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Haile promises something special If Haile Gebrselassie achieves all he hopes on his marathon debut he'll leave one or two of his fellow competitors scratching their heads. On his debut at the distance in the London Marathon the diminutive Ethiopian is aiming to run one of the fastest times ever. With four world titles, two Olympic gold and 15 word records behind him the greatest distance runner of all time is probably the only man who could run the first half of his first marathon in 62½ minutes and still have enough left in the tank for a fast second half.
When he announced this at the press conference this week there was an audible gasp from the collected throng. But then not many sportsmen walk into a press conference to the sound of a band hammering out a song in their honour. The great man himself looked embarrassed. Well, almost embarrassed. "Sixty-two minutes
is not that fast," he says. "If you run under an hour, it's
nothing. The question is what will happen in the second half of the race.
I believe if you can run fast from the beginning you can keep it up." Many, including his fellow competitors think it an unlikely prospect. Last year's winner El Mouaziz said: "He is a great athlete but the marathon is a new challenge. To go through the first half in 62:30 is fast for anyone. He does not know the course the way we know it. It is difficult, with ups and downs and lots of corners. We know what tricks this course can play." Antonio Pinto, who win in 1992 and set a European record 2hr 6min 36sec when he won again in 2000 said bluntly: "If Gebrselassie insists on running the first half that quickly, I won't go with him. When I ran 2hr 6min, I went through half-way in 63:54 so there is no need to go that fast." Gebrselassie has been putting in the sort of training for just such an audacious attempt. "When I train at home I like it fast from the beginning and I can keep it at the pace to the end." That training can be runs of up to 50km a day at 2,500m above sea level. "I feel very good. I am ready to do something special." Gebrselassie trains with his fellow Ethiopians New York Marathon champion Tesfaye Jifar and Olympic bronze medallist Tesfaye Tola. "They have taught me a lot and I've learned a lot. It will be different when we race together - but we'll try to help each other. "We train every day. They've given me advice, particularly on the last part of the competition, but what they've told me remains a secret." It's not his first marathon. He clocked 2hrs 48mins when he was just 15 in the Addis Ababa marathon. "I ran that marathon just to see how the city looks," he said. "I had never seen such high buildings before. "During the race I was okay, but crossing the finishing line I couldn't walk any more. "I had my head down. I could not walk for three days, my body became so painful." Gebrselassie has only been beaten twice since 1993. With the championship medals have come performances that haven't just beaten records, but redefined the parameters of distance running. As for renewing his rivalry with Paul Tergat, Gebrselassie simply prefers to concentrate on whoever is in front. "I don't think about any significant person. I'll keep it to watching the man in front. If it's Tergat I'll follow him. But in the marathon you never know who will be best." |
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Special
K Haile Gebrselassie Haile
Gebreselassie is the greatest distance runner the world has ever seen.
This year he moves up to the marathon Baby
Superstar African
Cup of Nations Profiles
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