Gabriela Szabo’s Golden Ambitions
Sabrina Yohannes for the IAAF
At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Gabriela Szabo of Romania was a favoured athlete in the 5000 metres who chose to also enter the 1500 metres in search of a second medal. But Szabo never made it to the 5000 metre final.
"I had the best time in the start list," recalled Szabo, during a recent interview. "But I couldn't do it… Maybe because in Atlanta, there was much humidity, and it was very hot. I didn't drink enough water."
A week - and plenty of fluids - later, Szabo became the surprise second-place finisher in the 1500 metres, but she was crushed by her failure to qualify for her main event: "I don't like to remember this," she said.
This year, Gabriela Szabo successfully completed two middle-distance doubles, earning her third straight gold medal over 3000 metres (now her favourite event) in addition to a 1500 metre gold at the World Indoor Championships in Maebashi last March, and kicking off her outdoor season at the European Cup in Paris ten days ago with the same double victory.
Now, the ambitious 23-year-old is hoping for yet another set of back-to-back victories: a seven-event winning streak - beginning with the 3000 metre race in Oslo tonight - that would crown her an IAAF Golden League champion when the series ends in September.
An outdoor world champion over 5000 metres, Szabo was the one of three athletes to win four events (over 3000 and 5000 metres) in the 1997 Golden Four series that preceded the 1998 launch of the IAAF Golden League.
Szabo, who is managed by Netherlands-based agent Jos Hermens, will be challenged in the 3000 metres tonight by two other athletes managed by Hermens, world indoor 3000 metre silver medallist Zahra Ouaziz of Morocco and world cross country champion Gete Wami of Ethiopia. The field also includes Great Britain's Paula Radcliffe.
"Usually, Szabo has the better kick," said Hermens of his athletes, "but all three are very strong. In the end, the better one will win."
Wami and Ouaziz have both competed in Grand Prix II meets over 1500 metres this season, Wami winning in Hengelo, the Netherlands last month and Ouaziz placing second in Gateshead, England on Sunday.
"They all worked together last year in Berlin," said Hermens, recalling the Grand Prix meet where Szabo, Ouaziz and Wami finished 1-2-3 in the 5000 metres, setting European, African and Ethiopian records respectively. The three women also finished 1998 in the same order on the world 3000 metre lists, although one additional athlete ran faster than Wami.
Szabo's 3000 metre time of 8:36.35 in Paris is the fastest outdoors so far this year. She lead several world lists the last couple of years and set indoor world marks over 2000 metres in 1998 and 5000 metres last February (narrowly missing the 3000 metre mark later the same month), but the petite athlete began logging credits on her stellar running résumé long before that.
This is the ninth year Gabriela Szabo has competed in major international competitions, after being discovered as an adolescent 600m runner in a Romanian school in the city of Bistrita. She was recruited into an athletic club by the team's coach, Gyongyossy Zsolt, who remains her trainer to this day.
"We started training together in 1988, April," Szabo recalled. "But I never dreamed of running the Olympics or world championships or European championships."
Zsolt, however, had seen her potential, and said that by 1993-1994, he sensed she was Olympic material.
Szabo has, in fact, medalled at the junior or senior level in a world or European championship every year since 1991 - except for 1996, when she medalled at the Olympics instead.
"I am very happy, because I worked so much and this is my result," said Szabo of her achievements so far, but she is not content to just pat herself on the back. "No," she said, "I want so much."
A share in the IAAF Golden League Jackpot and gold in Seville are certainly part of those aims for 1999.
