News18 Apr 2006


Burka: Ethiopia's next distance Queen?

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Gelete Burka of Ethiopia tastes short race gold (© Getty Images)

When Ethiopian Gelete Burka crossed the finish line after fighting off strong winds and world class competition to win the short race at the 34th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, there was only one thing on her mind.

"It could have been anyone's race," she recalls. "The winds were strong. I was lucky to have survived and won."

That statement is quite modest coming from a runner who successfully dealt with the challenge of long course medalists Lornah Kiplagat and compatriot Meselech Melkamu to take the first global senior title of her career.

But for anyone who has cared to notice, her rise to prominence should come as no surprise at all.

Impressive twelve months

Burka came to Fukuoka on the back on twelve outstanding months since winning the junior title in St. Etienne/St. Galmier, France the previous year. In April last year, she made Olympic 5000m champion Meseret Defar the laughing stock of the crowd at the Addis Ababa stadium, beating her by a massive eighteen seconds en route to the 3000m title at the Addis Ababa Municipal championships.

A month later, she won three titles at the Ethiopian championships: the 1500m, 5000m, and 4 x 400m relay, with her win over World champion Tirunesh Dibaba in the longer race making her the best athlete of the championships.

Burka's decision to focus on the 1500m during the outdoor track season was somehow vindicated when she successfully qualified for the World Championships, but her lack of tactical knowledge cost her dearly as she finished a distant eighth in the final.

In 2006, Burka has very much continued where she left off, first by beating Tirunesh Dibaba yet again in the Edinburgh cross country in January - Dibaba spent the previous evening on the floor of London's Heathrow airport after missing her connection flight – and dominated the short race at the Ethiopian trails to qualify for Fukuoka.

"I am not surprised by my form," she said. "I have worked hard over the last year and have built great confidence in myself. This is just the reward."

From football beginnings

For the runner who hails from Kofele in the Arsi region of southeast Ethiopia, birthplace of many of Ethiopia's distance runners including Haile Gebrselassie, Derartu Tulu, Kenenisa Bekele, and Tirunesh Dibaba, her first love in sports was soccer where she played as a dribbling and top-scoring right winger.

"A coach who saw me run fast in matches told me to utilize my speed in athletics and hence I decided to take up running," Burka said of her humble beginnings.

Burka was thirteen when she took part in her first running event, winning a 100m race in an inter-school competition. Her development was so fast that by the age of 16, she finished second in the junior race at the Ethiopian Cross Country championships on the Jan Meda race course in Addis Ababa to earn herself a place on Ethiopia's team for the 31st IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2003.

"I could have easily won that race," Burka remembers of her stunning third place finish behind Tirunesh Dibaba and Viola Kibowott in the junior women's race. "I had little knowledge of tactics and was easily beaten in the finish.”

Burka says her mistake in that race was not adapting perfectly to race conditions. "I thought about it before the race and said to myself that I could easily take off and not let anyone catch me," she recalls. "It was a strong start and by the last lap, many runners were still in contention. I did not adapt to the rhythm of the race."

Ad hoc tactics in Fukuoka

Based on her results in Fukuoka, Burka must have learned very well from her past tactical misdemeanor. At the Uminonakamichi Seaside Park on race day, the 19-year old timed her plans to perfection.

"Everyone has a race tactic when entering a race," she explained. "But because of the strong winds, I was not able to execute mine. My initial plan was to stay with the pack until the end of the first lap and then take off. The wind made that difficult as you wouldd have seen."

While her more illustrious teammate Tirunesh Dibaba was a casualty of the blustery weather and dropping at the end of the first lap, Burka held on to win the race.

"The challenge from the other runners was not that difficult," she said, despite Kenyan Priscah Jepleting's late surge. "What bothered me the most was the terrible wind. I barely made it to the finish line because of the wind."

But could Burka have beaten Dibaba had she stayed until the end?

"I do not know," is her coy reply. "Tirunesh is a very strong runner and on her day, she can beat anyone. But the only problems I had in Fukuoka were the strong winds, not tough challengers."

Gearing up for the track season

Now that her cross country season has ended with three wins in as many races for, Burka said her next target for the year is entering into the top ranks of female track running.

Her first challenge of the track season could come as early as the end of April at the Ethiopian championships where she could reunite her 5000m rivalry with Dibaba, Defar, and Melkamu provided all three take part.

"I have big ambitions this year," she says. "I want to run very fast on the track and see how well I do with the other runners."

And if she repeats her outstanding form over the cross country on the track this season, she is bound to give every top female distance runner sleepless nights.

Elshadai Negash for the IAAF

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