Ethiopia's Gelete Burka becomes 2006 World Cross Country Championships short race champion (© Getty Images)
Ethiopian distance runner Gelete Burka could be set for a double-pronged global assault in March with the IAAF World Indoor Championships and IAAF World Cross Country Championships in her sights.
The versatile endurance athlete made an impressive return to competition earlier this month securing a hat-trick of titles at the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country (IAAF permit) and laying down her intentions as a serious threat for gold at the same Holyrood Park venue which hosts the 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships on 30 March.
However, according to Valentijn Trouw, of Global Sports Communications the management company which look after Burka, she is also considering competing at the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain (7-9 March).
“It (the World Indoor Championships) is something she is discussing with the federation,” explained Trouw. “Whether it is the 1500m or 3000m we don’t know yet, but it is definitely something which interests her. Indoors is a good possibility.”
Burka, who won the gold medal in the short course race at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships in Japan, however, is also expected to focus on the World Cross in Edinburgh and as a three-time winner at the venue, Trouw believes she is well suited to the demands of the course in the Scottish capital.
“The course in Edinburgh fits her perfectly,” he explained. “The turns and uphill stretches are good for her endurance and speed. She has to be seen as one of, maybe, six favourites for the medals.”
Last season Burka suffered a disappointing summer season. A foot injury badly hampered her track season and an untimely bout of flu three weeks before the World Championships in Osaka led to a below par performance in the 5000m, where she finished down in tenth in the final.
Yet she has fully recovered from her injury problems and returned to full training in November, two months after marrying husband, Tadelle Gebremedin.
Beyond the early part of the year Burka, who next month celebrates her 22nd birthday, hopes to run a number of races over 1500m and 5000m in May/June, before deciding which event to opt for at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
However, Trouw believes the Ethiopian, who boasts a 1500m personal best of 3:59.60 dating from 2005, has great potential over that distance.
“We do not yet know which event she will chose for Beijing, but she is still very young and we hope she will not lose her speed over 1500m,” he added. “I even think she could run a very fast 800m. She has a very easy speed she just has to learn the tactics of the 1500m. Her best time of 3:59 is not her limit as when she ran that time she was focusing and training for the 5000m. If she trains specifically for the 1500m she could bring down (her personal best) by a few more seconds. It must be possible. Ethiopia has always been strong at the 5000m and 10,000m. If she wins an Olympic medal, she could be a role model in the 1500m.”
Burka was born and raised in the same region (Arsi) as World Marathon record holder Haile Gebrselassie yet Trouw believes she can best be compared to ten-time senior IAAF World Cross Country champion Kenenisa Bekele.
“Her running style, especially in cross country compares with Kenenisa,” he added. “She has a very strong body and she looks very powerful on the mud and the uphills.”
Yet it is not Bekele but the likes of training partners IAAF World 5000m and 10,000m champions Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba she is shooting for in the future and Trouw is confident Burka, a deeply religious athlete, possesses the ability to match their accomplishments.
“At the moment Tirunesh and Defar have won more medals and run a little but quicker but, potential wise, she (Burka) can be at their level,” he added.
Steve Landells for the IAAF
