>What was it that let heretofore UNKNOWN Ngugi surge a 58 lap in 1988? In 1988 John Ngugi was already a 3-time (or was it 4-time?) World Cross-Country champion and Sports Illustrated (what about T&FN?) picked him to win the 5,000. So I woundn't say he was unknown. > I am sure that several men and women double in every Championship ... but the point was: "Why have the TOP RUNNERS not been able to pull it off? Why are they dissuaded from even attempting it when 16 to 28 years ago men were unquestionably successful at it. I would bet that Geb could have pulled it off in both Atlanta and Sydney. Why didn't he? Last time he said the track was too hard and injured his feet; this time he said he didn't want to deprive a deserving countryman a chance to compete (true? I don't know. Plausible? Certainly - another Ethiopian won the race, after all). Someone (perhaps the same person quoted above) said that the "it's harder than ever to win a major distance title" argument as a reason for not doubling doesn't wash when you see that the same person (Geb) has won the last 5 major 10K titles, and Tergat has won 5 of the last 6 World Cross Country titles. Just because an event has greater overall depth than in the past doesn't mean that one standout individual can't dominate. I would argue that in recent years every event from the 400 on up has been deeper than ever, but that hasn't kept Michael Johnson, Wilson Kipketer, and Morceli/El G from dominating all others. The only event that seems truly wide-open today is the 5,000, although Geb could likely be considered to dominate that one, too, except that he hasn't run it in a major championship since 1993. I guess that leaves the marathon. Marko Velikonja __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Messenger - Talk while you surf! It's FREE. http://im.yahoo.com/
