Opinion: Should Ethiopian Bekele call it a day?
Should Ethiopian Bekele call it a day?
JOHANNESBURG, September 28 (ANA) – This weekend, it was highly-likely, if not expected, that Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele would win his third Berlin Marathon title – but the long distance legend was forced to settle for third and questions about his future in the sport for the almost 40-year-old abound.
Ethiopian Guye Adola upstaged his countryman to take the win in 2:05:45, while Bekele faded in the final kilometres of the race to finish third in a time of 2:06:47.
With the event cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Bekele was still the defending champion from his 2019 victory. In fact, that year he ran a personal best of 2:01:41 – just two seconds shy off Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge’s world record.
Bekele may see it as a sign to hang up his running shoes. That could be the case especially considering he picked up an injury in the week of the rescheduled London Marathon last year – which was the only 42,2km race of 2020. It means he has not competed in the marathon in two years, and his ability, given his injuries and age are unknown at the moment – even to Bekele himself.
Bekele, however, remains defiant, and sees himself as the successor to the throne of Kipchoge – despite being two years and five months his senior.
Bekele turned 39 in June, and his incredible run in Berlin 2019 may have just been the peak of his career given his age.
But just how did Bekele react to his result in the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, he said: “My plan is not only to break the world record before I retire. Everybody is talking about sub-two hours, so why not?
“One day I will try this, I know it’s hard work. I feel confident, so let’s do it and see.”
While Kipchoge is the undisputed best marathon runner ever with his two Olympic titles, world record and eight World Marathon Majors victories, Bekele has comparable pedigree over a range of events.
Bekele is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, with victories in the 10 000m in 2004 (Athens) and 2008 (Beijing) and his win in the 5000m in 2008. Just for good measure, he also won silver in the 5000m in the 2008 Olympics. He has 11 victories in the World Cross Country Championships dating back to 2002.
And while his result over the weekend may have been deflating, Bekele has boldly declared a new goal. He aims to become the second athlete to run under two hours for 42.2km. Kipchoge achieved this feat in an unofficial event in October 2019, called the Ineos Challenge when he completed the distance in 1:59:40. The mark is not eligible for official records as the Ineos Challenge employed a rotation of pacemakers and pace car to help the athlete reach the mark.
Now, Bekele plans to have his own dip at the mythical ‘sub-two’.
“I need some time to prepare, to be honest, I never take a long preparation for the marathon,” said Bekele.
“Even two years ago, I prepared for three months. It’s not enough, I have to train for longer.
“If everything goes well, I want to do better things in the future, so I am really confident in my capacity. I know my problems, like short preparation because of injury. I want to take more time and see.”
Will Bekele be able to run under two hours, it seems unlikely, but he certainly won’t listen. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman