Vanderlei De Lima of Brazil meets Italy’s Stefano Baldini (© Lorenzo Sampaolo)
Italy’s Olympic Marathon champion Stefano Baldini and bronze medallist Vanderlei De Lima of Brazil met in Milan yesterday (Friday 26 Nov) during the pre-event press conference for this Sunday’s Milano City Marathon (28 Nov).
Baldini and De Lima took the opportunity to shake hands in Milan, three months after the Olympic Marathon in Athens where De Lima was pushed off the road by a deranged protestor, while he was leading the race. Thankfully the Brazilian found the strength to finish the race which earned him a much-deserved bronze medal.
Baldini did not have the chance to show his sympathy for the unfortunate De Lima on the Olympic podium, and yesterday’s Milan meeting was the first opportunity for them to meet again after the incident.
He fulfilled the true Olympic spirit
Baldini, who has been chosen by the Milan organisers as an “ambassador” of their event, said: “It is nice to meet him again in Milan and shake hands with him. During the race I was not aware of what had happened to him. He ran the best race of his career and fulfilled the true Olympic spirit when he found the strength to finish the race and win the medal.”
“I don’t know when our next clash will happen, but it will good for our sport if De Lima will have a chance of a re-match in the near future”, concluded Baldini.
De Lima, who has become a hero in his country, perhaps more popular than many national gold medallists, said: “What made me popular was not the incident itself, but the way in which I managed to overcome the shock and find the strength to continue the race. I am here in Milan to congratulate Stefano for his gold medal. Ours is an individual sport, we are rivals when we compete one against each other but outside the athletics world we are a big family.”
“I will be awarded with the Pierre De Coubertin Prize during a special ceremony in Rio de Janeiro on 7 December,” concluded De Lima.
Both athletes announced their programmes for 2005: De Lima will train at 2000m altitude in Colombia to prepare for the Lake Birwa Marathon (Japan) on 6 March 2005. Baldini will compete at the Silvesterlauf in Bozen on 31 December 2004 and at the Lisbon Half Marathon on 13 March 2005 before tackling a spring marathon in London or Boston.
The much-awaited re-match between Baldini and De Lima is scheduled next summer at the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki.
Milan Marathon challengers
The clash between Josia Thugwane and Raymond Kipkoech will highlight tomorrow’s Milan Marathon.
The 1996 Olympic champion Thugwane from South Africa (PB 2:07:28 set in Fukuoka) and Kipkoech of Kenya, who ran a PB of 2:06:47 in Berlin in 2002, and won the Venice Marathon in 2:09:54 just five weeks ago, will start as the big favourites.
Other names not to be written off are the Kenyans Benjamin Kemboi Kipchumba, who recently won the Nairobi Marathon (1800m altitude) in a remarkable 2:11:50, David Makori (first in Venice in 2002 in 2:08:49), Solomon Busiendich (2002 World Junior 10,000m bronze medallist), and Enock Mitei (fourth at the Stramilano Half Marathon in 2004 in 1:00:32).
The women’s race features the Kenyans Rita Jeptoo and Chemokil Cilapong (winner this year in Nairobi in 2:39:02), Irina Bogacheva from Kyrgyzstan (PB 2:26:27), and the Italian Gloria Marconi (winner in the Rome marathon in 2003 in 2:29:35).
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
