Bernard Lagat hanging up spikes? He’s too young to quit WR chase
Letsrun.com and IAAF have posted tributes to Bernard “Kip” Lagat, saying his 3000 runner-up showing a few Saturdays ago in Berlin was the last track race of his career. “I have no regrets,” Kip told SPIKES, which said: “The 41-year-old is reflecting on two decades of international running during which he has won a whopping 13 global medals. Maybe his most impressive feat is he still looks the same as when he started out – some might say even better. ‘In my university pictures, I look way older than I look now, it’s awesome!’” Given his penchant for targeting masters records, I can easily see him coming back at 45 or 50 to take down WRs at several distances. The money isn’t there, but his legend is always worth padding. For the record, WMA (whose site is still down, sigh) lists him as holding eight outdoor and five indoor age-group records. The best may be his M40 indoor mile of 3:54.91. Don’t count him out.
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{The best may be his M40 indoor mile of 3:54.91}
Not according to age group calculator:
1. 5000: 13:06.78 = 102.57% age 41
2. 3000: 7:43.68 = 101.18% age 41
3. 10000: 27:49.36 = 100.9% age 41
4. Mile: 3:54.91= 100.2% age 40
Lagat will still be running on the roads so he could return to the track pretty easily but when you have been at his level, an age group record may not mean the same that it would be for us mortals. My guess is that at Rio, he would have been happier with a slower time but a medal. I do wish him well and that he continues running for many years.
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