Thursday, 21 January 2010
Ethiopians Magarsa and Bekele gunning for second Dubai women’s victory
Bezunesh Bekele winning in Dubai (organisers)
relnews
Dubai, UAE - Ethiopians look like winning the jackpot for the third year running, in the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon tomorrow (Friday). Haile Gebrselassie is the firm favourite to rack up a hat trick of victories; and the women’s winner is almost certain to be a compatriot for the third successive year.
Equally likely, the women’s winner will be doing the trick for the second time, since outstanding favourites, Bezunesh Bekele and Askale Magarsa, have both won here, Bekele last year, and Magarsa two years ago. We might have had a third winner, their better known colleague Berhane Adere, who won in 2008, but she cried off a few days ago, having failed to satisfy herself that she was fit enough.
The prospect of seeing her national record, 2:20:42 being broken might have been an additional factor, because unusually for the normally reticent East Africans, both Bekele and Magarsa were right upfront about their ambitions to join the exclusive women’s sub-2:20 club.
That numbers just nine women so far, with Magarsa right on the verge with her 2:21:31 in Berlin 18 months ago, and Bekele a little further out, but with her 2:23:09 all the more impressive since it was in her debut, here two years ago, second to Adere.
Magarsa’s form plumetted after a bad hip injury, and she had to drop out of Berlin just over three months ago, but after a month jogging and swimming, she’s so confident that she had asked to be paced to the halfway in 70mins, ie 2:20 pace.
“Even when I ran 2:21 in Berlin in 2008, I was having pains in my right leg,” she said today (Thursday), relying on husband (and pacemaker) Debele Tola to fill any gaps in her English. “But when I dropped out of Berlin last time, the pain was even worse, like a stress fracture. It was always in the right leg, but then I had problems in the left, through over-compensation.”
“But I feel very confident now, my ambition is to run a personal best here, I feel in 2:20 shape, provided the weather is good. Dubai is a perfect course, but it does depend on the weather.”
Tola chipped in, “She has much more potential than she has shown so far. I think she can run 2:16, or better, maybe even a World record (2:15:25, by Paula Radcliffe).”
“My ambition is to run a personal best here,” responded Magarsa, “then a personal best in Berlin, I like both courses.”
The dimunitive Bekele, one metre 48, less than five feet tall, and weighing in at 38k (84lbs) will not be easy to dislodge from the top spot on the rostrum. She beat Magarsa into third place two years ago, and stormed through last year’s downpour in the final stages to win in 2:24:02.
“The marathon distance is very difficult,” she said this morning (Thursday), “it’s not like 10k, or even 20k. But I have worked towards winning here. I’d like to run 2:20, but I’d prefer to do it gradually, 2:22, 2:21, 2:20, I think it’s better that way.”
She and husband Tessma Absero (2:08:26 in Hamburg 08) built a house with the $250,000 she won here last year. Pausing only to ask, “Why, do you need some?” when your intrepid reporter asked what she was going to do with the quarter million if she won again, she continued, “I’m not thinking of the money, I’m thinking of the race.”
And, with a 06:30 start (02:30gmt) and a forecast of 20 C (68 F), the race looks to be stacking up very nicely.
Pat Butcher (organisers) for the IAAF
Equally likely, the women’s winner will be doing the trick for the second time, since outstanding favourites, Bezunesh Bekele and Askale Magarsa, have both won here, Bekele last year, and Magarsa two years ago. We might have had a third winner, their better known colleague Berhane Adere, who won in 2008, but she cried off a few days ago, having failed to satisfy herself that she was fit enough.
The prospect of seeing her national record, 2:20:42 being broken might have been an additional factor, because unusually for the normally reticent East Africans, both Bekele and Magarsa were right upfront about their ambitions to join the exclusive women’s sub-2:20 club.
That numbers just nine women so far, with Magarsa right on the verge with her 2:21:31 in Berlin 18 months ago, and Bekele a little further out, but with her 2:23:09 all the more impressive since it was in her debut, here two years ago, second to Adere.
Magarsa’s form plumetted after a bad hip injury, and she had to drop out of Berlin just over three months ago, but after a month jogging and swimming, she’s so confident that she had asked to be paced to the halfway in 70mins, ie 2:20 pace.
“Even when I ran 2:21 in Berlin in 2008, I was having pains in my right leg,” she said today (Thursday), relying on husband (and pacemaker) Debele Tola to fill any gaps in her English. “But when I dropped out of Berlin last time, the pain was even worse, like a stress fracture. It was always in the right leg, but then I had problems in the left, through over-compensation.”
“But I feel very confident now, my ambition is to run a personal best here, I feel in 2:20 shape, provided the weather is good. Dubai is a perfect course, but it does depend on the weather.”
Tola chipped in, “She has much more potential than she has shown so far. I think she can run 2:16, or better, maybe even a World record (2:15:25, by Paula Radcliffe).”
“My ambition is to run a personal best here,” responded Magarsa, “then a personal best in Berlin, I like both courses.”
The dimunitive Bekele, one metre 48, less than five feet tall, and weighing in at 38k (84lbs) will not be easy to dislodge from the top spot on the rostrum. She beat Magarsa into third place two years ago, and stormed through last year’s downpour in the final stages to win in 2:24:02.
“The marathon distance is very difficult,” she said this morning (Thursday), “it’s not like 10k, or even 20k. But I have worked towards winning here. I’d like to run 2:20, but I’d prefer to do it gradually, 2:22, 2:21, 2:20, I think it’s better that way.”
She and husband Tessma Absero (2:08:26 in Hamburg 08) built a house with the $250,000 she won here last year. Pausing only to ask, “Why, do you need some?” when your intrepid reporter asked what she was going to do with the quarter million if she won again, she continued, “I’m not thinking of the money, I’m thinking of the race.”
And, with a 06:30 start (02:30gmt) and a forecast of 20 C (68 F), the race looks to be stacking up very nicely.
Pat Butcher (organisers) for the IAAF