Margaret Okayo crosses the finish in the 2004 London Marathon (© Getty Images)
The leading women from yesterday’s Flora London Marathon are in agreement that the race will have no bearing on what happens in Athens in four months time.
Margaret Okayo holds the course records for Boston, New York and Milan, and with a London victory under her belt she accepts she will now be seen as one of the favourites for the Olympic title.
With Paula Radcliffe planning to run the marathon in the Greek capital it will be tough for Okayo to end the 100 per cent record the Briton has over the distance but Kenyans don’t tend to fear their rivals. “I will try to go with Radcliffe in Athens,” says Okayo. “I can not say for sure whether I will beat her but I will try my best. She is the best runner in the world, but she has not run on a hard course like Athens yet so I will not go into the race afraid of her.”
Okayo is a real fighter, as she showed with her battling qualities to still win after going off too fast in London and being caught by Constantina Tomescu-Dita. Perhaps the action films she watches to relax have rubbed off on her, for her favourite actor is Gladiator star Russell Crowe, and he would have been proud of the spirit she showed to regain her composure, bide her time and then work her way back to win.
While many women athletes have been intimidated by Radcliffe’s superlative marathon performances, Okayo looks at it another way. She says: “I watched last year’s London Marathon on television, and seeing her run fast encouraged me. It made me think if she can run so fast then I can also run much faster than I have.
“I wanted to break 2:20 in London, possibly even attack the Kenyan record, so after three miles I ran very fast to see what I could do, but the weather was a problem. Even when I was caught and passed I was confident I would win. I just had to run my own race because the weather was not helping, but in Athens I know I can run much better.
“I do not like running in the cold. I perform much better in warm conditions, so Athens will be better for me. But I enjoyed London, it is a flatter and better course than New York, and I hope I can come back next year and try to defend my title … maybe against Radcliffe.”
Okayo, the fifth of nine children (four boys, five girls), hopes she will be the Olympic champion by then. If she is, it would certainly change her life – and her wealth – but she is happy with her life as it is. Her athletics career allows her to pay school fees for her family as well as buying cows and land. She comes from a farming family and her late father Ibrahim encouraged her to run from a young age.
She admits her mother still gives her a telling off if she runs badly, but says: “When she makes a lot of noise if I run badly, I just say ‘Sorry mum, I tried my best’. My last few marathons have gone well so she hasn’t had to make a lot of noise.”
Okayo spends some of her time training in the Rift Valley and around three months per year in Brescia, Italy. When she finally retires from running, she wants to stay in the sport and help other Kenyan women get the opportunities she has. “I would like to become a talent scout, so I can spot good young Kenyan runners and help them get the chance to train and race in Europe like I have.”
Dita, meanwhile, hopes to finish closer to Okayo in Athens but accepts the time has come to change her tactics if she is to challenge for a medal. The Romanian has a history of going out hard and paying the price, and yesterday was another example as when catching Okayo at 11 miles she pushed on and didn’t leave enough in the tank.
Her desire to break Lidia Simon’s national record of 2:22:54 got the better of her, but she eventually finished four minutes adrift. A 69:28 first half was followed by a 77:24 second, and while the conditions didn’t help her pacing was again far from ideal.
Last year in London she was on 2:20 pace until 17 miles but lost four minutes in the last nine miles, and she went on to lose the lead in the final mile in Chicago. The last two World Championships have seen her blow up spectacularly. In Edmonton in 2001 she held a two-minute lead before halfway and led until 35km only to fade to 10th. In Paris last year she blasted clear early on but failed to finish. She admits: “I need to change my tactics for Athens. I don’t regret trying with those tactics, but I realise I must now change.”
