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Mar-23-2007
Even for Bekele, Mombasa's Heat and Humidity to be Primary Challenge at World Cross Country Championships
by Bob Ramsak
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
When it comes to cross country running, Kenenisa Bekele is no stranger to making history. Since his first long and short race double victory in 2002 --the first ever double of its kind-- to his fifth consecutive double win last year in Fukuoka, the 24-year-old Ethiopian has, like clockwork, added chapter upon chapter to his cross country legacy. When he toes the line Saturday afternoon on the Mombasa Golf Course, a long stone's throw from gentle waves of the Indian Ocean, he will again be chasing history. Few doubt that he'll fail to succeed.
In the young Ethiopian's sights this time is a sixth long course title, ending his tie with Kenyan cross country legends John Ngugi and Paul Tergat, who dominated the event in the late 1980s and late 1990s. While no genuine opposition has emerged this season to end Bekele's dominance, his fiercest opponent --one to be shared by the 500 plus runners from 63 countries who have converged on his Indian Ocean resort city--will be the oppressive heat and high humidity that's been the talk of these championships.
"I've never seen the World Cross Country take place in this kind of heat before," Bekele understated. "I don't know what kind of conditions I will encounter, or what kind of difficulties I will encounter. But the difficulties will apply to all competitors."
Moses Mosop, the winner of this year's Kenyan Trials who has been given the unenviable task of leading his squad against the Ethiopian, concurs with his chief rival.
"Tomorrow is a challenge for everybody," the 21-year-old said. "It's not only Kenenisa Bekele. It's the weather and conditions also. So we cannot only watch Bekele. You have to concentrate on running against everybody and on fighting the heat tomorrow."
Kenyan-born Dutchwoman Lornah Kiplagat, the runner-up in the long course race last year, insisted that the conditions will be everyone's primary concern on Saturday.
"What is interesting here is that it is not only about the competition, it's also about the heat. It's about who is going to handle the heat better. And I think that's going to be the bigger challenge."
While she no longer competes internationally for Kenya, Kiplagat, the reigning World Road Running Champion, remains wildly popular in her native country, and will certainly enjoy the advantages of competing on a home course. Several buses will bring her fans from her native Eldoret, many who will see her compete for the first time. "I hope I'm not going to disappoint them."
Kiplagat will face defending champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia who is hoping to become the first to win three successive titles over the long course since American Lynn Jennings in 1992. Dibaba hasn't contested a cross country race in nearly a year, but will have strong backup with Gelete Burka and Meselech Melkamu as Ethiopia chases its sixth straight team title.
But all eyes will be on Bekele, who suggested after his twin wins last year that he would no longer contest these championships. Earlier this month, he had a change of heart.
"It was at this competition that I first achieved fame," he said. "It's also in this competition that my fans have come to love to watch me. So I decided that as long as I am able to run, why would I miss this?"
He said that he will miss another chance at a double win, a feat rendered impossible with the removal of the short race from the program.
"I do wish that there were both long and short races again. It would have given me a chance to test myself and do another double."
Mombasa Notebook...
-- In the weeks leading up to the championships, the first ever held in this east African nation, organizers have been criticized for their rambling pace of progress. A late morning tour of the course today, where workers were seen still piecing together grandstands, building and painting the podium, among several other late hour construction projects, fueled the detractors'
grievances. But Isaiah Kiplagat, the head of Athletics Kenya, gave his assurance that "everything will be in place."
-- In the wake of a terror threat and travel alert issued earlier this month by the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, security has been beefed up virtually everywhere. All vehicles entering the already well-guarded resort hotel compounds that are housing the athletes, media and IAAF dignitaries, are all individually screened --some are also searched-- while Kenyan boats patrol off shore. In Thursday's edition of The Standard, U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger expressed his satisfaction with the security measures undertaken.
-- There appears to be no shortage of support and publicity for the event locally. Countless billboards and murals line the main byways of this gritty sprawling port city. As escorted buses and other transport vehicles shuttle athletes and media from venue to venue, locals wave and smile widely.
-- Temperatures hit a high of 84 F (29 C) today, with humidity near 80%. The forecast calls for even warmer conditions on Saturday, with a high of 87 F
(31 C) expected.
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