East African Sports News

Course record for Utura in Addis Ababa

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:01:00 +0000

Addia Ababa, Ethiopia - World Junior 5000m champion Sule Utura destroyed the course record to take victory in the 2010 Choice Women First 5km in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday (6).

The 21-year old, who last week missed out on a place in Ethiopia's senior World Cross Country team, clocked 15:44 to take a massive 16-second victory over Koreni Jelila with Makeda Berhanu coming home in third.

The seven-year-old race also broke ground with the participation of a record 9000 women in the race, the largest for a women's only race in East Africa.

Utura dominates

It was no perhaps very little surprise to see Utura crowned the winner of this race, but the manner in which she dominated and took victory is a clear indication of her capabilities with the track season in Ethiopia ahead.

A large leading group that included Jelila, Utura, marathon runner Askale Tafa, steeplechaser Mekdes Bekele, and little known runners Etenesh Diro and Makeda Berhanu led the pack through the opening 2km. But Tafa, who is preparing for a spring marathon, was the first to feel the strength of the pace at the head of the pack and was dropped around the half way point. The pack continued to dwindle when Jelila, Berhanu, and Diro remained for the last two kilometres of an absorbing contest.

Jelila was the first to try an audacious break at 4km, but Utura responded by first drawing level and then moving ahead to take a deserved victory. Her time of 15:44 was a massive improvement on Asselefech Mergia's 2009 course record time of 15:57.

"This was my first appearance (here)" said Utura after the race. "As many best athletes were in the competition, it was difficult to win. But before I entered the race, I was aiming to win. Everytime I enter a race, I don't want to think about losing."

Elshadai Negash (with the assistance of Bizuayehu Wagaw)

RESULTS
1. Sule Utura (Defence) 15:44.20
2. Koreni Jelila (Defence) 16:00.63
3. Makeda Haroun (Federal Prison) 16:04.04
4. Etenesh Diro (Defence) 16:08.47
5. Shetaye Bedaso (Defence) 16:23.03
6. Aselefech Assefa (Muger) 16:25.12
7. Mekdes Bekele (Selam) 16:25.71
8. Yebergara Melesse (Alfa) 16:31.73
9. Aynalem Woldehawaria (Alfa) 16:37.09
10. Bekelech Daba (Alfa) 16:38.36

Komen dares Ethiopia's Bekele

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:14:00 +0000

World 3,000m record holder Daniel Kipng’etich Komen has dared Ethiopia’s long distance runner Kenenisa Bekele to break his record at the indoor outing in France on Friday.

Bekele, who holds the world’s best time in 2,000m and two miles and boasts a double 5,000m and 10,000m world records, goes to the Pas de Calais, Lievin, bent on slapping a new mark on the Kenyan’s 12-year-old record. Komen set the 7:24.90 mark at the Budapest Indoors meeting in Hungary in February 1998.

And the Ethiopian icon, a multiple Olympic, world champion and six-time world cross country title holder, has announced he will make a stab at the World Indoor 3,000m record in his maiden race in France on Friday.

Prime land

But Komen, who posted the world 3,000m outdoor title at 7:20.67 in 1996 said: “I will reward him [Bekele] with a five-acre parcel of prime land within Eldoret municipality should he break the record. And any foreign runner who makes it can take the prize and invest here in Eldoret.”

Komen, who started running while a student at Biwott High School in Keiyo South District, appreciates Bekele’s dream but said it will be no easy task for the Ethiopian.

“The record is hard to break. Let him try. I believe he is well prepared as the task would not be a walk in the park. But there was no need for him to announce it,” Komen told the Nation in Eldoret on Thursday.

“For me, I just attempted it while a young man, without telling the world. I prepared myself and broke it, and I will congratulate my friend Bekele if he does it.”

He added: “If a Kenyan breaks it [record], I will straight away take him to a showroom and buy him a brand new Mercedes Benz. The one I promised the other day looks old-fashioned.”

Glowing tribute

Komen, who is also Athletics Kenya Keiyo Branch chairman, pays glowing tribute to sprints runners Robert Kibet and Laban Rotich, his pacesetters in the Hungarian contest.

He wrestled the title away from another Ethiopian legend, Haile Gebrselassie and Bekele, who has a 7:30.51 personal best time, is set to walk a tight rope. “I covered the two-kilometre mark in exactly five minutes and wound up the final stretch in a time of 2:24.90.”

Ethiopia's Berhane Adere and Kenya's Salina Kosgei to provide half-marathon with star power

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:10:00 +0000

By The Times-Picayune
February 24, 2010, 1:00AM
When Matt Turnbull constructs a women’s marathon field, he attempts to focus beyond occurrences that give most spectators pause. Yes, it is wonderful when world records are pushed. Yes, it is outstanding when analysts boast about an event’s thrilling finish.

But Turnbull, in his eighth year recruiting elite runners, hopes for something more when the Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon & Half-Marathon’s elite women’s field approaches the starting line Sunday morning: fireworks at the race’s beginning, midpoint and end.

After convincing two of the world’s best distance runners — Ethiopia’s Berhane Adere and Kenya’s Salina Kosgei — to participate in the event’s half-marathon, he might have accomplished his wish.

“I just want the race to be competitive,” said Turnbull, the Competitor Group’s elite athlete coordinator. “I try to put together a field that will create a race. In an ideal situation, you have the top U.S. runner against two or three established East African runners and one or two Europeans, and try to build a nice international field that you know will produce a competitive race.”

Many anticipate Adere and Kosgei to be competitive throughout the flat 13.1-mile course that begins at Tchoupitoulas and Race streets and ends outside Tad Gormley Stadium. Adere, 36, won a gold medal at the 2002 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Brussels and won the 2006 and 2007 Chicago Marathons. She ran a personal-best 1 hour, 8 minutes, 17 seconds at the 2001 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Bristol, England, where she won a bronze medal.

Last April, Kosgei, 33, won the Boston Marathon over Ethiopia’s Dire Tune by a second. Kosgei also won the 2006 and 2008 Lisbon Half Marathons and holds a personal-best 1:07:52, set at the 2006 Lisbon event.

“They’re two heavy hitters,” said Toni Reavis, veteran running commentator and writer. “They’re two big guns, that’s for sure.

“They’re well-matched. They both have the same goals. They both are in the same time frame. It all stacks up pretty well as being a really interesting match race.”

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon appears attractive to elite athletes such as Adere and Kosgei because of opportune timing. The Boston Marathon takes place April 19, and the London Marathon is April 25.

Athletes view MGM’s half marathon as a reliable tuneup to measure their training progression before competing in the venerable spring races.

“It gives a good indicator of what your fitness is for the marathon,” said Kim Smith, who won the 2004 NCAA women’s individual cross country championship running for Providence College and currently is training for the London Marathon. “With marathon training, you don’t get to race too often. You have to do a lot of training. This race will break it up.”

In the full marathon, there will be a new champion. Autumn Ray, MGM’s 2008 and 2009 winner, will not participate because of back and hip pain experienced after racing in December’s California International Marathon, where she finished 166th. Australian Karen Barlow, who is attempting to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in October in New Delhi, is expected to push for first place.

But MGM’s female stars are found in the half-marathon. Adere and Kosgei have set their sights on larger prizes. Later this spring, Adere will race in the London Marathon; Kosgei will defend her Boston Marathon crown. On Sunday, they will test each other.

“You would make a huge mistake not to bet on one of these two ladies,” said Tracy Sundlun, the Competitor Group’s vice president of events.

Melkamu and unheralded A. Bekele take Ethiopian World XC trials titles

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:56:00 +0000

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - World championships 10,000m silver and reigning World Cross Country bronze medallist Meselech Melkamu and unheralded Azmeraw Bekele were the winners of the senior women’s and men’s races at the 27th Jan Meda International Cross Country- Ethiopian trials for the world cross country championships- at the Jan Meda race course in northern Addis Ababa on Sunday (21).

In the junior ranks, Afera Gedefe grabbed a shock victory in the women’s race, while Berhanu Delele was a comfortable winner of the corresponding men’s race.

Melkamu dominates, Deskas improvement continues

With Cross Country specialists Tirunesh Dibaba and Gelete Burka competing indoors in Birmingham a day earlier and thus absent from the trials, Melkamu, a three-time senior 8km bronze medallist, was the prohibitive favorite going into the contest. She duly proved her billing sprinting ahead of marathon runner Mamitu Deska to take her fourth national title in the event.

After a nervy start, five athletes including Melkamu, Deska, reigning World junior champion Genzebe Dibaba, World junior 5000m champion Sule Utura, and 2003 World Cross Country long course champion Werknesh Kidane formed a leading pack at the half way point.

Dibaba, who was struggling with pain throughout the initial stages, then dropped out of the contest leaving the four athletes to battle it out for victory. Utura and then Kidane also dropped back as Melkamu and Deska pushed the pace from the front.

Deska, winner of the Dubai Marathon in January, had skipped Friday’s Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon deliberately to make the Ethiopian team for the World Cross Country championships in Bydgoscz, Poland. But Melkamu’s finishing speed was too much for the road runner who had to settle for second place, 42 seconds ahead of Kidane, who continued her return from a two-year maternity leave with a podium finish.

“It was a tough race,” Melkamu said of the four-lap contest. “After this year, the world cross will be staged every two years and the competition to make the team will be stronger than before. I thought everyone in the race was hoping to make the team this year because there will be no world cross country next year.”

A. Bekele grabs shock victory in men’s senior race

With defending champion Gebregziabher Gebremariam skipping the trials due to illness and other top runners also unavailable, last year´s World junior champion Ayele Abshiro was expected to make the step up to senior ranks with victory here.

And after a slow start and very few indications about the outcome of the race early on, the 20-year-old looked comfortable at the start of the sixth and final lap where he led five runners in the chase for the finishing line. But he was unceremoniously caught by unknown Asmeraw Bekele, who clocked 37:23 to take a five-second victory over Abshiro, with African junior 5000m champion Abera Kuma coming home in third.

“I was new to this kind of race,” said Bekele. “The Defense club runners in the race tried to unsettle me by changing the pace, but I managed to hold on. I hope to do well in Poland and finish in the top three.”

Delele and Gedefe take junior victories

As is the tradition of these championships, the two junior races again produced cutthroat competition in the battle to make Ethiopia’s team for Bydgoszcz. In the men’s race, it was Berhanu Delele, who overcame the challenge of Yekeber Bayabel and Gebretsadik Abraha to take victory in 24:57.

But there was a shock in the women’s race as little-known Afera Gedefe beat World youth 3000m bronze medallist Genet Yalew and Emebet Anteneh, seventh in the World junior race last year, to take a two second victory.

Elshadai Negash (with assistance by Bizuayehu Wagaw) for the IAAF

Leading results -

12km Senior Men
1. Azmeraw Bekele (Federal Prisons) 37.23
2. Ayele Abshiro (Ethiopian Banks) 37.28
3. Abera Kuma (Ethiopian Banks) 37.29

8km Senior Women
1. Meselech Melkamu (EEPCO) 27.36
2. Mamitu Deska (Oromiya Police) 27.39
3. Werknesh Kidane (Ethiopian Banks) 28.20

8km Junior Men
1. Berhanu Delele (Ethiopian Banks) 24.57
2. Yekeber Bayabel (Amhara region) 24.58
3. Gebretsadik Abraha (Tigray region) 25.00

6km Junior Women
1. Aferaw Gedefe (Tigray region) 21.27
2. Genet Yalew (Defence) 21.30
3. Emebet Anteneh (Defence) 21.36

T&F News named Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele Athlete of The Decade

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:54:00 +0000

Track & Field News (T&F), a leading athletics magazine, named Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele its Athlete of The Decade along with Russia's Yelena Isinbaeva taking the honor in the Women's list.

Kenenisa has already amassed two Olympic gold medals, four world 10,000 titles and one Olympic and one world title each over 5000m.

Kenenisa holds four world records currently, indoor and outdoor 5000m, outdoor 10,000m and indoor 2-mile. He is also the most successful athelete in the history of cross country, having won 14 individual titles including five back-to-back short and long-course doubles.

Kenenisa becomes the first African to be named T&F's Athlete of the Decade which includes athletes like Car Lewis and Michael Johnson.

Read Complete profile from the March edition of T&F magazine which is now on sale at newsstands.

Ethiopia, Nigeria draw in same Africa Nations Cup group

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:51:00 +0000

The Waliyas, Ethiopia National football Team, were drawn in the same group as football powerhouse Nigeria for 2012 African Cup of Nations on Saturday. Guinea, another strong contender, and Madagascar complete Group 2.

Nigeria which is ranked the 15th best football team in the world by FIFA will certainly be a very tough opponent for Ethiopia which has not qualified for Africa Cup of Nations since 1982. FIFA ranks Ethiopia as 121 in the world and Guinea ranks 90.

The Confederation of African Football released the draw in the southern DR Congo mining city of Lubumbashi, where the annual African Super Cup match will be staged on Sunday between local club TP Mazembe and Stade Malien of Mali.

Draw

Group 1: Mali, Cape Verde Islands, Zimbabwe, Liberia

Group 2: Nigeria, Guinea, Ethiopia, Madagascar

Group 3: Zambia, Mozambique, Libya, Comoros Islands

Group 4: Algeria, Morocco, Tanzania, Central African Republic

Group 5: Cameroon, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius

Group 6: Burkina Faso, Gambia, Namibia, Mauritania

Group 7: Egypt (holders), South Africa, Sierra Leone, Niger

Group 8: Ivory Coast, Benin, Rwanda, Burundi

Group 9: Ghana, Congo, Sudan, Swaziland

Group 10: Angola, Uganda, Kenya, Guinea Bissau

Group 11: Tunisia, Malawi, Chad, Botswana

Note: Group winners plus best three runners-up qualify for finals with co-hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea

More from AFP

Ethiopian National Football Record

CECAFA Cup :
4 times Champion (1987, 2001, 2004, 2005)
1 time third place finish (2000)
1 time fourth place finish (1995)
World Cup record
Never Qualified

African Nations Cup record

1957 - Second place
1959 - Third place
1962 - Champions
1963 - Fourth place
1965 - Round 1
1968 - Fourth place
1970 - Round 1
1976 - Round 1
1982 - Round 1

Ethiopian Athletes Still A Threat

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:10:00 +0000

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- For a country that produced more than its fair share of gifted cross country runners in the past, Kenya has had no answer to Ethiopia’s dominance of the men senior 12km individual title since the advent of six-time champion, Kenenisa Bekele.

Even on the two occasions Kenenisa faltered, at the Mombasa 2007 and Amman 2009 editions, the nation where the first two five-time winners, John Ngugi and Paul Tergat hailed from could still not find the legs to win a title that has eluded them since 1999 when the latter won his fifth 12km long race gold.

The task to restore Kenya’s glory in the recent past has fallen to Leonard Patrick Komon, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Feb. 10.

Komon who entered the World Cross scene in 2006 when he won junior 6km silver, has established himself as the most consistent Kenyan exponent at the event.

He finished fourth the following year at Mombasa but it was at the Edinburgh 2008 edition where the world sat and took notice of his talent.

A smarting Kenenisa, who had seen his bid of becoming the first winner of six World Cross titles in successive years collapse in the heat of Mombasa, was out to atone for dropping out of the race at the very last lap allowing Eritrean Zersenay Tadese to claim glory.

The Kenyan contingent for that event had been sent out to ensure Tergat and Ngugi’s achievements were not surpassed and only Komon heeded the call as his teammates faded.

In an effort that earned him the nickname ‘the fighter’ Komon then, 20, took the fight to the Ethiopian phenomenon and in a frantic finish, fell only three second short of causing what would have amounted to one of the greatest upsets in the history of World Cross.

Injured before last year’s Amman World Cross, Komon could only finish 17th at Kenya’s selection event but in a demonstration of his status as his nation’s best bet at the event, Athletics Kenya (AK) decided to hand him wildcard entry.

However, Komon was not at his best even a day before the race but once on the cold, hard desert course of Amman, he still emerged Kenya’s best placed finisher in fourth and remarkably, missed the bronze medal by one second as yet another Ethiopian, Gebregziabher Gebremariam scored victory. Kenenisa was ruled out from the event through injury.

As Kenya prepares to stage their selection event for the March 28 Bydgoszcz World Cross, once again focus has shifted to Komon and whether he can finally win the title his consistent displays deserve.

"It could happen for me this year but first, I have to face my compatriots on Saturday to earn a ticket in the team.

"I’m not worried about my shape and I have no injuries to report," Komon said on Wednesday.

"I cannot explain why my teammates failed to win the senior title in Amman but on my part, I was only in the race to try my best since my (knee) injury that I had suffered earlier in the season was bothering me.

It’s time the 12km men individual title came home and we can learn from last year’s women team that won gold and silver for the first time ever and 15 years after the first individual title was won," the athlete added.

He was referring to Florence Kiplagat and Linet Masai 1-2 in the women’s senior 8km race that saw Kenya wrest the individual and team titles from Ethiopia.

Besides Kiplagat, who will miss this year’s campaign through injury sustained at the Berlin World Championships, Helen Chepngeno (1994) is the only other Kenyan female athlete to win the senior women’s World Cross individual title.

"If I make the team, I will not be afraid to lead it to the individual title but more than ever before, we need to work as a team.

"We always plan ahead on what to do but when we get to the course, I do not know why we fail to stick to the plan and coaches should work out how to avoid that this year," Komon stated.

Komon has warmed up for the selection event and global championships by enjoying an impressive campaign on the European IAAF Permit cross-country meetings in Spain.

His season began with a third finish in Llodio on Nov.22 before he improved to runner-up in Alcobendas on Decmber 6 last year.

On Jan. 17, he turned tables on Gebremariam in Santiponce for his first victory of the season that was followed up by another win Elgoibar (Jan. 27).

Komon returned home for training in Iten at a camp operated by his management company, Golazo Sports.

While Kenyan selection event for global athletics championships have been known to bury big names, the country can ill afford to present a squad in Poland minus the runner born in the conflict torn Mount Elgon region of Rift Valley Province.

Robel Teklemarim places 93rd in cross country ski event

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:41:00 +0000

Ethiopia’s lone Olympian, cross country skier Robel Teklemariam, finished 93rd out of 95 skiers yesterday, completing the 15 kilometer course in 45 minutes, 18 seconds. He improved on his time from the Turin Olympics by two minutes against a tougher field.

Teklemariam’s family was on hand for the competition. His mother, Yeshareg Demisse, runs The Nile restaurant near the VCU campus, which serves Ethiopian food.

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Robel Teklemariam receives a hero's welcome in Vancouver

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:06:00 +0000

Ethiopian Winter Olympics athlete Robel Teklemariam arrived at Vancouver Airport (YVR) yesterday, Feb. 10, 2010, where he was warmly received by several Ethiopians adorning the tricolor flag. Upon arrival, Robel took photos with fans and signed autograph.

The Ethiopian community in Vancouver is hosting a special event honoring Robel at the Collingwood Neighborhood House (5288 Joyce Street) on February 27 starting at 3:30 PM.

(Metro.co.uk) — Robel Teklemariam is the Ethiopian skiing team, its National Skiing Federation and its only hope.

In Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, unfazed by temperatures in the mid-twenties, the 35-year-old regularly pulls on shorts, sunglasses and special ‘roller-skis’ before setting off down a road free of the usual hazards of cars and donkeys.

‘I found this street that had just the right elevation and not too much traffic,’ said the cross-country racer.

‘Roller skiing this close to the Olympics is not the ideal thing. Obviously it’s much better to be on snow. The one good thing is that, in Ethiopia, we’re at 2,700m, so that helps to give you better endurance,’ he added.

Teklemariam found his unlikely calling after spending time as a child in a snow-bound New York state, and was spurred to compete for glory when he saw Kenyans skiing in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

He made it to the Turin Olympics four years ago, meaning Ethiopia was represented at a Winter Olympics for the first time.

Teklemariam came 84th out of about 100 skiers but hopes to improve at the upcoming Vancouver games.

‘If I’m closer to the winner than I was at the last Olympics then I’ll be very happy,’ said the ski instructor.

But he also wants to be a little less lonely as he rolls down the streets.

‘I don’t want to be the first and the last,’ he added.

‘For me, the greatest thing in the world would be that I don’t qualify for the next Olympics because there’s another Ethiopian who’s faster than me.’

Mo Farah set to face Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:31:00 +0000

European 3,000 metres indoor champion Mo Farah will race Ethiopia's three-time Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele in Birmingham on 20 February.

He set the British record last year in a time of seven minutes 34.47 seconds.

Farah, 26, will be aiming for a similar display in next Saturday's Aviva Grand Prix at the National Indoor Arena.

"Bekele is always mentioned as the man to beat, and it's great to pit myself against him with the hope being I can give him a good challenge," he said.

Farah has not competed since coming third in the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country in January - he was in some distress when he crossed the finish line, paying the price for a fast start.

At the end of last year he collapsed with exhaustion following a duel with eventual winner Alemayehu Bezabeh in the men's European Cross Country Championships in Ireland.

Farah was last month instructed to take dietary supplements after tests revealed lower than normal levels of iron and magnesium.

The Londoner has been doing high-altitude winter training in Kenya as he prepares for next month's World Indoor Championships in Doha.

"I'm looking forward to competing in Birmingham," added Farah.

"It will be great to get on the track again alongside the best in the world and benchmark myself against them to gauge my potential performance in Doha.

"It's brilliant to get the chance of running in front of a home crowd, there is always such a fantastic atmosphere, and the crowd really spur you on which is really important in long distance.

"I have a bit of a soft spot for the NIA since my performance last year. Breaking the British record was fantastic and I would love to get close to that again, if not beat it."

Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia wins 5,000m in Boston

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:42:00 +0000

Boston, USA – Tirunesh Dibaba has seen a lot of record-setting success at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, with 5000m World record races in 2005 and 2007, but her attempt to add to that resume fell short at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on Saturday (6) evening as Dibaba ran 14:44.53 in a largely solo performance.

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Ethiopian cross-country skier laying down tracks

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:37:00 +0000

Ethiopia's distance runners are world renowned, but given the East African country's climate and negligible snowfall, its winter sport athletes are scarce, to say the least.

One man is doing everything in his power to change that.

Cross-country skier Robel Teklemariam is Ethiopia's only winter Olympian. He will be competing at the Vancouver Games in the men's 15-kilometre race on Feb. 15, aiming to improve upon his 84th-place finish at the Torino Olympics four years ago.

The 35-year-old has a much bigger objective: to set the stage for other Ethiopians to follow in his tracks.

"After Turin, I met a lot of Ethiopian skiers, but so far, none of them are racers," says Teklemariam. "They just go out and enjoy skiing or snowboarding.

"There are over one million Ethiopians living overseas, all over Scandinavia, all over Canada and the United States. I am pretty sure there will be some young kid who will want to race eventually, and that really is my goal at the end of the day."

Teklemariam left Ethiopia with his parents and five siblings in 1983 when he was just nine years old. At the time, his mother worked for the United Nations and asked for a transfer to UN headquarters in New York in order to give her children the opportunity for a Western education.

Learning to ski
The young Teklemariam spoke no English, but when he enjoyed a summer camp experience in Lake Placid, N.Y., his mother enrolled him in boarding school there. It was there that he learned to ski.

"I went to a race, and one of the guys asked my coach where I was from," Teklemariam recalled. "I had no idea who he was, but he said as a joke, 'You should represent Ethiopia one day at the Olympics.' I heard him, but I never took it seriously, but it was always there in my mind."

While at school, he saw a television documentary on legendary Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who won the 26.2-mile event at the 1960 Olympics running in bare feet. Teklemariam, who has always spoken Amharic and retains an Ethiopian passport, said he felt an enormous attachment to his homeland. Inspired, he focused on his own Olympic dream.

Teklemariam progressed rapidly in his sport and was awarded an athletic scholarship to the University of New Hampshire for cross-country skiing. He hoped to compete in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, but the opportunity for an education superseded his athletic aspirations, so he put his Olympic dream on hold temporarily. After graduation, he soon realized there were other forces at play.

In order to be able to compete in the Olympics, Ethiopia's national Olympic committee had to endorse a ski federation, which at that time didn't exist. When Teklemariam told the Olympic officials of his plan to set one up, they were "dumbfounded at first," he said. Then they got behind his initiative.

With the support of his family, Teklemariam set about fulfilling all the criteria necessary to establish the federation — drawing up bylaws and budgets and seeking sponsorship. Today, the key positions in the organization are held by Teklemariam's family members.

Much of Teklemariam's training and travel expenses are underwritten by Club Med — the global vacation company, which also employs him as a ski instructor.

Doping scare
Preoccupied with his administrative chores for the federation, Teklemariam only qualified for the Torino Games at the 11th hour. But then he hit another obstacle as an anti-doping blood test revealed he had a higher than normal level of hemoglobin — the oxygen-carrying blood protein — and he was ordered to rest for seven days.

Though elevated hemoglobin is not proof of doping, there are always suspicions surrounding such cases. Teklemariam, who claimed the elevated hemoglobin levels were likely the result of living at a high altitude, was allowed to compete eventually.

"The capital of Ethiopia is at an altitude of 3,000 metres [above sea level]," Teklemariam explains. "All my ancestors come from there. Where I train in Aspen, Colo., I trained at an altitude of around 3,000 metres. All my training was done at altitude. The race in Turin was at 1,600 metres altitude. I had no clue about this hemoglobin. I didn't care. I know I am not doing anything wrong.

"The World Anti Doping Agency [WADA] did tests, and it was all negative. I talked to the International Ski Federation [FIS]. I said, 'Listen, I am Ethiopian. I come from high altitude.' The problem is the standard is set on European levels not on Africans' [levels]."

These days, Teklemariam splits his time between various European venues; Aspen, where he is a licensed alpine ski instructor; and his home in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Because of the lack of snow in his home country, he cycles and runs in the mountains outside the capital. Roller skiing is impossible because of the heavy traffic and hilly terrain. He also spends time in a local gymnasium, where he has run into some of the country's best distance runners, including three-time Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele.

'I don't want it to end with me'
Preparations for the 2010 Olympics have not gone as smoothly as Teklemariam would have liked.

When a number of ski competitions this season were cancelled because of a lack of snow, he found himself traveling back and forth across Europe searching for official FIS races in order to qualify for Vancouver. That forced him to cancel a series of planned competitions in Japan.

From now until he leaves for Vancouver, he is based in Marbach, Switzerland.

Teklemariam travels, for the most part, on his own, dragging his equipment bag from train to car to train. On Jan. 8, for example, he took a 15-hour train ride to Oberwiesenthal, Germany, and raced the next day. Then it was on to Innsbruck, Austria, about 600 kilometres away.

"I am really exhausted, but my fitness is OK," he said. "Really, my goal for Vancouver is to improve my time behind the winner and have a better race than in Turin. As far as results, I really want Ethiopia to be a mainstay in winter sports. I don't want be the first and last Ethiopian at the Winter Olympics. I don't want it to end with me."

Though he retains a great deal of optimism, most of his countrymen — those who are aware of him, that is — remain bemused by his pursuit. Nonetheless, he hopes they will watch him on television later this month.

Teklemariam said he was encouraged by a recent encounter with one of Ethiopia's greatest distance runners, Haile Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic champion in the 10,000 metre and the current world marathon record holder.

"I was flying to Japan and met him on the airplane," Teklemariam recalls. "I went up to him and said, 'My God, you are a legend. I am pleased to meet you. I have also been to the Olympic Games.' He said, 'For what sport?' I said, 'Skiing,' and he said, 'I remember you going to Italy with the skiing. Some day, bring us back the gold'."

Ethiopia's Amane Gobena wins Osaka marathon

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:49:00 +0000

OSAKA, JAPAN (AFP) — Ethiopia’s Amane Gobena pulled away from nearest challenger Marisa Barros of Portugal in the last four kilometres to win the Osaka international women’s marathon yesterday.

The 27-year-old Gobena picked up the pace after the 38km mark to leave Barros behind, crossing the finishing line in 2’25:14.

“It was a very difficult and tough course. At the same time, it was very, very competitive. I’m very, very glad to win the race,” said Gobena, who bettered her personal best time of 2’26:53. It was her second career victory out of four starts.

The race was led by nine women including Sydney Olympic silver medallist and three-time Osaka champion Lidia Simon.

But Simon slowed down after 22km and last year’s runner-up, Yukiko Akaba of Japan, also failed to keep the pace after 28km, leaving Gobena, Barros and Japan’s Mari Ozaki out in front.

Barros came in second in 2’25:44, followed by Ozaki in 2’26:27, while Simon was fourth in 2’27:11.

Research says Abebe Bikila was right

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:18:00 +0000

PARIS (AFP) – If running is your thing, you may want to throw away those pricey sports shoes and just do it barefoot, according to a study released Wednesday.

Three-quarters of runners who wear shoes land squarely on their heels -- about 1,000 times for every mile run.

But even well-cushioned sports shoes that help distribute weight across the foot cannot fully absorb the shock of these blows: 30 to 75 percent of regular runners each year suffer repetitive stress injuries.

By contrast, the vast majority of unshod runners don't hit the ground with their heels, landing instead on the sides or balls of their feet, the study found.

The practice is especially common in several east African countries where long-distance running is nearly a national past time.

In 1960, for example, a shoeless Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the 1960 Olympics marathon in record time.

By not "heel-striking," barefoot runners avoid painful and potentially damaging impacts that concentrate the equivalent of two or three times one's body weight on to a coin-sized surface.

"People who don't wear shoes when they run have an astonishingly different strike," said Daniel Lieberman, a professor at Harvard University and lead author of the study.

"By landing on the middle or front of the foot, barefoot runners have almost no impact collision," he said in a press release.

The merits of shoelessness are hotly debated in specialty magazines and online forums, and major manufacturers have started to make thin-as-skin shoes in anticipation of new markets.

But up to now, there has been little scientific evidence supporting the claim that barefoot is better.

Lieberman and colleagues helped fill this void by studying the gaits of three groups of runners in the United States and Kenya: barefoot, shod, and those who had converted to shoeless running.

"Most people today think that barefoot running is dangerous and hurts, but actually you can run barefoot on the world's hardest surfaces without the slightest discomfort and pain," the study found.

"All you need is a few calluses to avoid roughing up the skin of the foot."

But making the switch to barefoot running is not simply a matter of kicking off one shoes, the authors caution.

Running unshod or in so-called "minimal shoes" requires the use of different muscle groups. "If you've been a heel-striker all your life, you have to transition slowly to build strength in calf and foot muscles," Lieberman said.

The study, published in the British science journal Nature, also bolsters evidence suggesting the human foot evolved for rapid upright motion, said William Lungers, a professor at Stony Brook University Medical Center in New York.

"Bipedalism" -- walking on two feet -- "has been around for millions of years, and we have been unshod for more than 99 percent of that time," he wrote in a commentary, also in Nature.

A radical reshaping of the foot about two million years ago, including shorter toes and a fully-arched foot, probably occurred to enhance our ability to move quickly over sustained periods.

"Our endurance running abilities may have evolved to enable our ancestors to engage in 'persistence hunting'," the ability, in other words, to run down one's prey, he said.

Keating, Mandefro wins 3M Half Marathon titles

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:32:00 +0000

Despite a posted start time of 6:45 a.m., the 16th annual 3M Half Marathon & Relay got off to a later start at 7:36 a.m. due to windblown barricades. Start time for wheelchairs as well as runners was delayed by nearly an hour as crews worked to replace barricades knocked over during event preparation by westerly winds gusting up to 28 mph at 6 a.m.

“Our first priority is to keep our athletes safe,” said Matt Fagan, 3M Half Marathon & Relay race director. “Delayed starts are an inconvenience to everyone, especially for a sold out race like this, but it’s more important to keep the runners safe. Everyone was doing the best they could in a difficult situation. We’re grateful to all of the folks helped ensure a safe event for our participants and volunteers, and to the local media outlets who let the community know about the situation to help mitigate traffic problems.”

Winds continued to strengthen during the event overall. By the end of the four hour event, the National Weather Service in Austin/San Antonio issued a wind advisory today, expected to be in effect until 6 p.m. this evening. A Wind Advisory means that sustained winds of 26 to 39 mph are expected.

Regardless of the weather, the event’s historically strong elite field did not disappoint. Westly Keating a University of Texas Pan American graduate from Edinburg, Texas took first place in the 2010 3M Half Marathon with a final time of one hour, three minutes and 22 seconds (1:03:22), leaving intact Martin Fagan’s (current event record holder and no relation to the race director) event record of 1:01:05 set last year. Keating was one of the ones to watch, coming off a 2009 San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon win with 1:05:24. Coming in second, Bado Worku-Merdessa of Ethiopia clocked in with 1:03:51. His countryman, Abiyot Endale, rounded out the top three with a time of 1:04:17.

In the women’s open division, Hirut Mandefro of Ethiopia led the pack with a time of 1:14:24, followed closely by Aziza Aliyu of Ethiopia at 1:14:32. Returning 3M competitor and 2008 second place finish for the women’s division, Claudia Carmargo of Argentina took third with 1:16:52. Defending women’s champion, Belaynesh Gebre of Ethiopia was unable to attend Sunday’s race due to snowy weather.

In the female masters division, Austin’s own Catherine Barrerra took top honors with a time of 1:26:03. Colorado’s Brad Seng won the men’s masters division in 1:09.46. Returning wheelchair champion Brad Ray of New Mexico, was the overall male wheelchair division winner for the third consecutive year at 53:22. A new entrant to the women’s wheelchair field, Sandi Rush of Colorado, took the female wheelchair division title from local Kristen Messer with a time of 1:08:58. Messer finished with 1:36:50.

Start time weather conditions for the race were fair with clear skies and with temperatures about 54 degrees (Fahrenheit) with west/northwest winds of 10 miles per hour with gusts up to 17 mph; humidity was 34 percent.

This was the largest 3M Half Marathon ever, with 5,500 runners registered for the two events: a 13.1 mile half marathon and a two-person half marathon relay (legs of 6.4 and 6.7 miles). The event sold out Thursday evening, Jan. 21, before packet pickup began. The previous high water mark was set in 2008 with more than 5,300 registrants.

Gebrselassie fights off back pain and late race challenge to collect third Dubai victory

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:27:00 +0000

Dubai, UAE - Haile Gebrselassie won the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon for the third time in a row this morning, clocking 2:06:09, and again raking in $250,000, the richest prize in marathoning.

But a back problem, which required intensive pre-race physiotherapy, ruled out a World record attempt from the start, and when two of his lesser known compatriots – Chala Dechase and Eshetu Wendimu - caught him in the final stages of the race, it looked like a massive upset was on the cards.

But the experience of close to 20 years of record breaking pulled Gebre through to his eighth victory in ten completed marathons, with an average time of 2:05:40, easily the most consistently excellent marathoner in history, all capped by his superlative World record of 2:03:59 from Berlin 2008.

Dechase was second in 2:06:33, a personal best by two minutes, and Wendimu was third, the same as last year, but this time two minutes faster in a personal best 2:06:46.

“This night was not a good night for me,” said Gebrselassie, “I slept in a wrong position, on my stomach, and when I woke up, I knew I had a problem, it was not good. I called my physiotherapist, and he came and cracked my back, and said, ‘what have you done?’”

“I was surprised at how humid it was at the start, but I still tried to run fast, but at halfway, I decided just to win the race. When the pacemakers dropped at 30k, I tried to go, but I couldn’t change a gear, so I waited for the second group, and just tried to win. I heard the crowd and knew where the finish was, and I was able to win.”

“This is not an indication I’m old, I still think the World record can be broken here, but these things happen.”

Daska takes an upset in women’s race

The upset was reserved for the women’s race. An Ethiopian won, as expected, but it was Mametu Daska rather than favourites, Bezunesh Bekele, who was fourth, or Askale Magarsa, who finished sixth.

A group of eight reached halfway together, but then began to break up, with only Daska, debutante Aberu Shewaye and last year’s third placer, Kenyan Helena Kirop left in contention at 35k. A kilometre later, Kirop was dropped, and Daska and Shewaye continued their struggle until less than two kilometres from home.

Despite being violently sick in the finishing straight, Daska held onto the 50 metres lead she had forged in the last kilometre, to collapse across the finish line, in 2:24:18, another personal best, ahead of Shewaye’s debut clocking of 2:24:26. Kirop was again third, in 2:24:54, a personal best for her. The prize money was the same as for the men.

Conditions had been more clement than expected, the humidity dropped as the race progressed, and the temperature only rose a degree from 17C (62F) between start and finish. And although the direct sun will have made it uncomfortable for the runners in the second part of the race, Gebreselassie has to add the misfortune of a bad back to the overenthusiastic start two years ago – a first half in 61:45, well under World record pace – and a downpour last year, making it a hat trick of horrors affecting an record attempt, in contrast to the much more satisfying victory treble.

Pat Butcher (organisers) for the IAAF

MEN -
1. Haile GEBRSELASSIE, ETH 2.06.09
2. Chala DECHASE, ETH 2.06.33
3. Eshetu WENDIMU, ETH 2.06.46
4. Abiyote GUTA, ETH 2.09.03
5. Debele TULU, ETH 2.09.43
6. Abraham CHELANGA, KEN 2.10.28
7. Dejene YIRDAW, ETH 2.10.50
8. Lonard MUCHERU, KEN 2.11.08
9. Japhet KOSGEI, KEN 2.11.20
10. Yimane MEKONNEN, ETH 2.12.39

WOMEN -
1. Mametu DASKA, ETH 2.24.18
2. Aberu SHEWAYE, ETH 2.24.26
3. Helena KIROP, KEN 2.24.54
4. Bezunesh BEKELE, ETH 2.26.05
5. Isobella ANDERSSON, SWE 2.26.52
6. Askale MAGARSA, ETH 2.27.29
7. Tedesse YESHIMEBET, ETH 2.27.45
8. Genet GETANEH, ETH 2.30.23
9. Woyshinet TAFA, ETH 2.32.06
10. Shuru DIRIBA, ETH 2.32.36

Gebrselassie returns for spring NYC Half-Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:07:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Haile Gebrselassie will run in the first NYC Half-Marathon held in the spring.
The New York Road Runners announced Wednesday that the marathon world record-holder will compete on March 21.

He set a course record of 59 minutes, 24 seconds in his NYC Half-Marathon debut in 2007.

Gebrselassie says he got "such a warm welcome" in New York City when he ran that he wanted to return. The NYC Half-Marathon had been held in the summer since it began in 2006.

The Ethiopian has won nine of 10 career 13.1-mile races, including a then-world record 58 minutes, 55 seconds in 2006 in Tempe, Ariz.

On Friday, he'll defend his title at the Dubai Marathon.

World record is worth a million to Haile

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:18:00 +0000

Dubai, UAE - Haile Gebrselassie pronounced his preparation “perfect” for Friday’s Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon (22), but reminded everyone at today’s press conference that all the other elements had to be perfect too, even for an attempt on his World record of 2:03:59, set in Berlin 18 months ago.

“I’ve made sure I’m in perfect shape,” said the 36 year old Ethiopian, who will be running in Dubai for the third year in succession. “But everything has to be perfect, the weather, the pacemakers. If everything is perfect, I can run 2:03:30. I don’t promise, if I promise and fail, we’ll all be disappointed. Two years ago, it was a little bit warm at the end (he ran 2:04:53, then second fastest in history), last year, it was raining (he ‘only’ ran 2:05:29, eighth fastest)”.

He dismissed the notion that his first half in 61min 45sec, 2:03:30 pace, in 2008 might have been too fast. “I didn’t run too fast, I want to do the same on Friday. It’s good the race starts at 6.30(am), but above all, I want to keep to the schedule all the way through. Even if you run the first kilometre to slow, you’re catching up all the way.”

His two victories here have netted him half a million dollars, since the race was upgraded in 2008 with a million dollars prize money, with a first prize of $250,000, for both men and women. But there is also the little matter of a million dollar bonus for a World record, offered by Dubai Holding.

Replying to someone who asked what he might do if he won the million dollars, Gebrselassie first said, “I will tell you after I get the million dollars,” then adding as the laughter died down, “If I could get the record by paying a million dollars, I’d do it”.

Three of the pacemakers who delivered him on schedule to 35km last year, before the rains ruined the record attempt - Fabiano Joseph of Tanzania, and John Kales and Sammy Kosgei of Kenya – are in there again.

And another Kenyan Sammy Korir, who was once second fastest in the world, says that he is not in the field as token opposition. Korir ran 2:04:56, one second behind colleague Paul Tergat’s then World record, in Berlin 2003, but has a dozen sub-2:10 times, more than Gebrselassie.

Korir, 38, finished third here two years ago, and said today, “After my run in Berlin, I had injuries and it was difficult, coming back to racing and then getting injured again. But now I have shown I can run fast, 2:07 again (winning in Seoul 2008), so I am looking forward to the race. Dubai is a very good course for running fast”.

Before the 42.2k on Friday, Gebreselassie went off to tackle the half-mile high Burj Khalifa, as one of the first famous guests up the recently opened world’s tallest tower.

And having reiterated today his desire to run the Olympic marathon in London 2012, the inference is that Haile is not planning to slow down any time soon. So, weather and pacemakers permitting, expect another towering time from the Little Emperor on Friday.

Pat Butcher for the IAAF

Ethiopian sweep at the Cross della Vallagarina

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:04:00 +0000

Villa Lagarina, ITA - Ethiopia dominated the 33rd edition of the Cross della Vallagarina near Rovereto on Sunday (17) by taking the win in both the men’s race with Abere Chane and the women’s race with Asmeraworch Bekele.

Men’s race -

Chane killed off the competition with a gun-to-tape race taking the lead from the early stages of the 8.8 km race. Abere, who finished fifth at the 2004 IAAF World Junior Championships in Grosseto in the 10,000m and has run a PB of 27:47 over the distance, went to the lead during the first lap. The only athlete who was able to follow the Ethiopian was Ukrainian 2:10:36 marathoner Vasyl Matvichuk who tried to close the gap on Chane during the first lap.

Matvichuk, who is planning to run the Marathon at the European Championships in Barcelona next summer, managed to keep up with Chane briefly on the downhill section of the course during the first lap but his effort probably took its toll uphills when Chane pushed the pace increasing his gap to 20 metres.

Meanwhile the chasing group formed by Italian runners Stefano La Rosa, Gabriele De Nard, Yuri Floriani, Gianmarco Buttazzo and Martin Dematteis fought for third place but they were well behind. During the second lap Chane continued to push the pace carving out a solid margin over Matvichuk which proved to be decisive. The Ethiopian continued to pull away lap after lap with a margin of more than 20 seconds at the bell. During the last lap he continued his stroll taking the win at a canter in 25:52 by 29 seconds over Matvichuk. During the third lap Matvichuk suffered from a stitch but managed to hold on defending his second place in 26:21 prevailing by five seconds over Stefano La Rosa, third overall and first among the Italians.

“It was a very good race. It was a easy win but the course was tough with a lot of ups and downs. I am now returning to Ethiopia for the National Cross Country Championships”, said Chane, who won the Vienna Silvester race on 31 December.

Women’s race -

In the women’s race a quartet formed by 2006 European Cross Country Championships Tatyana Holovchenko, the two young Ethiopians Asmeraworch Bekele and Tizita Bogale, and local favourite Federica Dal Ri went to the front from the early stages. Holovchenko was the first to launch an attack during the first lap. The Ukrainian kept the pace in the front closely followed by the two young Ethiopians and Dal Ri, who won last year in Vallagarina ahead of Holovchenko.

Bogale, who was born in 1993 and finished fifth in the 800m at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Bressanone last summer, and Bekele launched their decisive attack during the second lap breaking away from the European pair of Dal Ri and Holovchenko. Dal Ri managed to pull away from Holovchenko uphill during the second lap.

Bogale and Bekele battled it out for the win during the third and last lap. They ran a neck-to-neck race until the final metres when Bekele edged out her compatriot in a dramatic final sprint into the finish-line. They shared the same final time of 18:37. Dal Ri, who finished 19th at the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin and third at the Campaccio on 6 January, took third place to the delight of local crowd and the local Quercia Rovereto athletics team for which the Italian runner started her career. Holovchenko finished a distant fourth in 19:17, 25 seconds behind Dal Ri.

Bekele was born in 1991. She has clocked 4:10 in the 1500m but is planning to run over longer distances in the future. She finished ninth in the 1500m at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz 2008. During 2009 she finished fourth in the 1500m at the Ethiopian Championships and seventh at the National Cross Country Championships. More recently she won the Vienna Silvester Race on 31 December.

“I am returning to Ethiopia for the National Cross Championships. I am aiming at qualifying for the World Cross Country Championships in Bydszgoxz on 28 March. The half marathon may become my distance for the future,” the young Ethiopian said.

Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF

Leading Results:

MEN (8.8 km) -
1. Abere Chane, ETH 25:52
2. Vasyl Matvich, UKR 26:21
3. Stefano La Rosa, ITA 26:26
4. Gabriele De Nard, ITA 26:29
5. Yury Floriani, ITA 26:42
6. Gianmarco Buttazzo, ITA 26:44
7. Martin Dematteis, ITA 26:49
8. Stefano Scaini, ITA 26:57
9. Bernard Dematteis, ITA 27:01
10. Josef Katib, GER 27:17

WOMEN (5.5 km) -
1. Asmeraworch Bekele, ETH 18:37
2. Tizita Bogale, ETH 18:37
3. Federica Dal Ri, ITA 18:52
4. Tetyana Holovchenko, UKR 19:17
5. Renate Rungger, ITA 19:36
6. Simona Santini, ITA 19:37
7. Livia Toth, HUN 19:39
8. Ivana Iozzia, ITA 19:44
9. Barbara La Barbera, ITA 19:45
10 .Silvia La Barbera, ITA 19:49

Gelana sprints to record time, blazing finish

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:17:00 +0000

Teyba Erkesso stunned nobody by defending her title and lowering the women’s course record again Sunday morning. Anything else would have been a surprise.

But there were plenty of reasons fellow Ethiopian Teshome Gelana shouldn’t have found himself in the George R. Brown Convention Center sporting a new cowboy hat and pointing his index fingers high in the air, having just run the fastest 26.2 miles in Texas history to claim the championship of the 38th Chevron Houston Marathon.

For starters, marathon officials originally had told Gelana’s agent, Hussein Makké, that all the deadlines had passed and there was literally no more room at the inn. After all, it was early January and the elite field is generally set by mid-December at the latest.

Gelana, 25, didn’t pack much clout, either. Not well known here with a personal best of barely under 2 hours, 12 minutes — more than four minutes slower than Deriba Merga’s sizzling course record of a year ago — he hardly offered a compelling reason for special treatment.

But Makké refused to take no for an answer when he spoke with David Chester, the race’s longtime elite athletes liaison, saying: “David, just put his name in your computer. I will take care of everything else.”

Which Makké did, with one nearly disastrous exception. Nobody, Gelana included, realized his passport was on the verge of expiring. Had the letter of the law been followed, he shouldn’t have been allowed to fly to the United States from Addis Abba, Ethiopia. And, once he arrived, he could have been refused entry.

Difficult entry
But the slender Gelana looks like a world-class runner, so common sense prevailed and customs let him through. After checking into a room occupied by two other Ethiopian runners, he made it to the starting line with no further obstacles.

For the first 22 miles, nobody paid much attention to him. He was just one of a half-dozen East Africans bunched at the front of the field and, although the pace was swift, it wasn’t expected to threaten Merga’s 2:07:52.

Then … whoosh!

Approaching the Shepherd Street bridge to cross Buffalo Bayou and start the Allen Parkway homestretch, Gelana took off like he’d suddenly commandeered a motorcycle. With a 4:40 mile there, he exploded from the pack and churned home unchallenged. His 2:07:37 beat countryman Zembaba Yigeze by 50 seconds and erased Merga’s mark by 15.

“I was laughing to myself,” Makké said. “I’m thinking he is the luckiest runner in the world this week.”

Said Chester: “I’d done some research on (Gelana) and I wasn’t sure he’d be (competitive). I’d seen what he’d run before. But Hussein and I have a terrific relationship and he insisted, so I said, ‘Why not?’ We can always find room for one more.”

Why was Gelana a late entry? The original plan, Makké said, had called for him to compete in the Phoenix Marathon on Sunday, but his coach had a gut feeling Houston was where he belonged after he prevailed in the Addis Abba race in early December.

Pushing the limits
That’s another thing. How many runners win two marathons six weeks apart? And, in the second, lower one’s personal best by more than four minutes? His previous fastest time was a 2:11:50 in Reims, France, in 2008.

“I did not expect this,” Gelana said through an interpreter.

He wasn’t alone.

Amazingly, six runners wound up breaking 2:10, which only Merga had accomplished in the previous 37 Houston Marathons. And Merga obliterated a 20-year-old record.

Brett Gotcher’s excellent 2:10:36 in his debut marathon was tops by an American in the race’s history, yet all it earned was seventh place.

“They showed they’re the real deal today,” Gotcher, 25, said of his African rivals, who included the pre-race favorite, Kenyan Jason Mbote, who had to settle for third (2:08:58). “I thought they were going out too hard, but I was staying in contact with them about halfway through — ‘All right, I told myself, I’m back in the race’ — but they put the pedal to the metal and they were gone. That second half was ridiculous.”

Gelana ran a 1:03:09 over the final 13.1 miles, competitive with the 1:01:54 Antonio Vega put up to win the Aramco Half Marathon.

Erkesso, 27, subsequently ensured a clean sweep by Ethiopians for the second year in a row when she came in about 15 minutes later, pushed to near perfection by her husband, Kasime Adillo, the runner-up in the 2008 marathon.

But Adillo’s only mission this cool, sunny day was to be her “rabbit,” keeping Erkesso focused and motoring along. Her 2:23:53 bettered the 2:24:18 she ran in 2009 and was nearly five minutes faster than the 2:28:44 posted by runner-up Margarita Plaksina of Russia.

“Everything went according to plan,” Erkesso said, also through an interpreter.

Erkesso prevailed despite having raced this past weekend in the lucrative Abu Dhabi Half Marathon. She finished ninth there, using it as a trainer for Houston.

In retrospect, she admitted it took enough of a toll to cost her a chance to run a hoped-for sub-2:23 time Sunday.

Kenya's Ndiso wins Mumbai Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:56:00 +0000

NEW DELHI (AP) — Dennis Ndiso has won the Mumbai Marathon to continue the dominance of Kenyan runners at the event.
Ndiso finished in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 34 seconds in humid conditions Sunday. Siraj Gena of Ethiopia was second in 2:13:58.

Bizunesh Mohammed won the women's race in 2:31:09 as Ethiopians claimed the 10 top positions. Last year's winner, Haile Kekebush, finished second and Azalech Masrecha came in third.

More than 38,000 runners participated in the 26.2-mile race.

In-form Deneke on course to race away with marathon title

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:13:00 +0000

Ethiopian distance runner Teklu-Tefera Deneke is seeking to defend his Bermuda International Marathon title on Sunday, and last month he showed he has the fitness to possibly produce one of the fastest times seen on the Island for many years.

Deneke was runner-up in the St. Jude Memphis Marathon in December when he ran a time of two hours, 16 minutes and 40 seconds.

No athlete has run a faster time in Bermuda's International Marathon since record holder Andy Holden in 1981.

More on Here

Dedebit Soccer Club appear unstoppable

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:25:00 +0000

After a dramatic 3-2 victory over Defense Force, premier league newcomer Dedebit are run away league leaders, eight points ahead of defending champions Saint George.
Insurance are also on a winning spree, while Electric have lost four matches in a row. Meta Abo are bottom of the table with a mere six points.
Dedebit's recent 12 match unbeaten run has drawn admiration from league observers, who are happy to have a new force emerge so quickly. Coach Wubetu Abate's strong squad has collected 32 out of a possible 36 points from 12 games, with 10 wins and two draws.
Temesgen Tekle is one of the three leading goal scorers with eight goals after his double strike at the weekend to give Dedebit the 3-2 victory.
With the absence of a number of key injured players, defending champions Saint George are now second in the table with 24 points after Mohammed Naser scored his eighth goal of the season from the penalty spot to help earn a 1-0 victory over Electric FC. This was the fourth defeat in a row for Electric. Awassa lost 2-0 in the away match against Sebeta Kenema, who are on the rise under the leadership of Paulos Getachew. The defeat was the second of the season for Awassa. After their surprise victory over Saint George a week ago, Metahara Sugar went one better with the demolishing of Trans Ethiopia 4-1. Insurance grabbed their fourth win in a row with a 3-2 victory over bottom club Meta Abo Brewery and now sit sixth in the table with 17 points. Following a goalless home draw with Ethiopian Coffee, Adama Kenema took the third spot with 21 points; one above fourth placed Awassa Kenema. Seifedin Hulder of Defense, Temesgen Tekle of Dedebit and Mohammed Naser of Saint George share top place in the top scorer's chartwith 8 goals each.

Race fans stunned as Bekele slides to defeat

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:32:00 +0000

WE shall probably never know exactly why Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele slithered to a shock defeat in the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country in Holyrood Park on Saturday, over much of the course where he won the 2008 World title, but it was certainly a shock of seismic proportions that the double Olympic 5000 metres and 10,000 metres champion could finish only fourth.

Was it the conditions, was it the quality of the opposition with two young Kenyans, Joseph Ebuya and Titus Mbishei seizing the moment to realise their undoubted potential by snatching the first two places or was it that Bekele was perhaps not in the best of shape? The 28-year-old running machine, who is possibly the finest distance runner the world has ever seen, graciously faced his interrogators afterwards and lamely offered the excuse that: "Maybe I made a mistake coming three days before the race as I couldn't train because of the weather."

He would hardly have lost significant fitness in such a short space of time – much more likely is that he is behind in his preparations for what is a relatively fallow year internationally and just did not want to take risks charging down the hill from Haggis Knowe on a slippery surface in vain pursuit of the three Kenyans, the former winner Eliud Chipchoge completing the rout by finishing third over the nine-kilometre course.

But, as baffled observers pointed out, Bekele had lost a shoe in his 2008 World victory at Holyrood and still caught up and won.

By contrast, his countrywoman Tirunesh Dibaba, pictured right, who was also having her first experience of racing in snow, looked supremely in command as she decided the conditions were not too bad and piled on the pressure in the second half of the race to win by ten seconds from the world 5000 metres champion Vivian Cheriuyot of Kenya, who was distinctly unhappy in the snow. "Not good," she gasped.

Third was Kalkidan Gezahegn (Ethiopia), just ahead of two fast-finishing Brits, Hayley Yelling-Higham and Steph Twell.

Scotland's recent "convert" Twell, who claims that Holyrood is her "favourite course in all the world", was quite chipper with her performance despite being pipped on the line.

The 20-year-old Aldershot-based student was outsprinted by European champion Yelling but was still delighted with her fifth spot in a world-class field.

"I felt extremely strong and I just wanted to show that I could mix it with that sort of opposition and I think I've shown that," said Twell, who was bitterly disappointed with her poor showing in last month's European in Dublin.

"That wasn't me in Dublin – that was due to a combination of things including university stress," explained the former European Junior champion.

"But for the last three weeks I've really been a full-time athlete and able to train."

The feisty Twell led the three African medallists going into the last lap of the 6k race.

"Maybe what we did played into Dibaba's hands a little bit – we did the hard work and she got a little bit of a tow but hopefully she'll now know who I am and feel my presence in other races."

Edinburgh's Freya Murray also bravely went with the leaders in the early stages but may have paid the penalty and was forced to drop back on the last lap to finish eighth. "I'm pleased and I'm not – pleased to be in the top ten and pleased I tried to go with them," explained Murray, who left yesterday for some warm weather training in South Africa.

There was another shock when Britain's Mo Farah, the breakaway early leader, was pushed into third place in the men's 4K race and briefly had to have medical attention as he did in the European in Dublin where he fainted and was taken to hospital.

First to take up the chase was Steve Vernon who, in turn, was overtaken by Ricky Stevenson, who produced a storming finish to win in 13:20, with Vernon second in 13:23 and Farah third (13:28).

Central's Robert Russell was first Scot in eighth place in 14:08 with Corstorphine's Dougie Selman 17th (14:52).

John Newsom (Pitreavie) had the distinction of finishing first Scot in the 9k-long course race in 14th place (31:22), a place behind Napier University student Dal Mulhare (31:18).

But perhaps the most encouraging performance of the day from a local viewpoint was another under-17 victory for Ross Matheson (Lasswade).

Whoever is appointed this week to be the new boss of Scottish Athletics will be hoping for a few more Mathesons to emerge between now and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Ethiopian Deriba Merga breaks events record: Events break tape as far as popularity

noreply@blogger.com (blogger) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:31:00 +0000

When he speaks about the Chevron Houston Marathon, managing director Steven Karpas often says, “We must be doing something right.”

That's too modest, though. It seems they are doing a lot of things right. Even Mother Nature wants on the bandwagon.

The 38th running of the race, which again will be the largest annual single-day sports event in the city by a long shot, sidestepped this weekend's deep freeze and, if the long-range forecast holds, will go off Jan. 17 with temperatures in the 50s. If the showers that are possible hold off, that's perfect weather for the record field expected to approach 30,000 with the wheelchair and 5K competitors included.

The marathon and Aramco Half Marathon participation cap has been increased significantly — by 4,000 to 22,000 — yet the places sold out in less than three days. It took the event three months last year for 18,000 places to be locked up, and that was the fastest at that time.

This year also marks the first time the 5K sold out in advance of race weekend.

All those runners mean extra cash for the many charities the race assists. Karpas said $1.4 million to $1.5 million is a viable goal, up from $1.1 million in 2009.

Bigger, of course, isn't necessarily better competitively, and the marathon has again left itself with a tough act to follow. Ethiopian Deriba Merga shaved more than two minutes off the 20-year-old course record last January by finishing in 2:07:52 — the fastest 26.2 miles run in Texas.

Merga then went on to conquer the famed Boston Marathon, a triumph he is pointing toward replicating this April.

New champ guaranteed
Unfortunately, for that reason Merga returns this week only as a VIP guest, having told organizers his training schedule for 2010 is designed for him to peak later in the year.

But instead of wringing his hands over Merga sending his regrets, Karpas contends a slower winning time — if it is slower — would hardly guarantee less drama.

“I think we're going to have one of those turn-the-corner-on-Rusk-(Street)-sprint finishes,” he said. “Last year, we had Merga all by himself.

“Our elite (runner) coordinators worked hard at getting us a great race this year. To be honest, as a running geek, that's what I'm looking for.”

When Merga crossed, you couldn't see runner-up Benson Cheruiyot approaching because he was nearly four minutes behind. But the current field's depth at the top should take the “rabbit” pace-setters out of the equation, and that's a positive thing.

The hired guns have mostly underperformed in recent years. They failed Merga in his stated goal of breaking the North American marathon record of 2:05:42.

Kenya's Cheruiyot returns in better shape than a year ago, Karpas said, as does his no-relation countryman — three-time Houston champion David Cheruiyot, who failed to finish in 2009.

But Karpas thinks two newcomers, also from Kenya, might set off some fireworks in their hot pursuit of the $35,000 first prize.

Jason Mbote ran a personal-best 2:07:37 for third place in the 2008 Seoul Marathon; Charles Kibiwott posted a 2:08:30 in the same race. Those times would indicate they at least have a shot at collecting the $10,000 bonus for breaking Merga's record.

Added attraction
On the women's side, Teyba Erkesso of Ethiopia will try to collect an extra $10.000 by eclipsing the women's course record — the 2:24:18 she ran in 2009.

And the half-marathon will have a buzz with 10,000-meter Olympic bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan attempting her first half-marathon.

The men's and women's half-marathons continue to serve as the annual U.S. championship races.

Flanagan, 28, finished Beijing's 10,000-meter course — about half as long as a half-marathon — in 30 minutes, 22 seconds, setting the U.S. record and becoming just the second American to medal in the event.

“Being on the road is a little foreign to me,” she said when it was announced she was coming. “But Houston's got good weather, a fast course and a good crowd. I'm really excited to toe the line in Houston and tackle a whole new event.”

Karpas said Flanagan's decision to enter Houston is another indication of the esteem with which the city's competitions are held. He also noted that the race directors for the New York Marathon and the Boston Marathon will be among the weekend's VIP guests, an indication they must think Houston's doing something right.

“Our event's a jewel,” Karpas said. “It's awesome.”

dale.robertson@chron.com