Ethiopia's Gezahegne Abera proved that he has mastered the very difficult art of championship marathon running in the opening event of the World Championships. Never before has anyone won both the Olympic and World titles in the marathon. He has done so at the age of 23.
Running a championship marathon in summer is so different from running a spring or fall marathon that it might as well be considered a different event. At the elite level, the big money spring/fall marathons are all about running fast, with courses designed for speed and schedules aimed at optimal weather. Look at the yearly list at the end of the season, and you will see it dominated by times from Boston, Berlin, Rotterdam, and the like. You won't see very many runners getting their best marathon times in Edmonton.
It's all about winning here, and representing your nation is more important than how much money is on the line (a modest $60,000 goes to the winner). The course is tougher than the pancake flat Rotterdam or the mostly downhill Boston. The heat and humidity are worse. There are no rabbits. It is much more like a poker game than an exercise in seeing who can run the fastest. Racing smarts, and the ability to run well in tough conditions, are the skills a champion needs.
Abera won. Khalid Khannouchi, the world record holder, folded just after halfway. He complained about the heat, and said the pace was too slow for him. He will run fast this fall, I am sure. I am just as sure now that at this point in his career, the American by way of Morocco, despite being the fastest marathoner ever, is not well prepared to contest a major summer championship.
Abera won the race after outsprinting Simon Bitok of Kenya. There is little love between runners from the two rival nations. After the race, despite finishing within a second of each other, the two did not speak, shake hands, or otherwise acknowledge each other.
Earlier however, as they approached the stadium in the final stages of the race, Abera did something that was either a wonderful gesture of sportsmanship, or a fortunate reflex. At one fork in the road, Bitok took a few strides heading in the wrong direction, and Abera pointed out the correct path. The race was so close, that kind gesture could have easily cost the Ethiopian the gold. That he would help out a runner from a nation that has a fierce rivalry with his own is quite commendable.
Of note from the around the Worlds
The U.S. marathon team didn't fare so well behind Khannouchi. Josh Cox placed 35th in 2:26:52, Eddy Hellebuyck placed 38th in 2:28:01, and Mike Dudley placed 48th in 2:30:45. David Morris dropped out.
Marathon organizers had originally planned to have all finishers slower than 2:25 shunted off to an alternate finish line so that the opening ceremonies could continue without further interruption. Fortunately, they allowed all runners to finish in the stadium, a wise move, seeing that most of the ticket buyers are from Canada and the United States. The original plan would have kept all the Canadian and American runners from finishing inside the stadium.
Olympic champion Denise Lewis has pulled out of the heptathlon because of recurrent stomach problems.
The IAAF changed its name but not its initials. Now it stands for the International Association of Athletic Federations. The organization also has an extra $17 million in its bank account now. That's how much it made from the Sydney Olympics, double its take from Atlanta 1996.
The mailbag
Mike Bartholomew: "When you said 'U.S. has no contenders' in the 20K walk, what did you mean? The U.S. does have one competitor in the 20K walk, American recordholder and 2000 Olympian Tim Seaman. If you meant by no way of winning you would be correct ... it just seems a little misleading."
Response: Sorry to mislead, or offend, but I meant "contender" in the usual way, someone who has a realistic shot at winning. The 20K walk isn't the only event in which the U.S. has competitors but no real contenders. The Worlds is a tough meet, and many of our newer stars will find out something the veterans already know: it's a much bigger pond than they're used to, and there are sharks in it.
Jeff Hollobaugh, former managing editor of Track and Field News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached by e-mail at michtrack@aol.com.
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