\r\n
\r\n

<\/span>FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM<\/span><\/h4>\r\n\r\n\"\u0627\u06cc\u0646\u0633\u062a\u0627\u06af\u0631\u0627\u0645<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

<\/span>Kipchoge\u2019s general approach could be distilled to this:<\/span><\/h3>\n

I am the best marathoner in history and I am going to do exactly what I usually do, and that will be good enough to win. It wasn\u2019t necessarily a bad approach. He has won more big races than any marathoner in history.\n\nBut in many ways, Kipchoge ran like the Boston rookie he was.<\/p>\n

\"\u0627\u0634\u06a9\u0627\u0644<\/p>\n

He crushed the downhill segments of the course (he also ran the 16th mile in 4:23) and wound up running a huge positive split (62:19\/67:04), with nothing in his legs for the final miles.
\nHe also spent a lot of time in the front, and while that\u2019s not an unfamiliar place for Kipchoge, that costs energy, both physical (he had to take the brunt of a mild but not insignificant headwind) and mental (with no pacemakers, you can\u2019t turn your brain off in the early miles).<\/p>\n

\"\u0627\u0634\u06a9\u0627\u0644Finally, it\u2019s worth noting that the weather was similar during Kipchoge\u2019s last marathon loss
\n(the temperature was nearly-identical, though the rain was much stronger in London).
\nKipchoge has won in wet conditions before \u2014 at the 2016 Olympics and 2017 Berlin \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t as cold as today
\n(it was in the 70s at the start in Rio and 57 in Berlin).<\/p>\n

<\/span>\"\u0627\u0644\u0645\u067e\u06cc\u06a9Would a more conservative approach have helped?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Did any of that cost Kipchoge the win today?<\/p>\n

Did any of that cost Kipchoge the win today? There\u2019s no way to say definitively, but he likely would have been better served treating this race as he did his Olympic marathons, where the opening splits were a modest<\/p>\n

65:55 (Rio) and 65:13 (Sapporo) before Kipchoge attacked late in the race (granted those marathons both came in warmer weather). Kipchoge spent large portions of those races near the front but wasn\u2019t as concerned with being absolutely front and center the entire time and was not pushing the pace into a headwind.<\/p>\n

At the very least, there was no need for Kipchoge to be blocking the wind for as long as he did.<\/p>\n

\"\u0627\u0634\u06a9\u0627\u0644The lead pack was wide, meaning Kipchoge was not the only one facing the wind, but he took more of it than anyone else \u2014 certainly more than Chebet, who did a terrific job tucking in and conserving energy in the early stages.<\/p>\n

Nike and INEOS showed the very clear benefits of drafting during Kipchoge\u2019s two sub-2:00 attempts yet Kipchoge apparently forgot those lessons today in Boston.<\/p>\n

But maybe there\u2019s no scenario where Kipchoge won this race. Maybe he\u2019s just a little bit older and finally starting to decline slightly (though he did set the world record in his last race).<\/p>\n

Maybe he\u2019s just not made for a course like this, with its ups and downs and variable surging that makes it so different from London, Berlin, and Tokyo.<\/p>\n

Or maybe he just had a bad day. It happens to marathoners all the time \u2014 just not usually to Kipchoge.<\/p>\n

<\/span>\"\"Where does Kipchoge go from here?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Kipchoge has lost marathons before and bounced back just fine. After he lost his first race in Berlin in 2013, he won his next 10 marathons. After his second defeat in London in 2020, he won his next four. It could be, at 38 and after 10 years of dominance, that Kipchoge is finally starting to slow down. Or he could rip off three more wins after this and another Olympic title in Paris. Time will tell.<\/p>\n

It is going to be intriguing to see where Kipchoge goes from here, though.<\/p>\n

He has long said his desire is to win all six World Marathon Majors, which would make New York \u2013 the only fall major he hasn\u2019t won \u2013 a natural choice for his next race. But there have been rumblings this week in Boston (unconfirmed) that the Sydney Marathon \u2013 which is pushing for World Marathon Major membership \u2013 is making a big effort to sign Kipchoge for its race in September.<\/p>\n

\"\"So does Kipchoge head to New York, even after his struggles today in Boston (the course that most closely mimics NY\u2019s hills and bridges)?
\nWill he go to Sydney? Or elsewhere?
\nBeyond that, how serious is he about this grand slam quest to win all the majors?
\nWill he be back in Boston in 2024 to give it another go, or will he return to London next spring \u2013 a more familiar and successful course for Kipcho<\/p>\n

\"\u0627\u0644\u06cc\u0648\u062fThese decisions could have major consequences on Kipchoge\u2019s quest for a third Olympic gold medal in 2024. Kipchoge has enough credit in the bank that he\u2019d likely be on the Olympic team with a win at any 2024 spring marathon.
\nBut if he returns to Boston next year and is beaten, there\u2019s no guarantee Athletics Kenya would send him to Paris \u2013 remember that they left Mary Keitany off the 2016 Olympic team after she was 9th in London that spring.<\/p>\n

Kipchoge has long said he only chases one rabbit at a time \u2013 he doesn\u2019t think about anything beyond the marathon he is training for.
\nHe chased the Boston rabbit and failed to catch it. Which rabbit will he chase next?
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/span>Kipchoge should have spoken to the media after the race<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u0646\u06a9\u062a\u0647 \u0622\u062e\u0631:<\/strong> \u0627\u06cc\u0646 \u06cc\u06a9 \u062d\u0631\u06a9\u062a \u0641\u0648\u0642\u200c\u0627\u0644\u0639\u0627\u062f\u0647 \u0636\u0639\u06cc\u0641 \u0627\u0632 \u0633\u0648\u06cc \u06a9\u06cc\u067e\u0686\u0648\u06af\u0647 \u0628\u0648\u062f \u06a9\u0647 \u0628\u0639\u062f \u0627\u0632 \u0645\u0633\u0627\u0628\u0642\u0647 \u0628\u0627 \u0631\u0633\u0627\u0646\u0647\u200c\u0647\u0627 \u0635\u062d\u0628\u062a \u0646\u06a9\u0631\u062f. \u0686\u06cc\u0632\u06cc \u06a9\u0647 \u0628\u0647 \u0633\u0627\u062f\u06af\u06cc \u062f\u0631 \u06cc\u06a9 \u0648\u0631\u0632\u0634 \u062d\u0631\u0641\u0647\u200c\u0627\u06cc \u0628\u0632\u0631\u06af \u0645\u0627\u0646\u0646\u062f NFL \u06cc\u0627 NBA \u0627\u0632 \u0622\u0646 \u0646\u0645\u06cc\u200c\u062a\u0648\u0627\u0646 \u0641\u0631\u0627\u0631 \u06a9\u0631\u062f.
\r\n\u0627\u0648 \u0628\u0631\u0627\u06cc \u0634\u0631\u06a9\u062a \u062f\u0631 \u0627\u06cc\u0646 \u0645\u0633\u0627\u0628\u0642\u0647 \u067e\u0648\u0644 \u06a9\u0645\u06cc \u062f\u0631\u06cc\u0627\u0641\u062a \u06a9\u0631\u062f \u0648 \u062d\u0636\u0648\u0631\u0634 \u0628\u06cc\u200c\u0648\u0642\u0641\u0647 \u062a\u0628\u0644\u06cc\u063a \u0634\u062f. \u0645\u06af\u0631 \u0627\u06cc\u0646\u06a9\u0647 \u0646\u0648\u0639\u06cc \u0627\u0648\u0631\u0698\u0627\u0646\u0633 \u067e\u0632\u0634\u06a9\u06cc \u0648\u062c\u0648\u062f \u0645\u06cc\u200c\u062f\u0627\u0634\u062a \u2013 \u0648 \u0647\u06cc\u0686 \u0646\u0634\u0627\u0646\u0647\u200c\u0627\u06cc \u0645\u0628\u0646\u06cc \u0628\u0631 \u0627\u06cc\u0646 \u0646\u06cc\u0633\u062a \u2013 \u0627\u06cc\u0646 \u0645\u06cc\u0627\u0646\u200c\u0645\u0627\u06cc\u06af\u06cc\u200c\u0633\u062a \u06a9\u0647 \u06a9\u06cc\u067e\u0686\u0648\u06af\u0647 \u0631\u0648\u0632 \u062f\u0648\u0634\u0646\u0628\u0647 \u062f\u0631 \u062f\u0633\u062a\u0631\u0633 \u0646\u0628\u0648\u062f.<\/p>\n

\r\n
\"Run<\/div>\r\n
\r\n

<\/span>Run Smart<\/span><\/h4>\r\n

<\/span>Tehran Club group and online classes<\/span><\/h4>\r\nMore Info<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

though the B.A.A. said he will be at Tuesday\u2019s champions\u2019 press conference to take questions. The World Marathon Majors should make it a requirement that, barring a severe medical issue, their stars must talk to the media immediately after the race or they lose a chunk of their appearance fee. Fans are excited when big stars like Kipchoge run the marathon and deserve to hear from them, win or lose.<\/p>\n

Cr: letsrun.com<\/a><\/p>\n