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London brings old foes together again
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-04-20 13:55
Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie and Kenya's Paul Tergat had some epic tussles on the track and that rivalry will be renewed on the streets of London when the pair line up for the marathon on Sunday.
It will be their first meeting since 2002 when world record holder Tergat ended Gebrselassie's 12-race streak over him by finishing ahead of his rival in London.
On that occasion, Tergat was runner-up to American Khalid Khannouchi and Gebrselassie, making his marathon debut, finished third.
It was a contrast to their many meetings on the track in the 1990s when Tergat often had to settle for second best.
The 37-year-old took silver behind Gebrselassie over 10,000 metres at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, when he lost by 0.09 seconds, as well as the 1997 and 1999 world championships
"We've come from the track and our rivalry started in the big championships. Our time was a good time for the sport," Tergat told reporters.
However, the five-times world cross-country champion was cagey as to whether he would pull off a famous victory over Gebrselassie in London.
"As usual I believe that I will give my best always and if I lose I am motivated to come back stronger," said Tergat, who has yet to win in London in four attempts.
HUGE GRIN
Away from competition, the pair are friends and, with his trademark huge grin, Gebrselassie jokingly suggested that they would do better now to join forces.
"These days we are coming to help each other because others want to attack us -- two old men. Especially Paul, he can run in the masters," the 34-year-old said.
"We're friends. When I go to Kenya people are still asking me: 'Are you serious, how come you're running together....what happened?' Nobody believes us.
"But one thing we understand, this is sport. Sport is just to show your ability, your effort, but outside of sport, why fight?"
Tergat missed last year's race with injury while Gebrselassie was a disappointing 15th. On Sunday they will be up against a formidable men's field which includes double world champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco, Italy's Olympic gold medallist Stefano Baldini and last year's winner Kenyan Felix Limo.
The women's race also boasts a top-class field with Ethiopians Berhane Adere and Gete Wami among the medal favourites. China's Asian Games champion Zhou Chunxiu will make her first appearance in London.
The 28-year-old has a personal best time of 2:19.51, almost a minute quicker than any other woman in the race.
LEARNING PROCESS
"It's the first time I've come to London and I really like the city," said Zhou who is competing as part of a learning process for next year's Beijing Olympics.
"There are lots of races in Europe and we need to learn a lot more and gain a lot more experience in the west," she added through an interpreter.
Last year's women's champion Deena Kastor of the United States is not competing, opting instead for last Monday's Boston marathon where she was fifth.
The leading contenders in London will wear colour-coded running kit with their names emblazoned on their vests.
Tergat will wear all-yellow, Baldini will be in gold while last year's champion Limo will have a blue singlet and red shorts.
The London race forms part of the World Marathon Majors series which offers a $1-million prize purse to be split between the leading male and female runners.
The rolling two-year series began at the Boston Marathon in 2006 and includes the Berlin, Chicago and New York races. A victory is rewarded with 25 points, down to one point for fifth place. The 2006-07 series finishes at the New York Marathon in November.
Kenyan Robert Cheruiyot leads the men's standings with 75 points after his victory in Boston on Monday while Jelena Prokopcuka heads the women's with 55 points.
Temperatures on Sunday are forecast to reach 21 degrees Celsius with 47 percent humidity and light westerly winds.
(Additional reporting by Martyn Herman)
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