January 21st, 2010

Will Haile Be On Top Of The World In Dubai?

Dubai (UAE): He may believe the marathon world record will one day fall below the two-hour mark but today (Friday) Haile Gebrselassie will focus on lowering his current best of 2:03:59 and earn a million dollar pay cheque in the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.

The Ethiopian legend stars as red-hot favourite to make it three straight wins over a course described as the flattest in the world. And while Gebrselassie is making no wild predictions, the glint in his eye may mean a historic day on the streets of the emirate.

“Of course there is pressure – everyone keeps asking me about it,” he smiled. “I will never say I am going to do this or I am going to do that but the route is great, the weather is fine so, who knows.”

Gebrselassie enjoys a one hundred per cent record in Dubai and is expected to rack up a hat trick of victories – with a new record set to bring him an additional US$ 1 million bonus courtesy of Dubai Holding – while the women’s winner is almost certain to be a compatriot also for the third successive year.

Equally likely, the women’s winner will be doing the trick for the second time, since outstanding favourites Bezunesh Bekele and Askale Magarsa have both won here, Bezunesh last year, and Askale two years ago. We might have had a third winner, their better known colleague Berhane Adere, who won in 2008, but she cried off a few days ago, having failed to satisfy herself that she was fit enough.

The prospect of seeing her national record, 2.20.42 being broken might have been an additional factor, because unusually for the normally reticent East Africans, both Bezunesh and Askale were right upfront about their ambitions to join the exclusive women’s sub-2.20 club.

That numbers just nine women so far, with Askale right on the verge with her 2.21.31 in Berlin 18 months ago, and Bezunesh a little further out, but with her 2.23.09 all the more impressive since it was in her debut, here two years ago, second to Berhane.

Askale’s form plummeted after a bad hip injury, and she had to drop out of Berlin just over three months ago, but after a month jogging and swimming, she’s so confident that she had asked to be paced to the halfway in 70mins, which is 2:20 pace.

“Even when I ran 2.21 in Berlin in 2008, I was having pains in my right leg,” she said. “But when I dropped out of Berlin last time, the pain was even worse, like a stress fracture. It was always in the right leg, but then I had problems in the left, through over-compensation.

“But I feel very confident now, my ambition is to run a personal best here, I feel in 2.20 shape, provided the weather is good. Dubai is a perfect course, but it does depend on the weather. My ambition is to run a personal best here then a personal best in Berlin, I like both courses”.

The diminutive Bezunesh at less than five feet tall and weighing in a 38kg will not be easy to dislodge from the top spot on the rostrum. She beat Askale into third place two years ago and stormed through last year’s downpour in the final stages to win in 2.24.02.

“The marathon distance is very difficult,” she said. “It’s not like 10k, or even 20k. But I have worked towards winning here. I’d like to run 2.20, but I’d prefer to do it gradually, 2.22, 2.21, 2.20, I think it’s better that way”.

The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, gets underway at 6.30am today (Friday) with the 10km starting at 6.45am and the 3km Seeing Is Believing Fun Run at 11am.

The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is supported by Dubai Holding, Dubai Sports Council, The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina, ARN and DMI, TNT, Fitness First, Men’s Fitness, Vittel Water, RTA, Dubai Municipality and the Dubai Emergency Services.

IMAGE CAPTION
Top Of The World? – Haile Gebrselassie relaxes prior to the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon with a visit to the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building