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“It still amazes me that Mo Farah is not part of the field … It’s really ridiculous that he is not on the field.”
By Robert Johnson
October 16, 2020
At today’s pre-race press conference for tomorrow’s World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, the first running world championships since the COVID-19 outbreak, the standout man was obviously Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda, which recently broke the 5,000 and 10,000 meter world records. Cheptegei enters tomorrow’s race as a favorite although it is the first half marathon of his career.
At today’s press conference, when Cheptegei was asked how important it is to him to come out of this season with a major title, he took the opportunity to try and beat the four-time Olympic gold medalist from Great Britain. Mo Farah, who skipped the event, even though he proved to be in good shape at the half-marathon distance in early September.
“I think having and crowning the season with a title would of course be something special for me, something I would be really grateful for. First the debut, then the victory, that [would be] really amazing, ”Cheptegei said before adding,“ I thought we would have a more exciting field. Like, of course, we have the Kenyans, we have the Ethiopians, but it still surprised me, and still amazes me, why Mo Farah is not part of the field … It is really ridiculous that he is not in the field. “
Quick take: I love this quote from Cheptegei
It’s been said that one of the reasons athletics struggles for popularity is that there aren’t enough big rivalries. What is our sport’s version of Nadal vs. Federer? Yes, in the past, Coe vs. Ovett and Lewis vs. Powell wowed fans, but we need modern rivalries. By calling Farah, Cheptegei is helping create a new rivalry.
And Cheptegei is correct in his criticism of Farah here. The reality is that, just over a month ago, Farah set a world record for the one-hour race. He ran 21,330 meters in an hour, showing he was in low 59 half marathon shape. So why shouldn’t he extend his season one more month and face the best in the world?
Probably because there is no great financial incentive for him to do so and he knew he was unlikely to win. But for the sport to grow, someone has to find a way to get athletes to not just act in their own interests.
I have also always thought that for the distance race to grow in popularity, we must promote African stars as personalities and we need more hype and trash talk before the race. A big part of the enjoyment of all sporting events is the anticipation of the event and that is particularly true for athletics as, let’s be honest, there are not many fascinating tactics employed in many track and field events once they start. When Cheptegei calls Farah, he’s establishing himself as a personality, creating a rivalry, and building anticipation for when they finally meet on the track next year. I can’t wait for that race.
Watch Cheptegei call Farah in the video below and discuss her trash talk on our message board.
MEGABYTE: Cheptegei criticizes Mo Farah for skipping half the world: “It is really ridiculous that he is not on the field.”
Hear Cheptegei talk about Farah at the 38:12 mark below
Cheptegei talking about Farah in Poland today.
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