Happy to see Ivo Van Damme get some recognition here. I was fortunate to see his races in person at the Olympic stadium in ‘76. I had not heard of him beforehand and recall thinking “who is this guy” at the time. A shout out is also in order for Rick Wohlhuter of USA who took the Bronze behind Van Damme.
I have absolutely no issue, whatsoever, with Matt’s comparison to Ivo Van Damme, and I can mostly agree with it, but I do find the following statement ludicrous.
“Pre, in the other hand, was likely at his peak or just past it when he died. He’d been the top American runner for nearly six years. We may have seen Pre’s best already.
Not so with Van Damme. He, like Kiptum, was nowhere near his prime.”
At age 24? (The same age as Kelvin Kiptum.) The only logical conclusion that can be drawn from this statement is that the same principle should be applied to Kiptum; pretty much washed up at 24 years old.
It would then seem that same idea should apply to Eliud Kipchoge, for that matter, but wait… didn’t he run his sub 2:00 performance at age 34? Or reset the marathon world record just over a month shy of his 38th birthday?
Again, I’m perfectly fine with the comparison to Van Damme, but let’s not get carried away in trying to support that statement.
Happy to see Ivo Van Damme get some recognition here. I was fortunate to see his races in person at the Olympic stadium in ‘76. I had not heard of him beforehand and recall thinking “who is this guy” at the time. A shout out is also in order for Rick Wohlhuter of USA who took the Bronze behind Van Damme.
Didn't he go on to fight Rocky... Sorry, that's Ivan Drago. Good article about a runner I knew nothing about
I have absolutely no issue, whatsoever, with Matt’s comparison to Ivo Van Damme, and I can mostly agree with it, but I do find the following statement ludicrous.
“Pre, in the other hand, was likely at his peak or just past it when he died. He’d been the top American runner for nearly six years. We may have seen Pre’s best already.
Not so with Van Damme. He, like Kiptum, was nowhere near his prime.”
At age 24? (The same age as Kelvin Kiptum.) The only logical conclusion that can be drawn from this statement is that the same principle should be applied to Kiptum; pretty much washed up at 24 years old.
It would then seem that same idea should apply to Eliud Kipchoge, for that matter, but wait… didn’t he run his sub 2:00 performance at age 34? Or reset the marathon world record just over a month shy of his 38th birthday?
Again, I’m perfectly fine with the comparison to Van Damme, but let’s not get carried away in trying to support that statement.