I don't think Geb or anyone is risking their lives by running. Beijing isn't Venus. It is, however, a threat to the rest of their career, especially given how hard it is to recover from a marathon. It's like playing a football game on a sheet of ice, which probably wouldn't be done today.
It might be the case that no man runs faster than 2:20 at Beijing, which was the world record about 50 years ago.
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