Haile Gebrselassie relaxing in Berlin (© Victah Sailer)
“Berlin is my lucky city,” says Haile Gebrselassie. “Sometimes in sport this happens that there is a place where you have always been successful.”
Now the 35-year-old Ethiopian super star of distance running has returned to the German capital to run and win Sunday’s real,-Berlin Marathon for the third time in a row. No other runner has achieved a hat trick in the history of the event, which will see its 35th edition with 40,827 athletes from 107 nations tomorrow.
'I know I can run 2:03'
Speaking at a press conference Gebrselassie said he was ready for another World record challenge, but remained reserved concerning specific times. A year ago Gebrselassie had improved Paul Tergat’s World record (2:04:55) to 2:04:26 in Berlin. On Sunday he will try to improve this mark and hopes to become the first runner to break 2:04 for the classic distance.
“I know that I can run 2:03, but I am not sure when I will be able to achieve this,” said Gebrselassie, who has broken 18 World records and set seven World bests. “Maybe others will run 2:02 or even 2:00 in the future. But for myself I know that I am capable of 2:03. But regarding Sunday I don’t want to predict a time.”
“If you want to run a World record in the Marathon everything has to be perfect on the day. If I can run a record on Sunday that would be great, if not I will look ahead to next year. But Berlin offers the fastest course – there is always something possible here.”
Current weather forecasts suggest ideal temperatures between 12 and 16° Celsius and dry conditions. But winds could disturb the runners on Sunday.
“I am planning to run exactly the same pace as last year for the half marathon (62:29). Because I learnt from the mistake I made in Dubai, when I ran the first half way too fast.” In Dubai in January Gebrselassie had passed the half way mark in 61:27 and still finished in the second fastest time ever with 2:04:53.
Gebrselassie again confirmed that he has no regrets not to have run the Marathon in Beijing. “I saw the race on TV. It was a fantastic performance by Sammy Wanjiru and of course the first ever Olympic gold for Kenya. So that was great for him. What really surprised me was the very fast time of Wanjiru (2:06:32). I had never expected that to happen.”
“For myself I am happy with what I did in Beijing. After I had decided not to run the marathon I thought why not try to qualify for the 10,000 metres once more?” said Gebrselassie, who had fears that possible smog in Beijing could harm his health if he would have opted for the marathon. “As a marathon runner it is not so easy to come back to a shorter distance on the track. I tried to win a medal at the Olympics, but I was happy with the sixth place.”
When he came back home from Beijing Gebrselassie concentrated on endurance training sessions to prepare for Berlin.
Berlin '09 beckons
“Training at home did go really well. And I was in a very good form. But then I had a slight muscle problem two weeks ago. But this is normal if you train at such a high level. Now I feel fit and confident for Sunday,” said Gebrselassie, who aims to qualify for another Berlin race on Sunday.
“Next year I want to run the World Championships’ marathon in Berlin. Today I am a marathon runner, so I also have to run the distance in a big championship.” Gebrselassie feels that Berlin will be the perfect place for him to finally do it.
“I would really like it if it would be run on the same course.” But this will not quite happen next summer. The World championships’ marathons will be staged on a 10Km loop course with the Brandenburg Gate as its centre piece. So at least parts of it will be familiar for Gebrselassie, who ruled out any record attempt in the World Championships. “This will only be about winning, you don’t care about the time in such a race.”
Having said earlier that he intends to run the Olympic Marathon in London 2012 Gebrselassie indicated that this might not yet be the end of his career. “Why should I not run still in 2016? I think it is a mistake to set a certain date and then stop. When you feel it is enough then you should stop, but my goal is to continue running for many years.”
So there might be a couple of more races in his ‘lucky city’ as well in the future.
“When I was running here in Berlin in the Ekiden (marathon relay) as a junior I had a great race. Then I had success at the ISTAF track meeting and the last two Marathon races in Berlin were fantastic for me. Berlin is like a home game for me. That is why I will go for the World Championships next year.”
Gebrselassie said that he always gets huge support whenever he runs in Germany. That already started on Friday morning, when he landed at Frankfurt airport and went on to the connecting flight to Berlin. Officers at the passport control wished him the best of luck for the marathon.
“They then said they would run the Berlin Marathon as well. I was surprised that they were still on duty two days before the race. But they said they would travel to Berlin in the evening.”
Jörg Wenig for the IAAF
