Successful WAF title defense for Jamal in Stuttgart 2006 (© Getty Images)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia After a busy season in 2007 where she became the first Bahraini woman to win World championship gold, 1500m specialist Maryam Yusuf Jamal says she has to keep up her ambitions in order to sustain her good form for years to come.
“2007 was a great year for me,” she says. “But unless I keep up the good form in 2008 and further, it would mean very little to me. My result is not a coincidence. It is the result of hard work.”
Visits to Bahrain and native Ethiopia
But before she started her early season preparations this year, the 23-year old decided to make two important visits away from her home in Lausanne, Switzerland. The first was to Bahrain where she spends less than a month every year because of her competition and training commitments.
“The reception in Bahrain was amazing,” says Jamal, who dedicated her World championship 1500m gold to Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Majesty the King of Bahrain.
“I received a lot of gifts from many people, but the present that surprised me most was the diamond watch I received from the Queen. Living in Switzerland [a country renowned for its watches], I normally do not get excited about watches. But this one from the queen was just beautiful.”
Her second trip was a long-awaited journey back to her homeland Ethiopia to visit her family. She enjoyed the experience so much that she decided to move her winter training base from Switzerland to Addis Ababa.
“Ethiopia has changed a lot since I left here six years ago,” says Jamal, who defected from her country of birth in 2002 to seek asylum in Switzerland. “I have had no problems since I came here. I thought people would not know me because I left here many years ago, but many stop to greet me and say how proud they are of my success. It has surprised me a lot.”
It is not only Jamal who has changed training locations. Together with her husband and coach Tareq Yacoob Sabt, and compatriot and training partner 2006 Asian Games 800m champion Yusuf Saad Kamel, Jamal is currently based in Addis Ababa and does lots of her training in some of the same locations as her former compatriots on the outskirts of the city.
“I am friends with many of Ethiopia’s top athletes,” says Jamal. “They have welcomed me to their homes. My relationship with them is great.”
After ’08 debut in Stockholm, Valencia ambitions loom
Fully rested from the fatigue of last season, Jamal is now training hard and is very focused on her targets for the new season. She expects to compete over the 1500m only in Stockholm, but her aim ambitions this winter is winning gold in the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain.
“Two years ago, I training for three weeks in South Africa and ran a personal best in Valencia,” she recalls. “But then, I returned to Switzerland only for my training plans to be hampered by thick snow. I went to the World [indoor] championships in Moscow under-prepared and only finished third. I want to improve on that this year.”
While Jamal has been focusing on training in January, the form of her Russian archrival Yelena Soboleva has caught the attention of enthusiasts this season. But Jamal is not worried.
“At the beginning of the season, I focus mainly on training,” she says. “Even when I do races, I run them as part of my competition. I train to peak towards the main championships. So I am not worried who runs well at the beginning of the season.”
In the past, this has meant that Jamal has failed to impress in the early track meets where she finished eighth in Paris and seventh in Hengelo last season before her epic gold medal-winning performance in Osaka and her Asian Mile record in Brussels. But now that she is a World champion and expected to win every race she takes part in, is she at all worried about losing?
1500m World record: ‘Difficult, but not impossible’
“As an athlete obviously I want to win every race,” says Jamal. “But sometimes you have to prioritize. Last year, my main goal was to win in Osaka. I knew that I had to be careful about peaking at the right time of the season. My approach will be the same in 2008. I will run my early season meets as part of my training and then hope to peak in Beijing.”
While her focus will remain on chasing Olympic gold in 2008, Jamal also eyes making a genuine attempt at the World record in the 1500m.
“It is difficult, but not entirely impossible,” she says of Yunxia Qu’s 3:50.46.
“Whenever I have tried to run a fast time, I have always had problems with the pacing. On current form and if I get good passing, I am sure I can do 3:53. But the World record is not impossible. It will be extremely difficult and will need lots of preparation and planning, but it is not entirely impossible.”
With new foundation, ready to give back
When she is not competing or training, Jamal enjoys staying indoors and chatting with friends. But with the encouragement of her husband and coach Sabt, she also wants to become involved in charity projects in her home country Ethiopia.
Jamal and her husband are in the process of setting up the Maryam Yusuf Jamal Foundation that will work on various development projects in Ethiopia.
“Athletics has given us a very good life and we want to give back,” says Sabt. “We want to help children in rural areas go to school and work with communities to improve their living conditions.”
Elshadai Negash for the IAAF
