Gezahegne Abera of Ethiopia, the World and Olympic champion after winning the 2003 London Marathon (© Getty Images)
Gezahegne Abera has pretty much achieved everything as a marathon runner but there remains one major goal he is anxious to achieve before he hangs up his racing flats.
World record goal
The Olympic and World titles have already gone his way, but he wants to prove he is more than a racing machine who can win with sprint finishes. The Ethiopian hopes to add 'World record-holder' to his list of honours and his dream could come true as early as this Sunday.
He will run Sunday's Flora London Marathon (18 April) knowing eight of his rivals have run faster than him over the distance, but the 25-year-old insists that won't be a problem as he seeks to defend the title he won in a five-way sprint finish 12 months ago.
He said today: "Fear is a word that does not come into my vocabulary, so while I have the utmost respect for my rivals I am not concerned I have not run as fast as them. I have trained extremely well so I am very confident I can get back to winning ways on Sunday."
Abera, who made his marathon debut in Los Angeles five years ago, has made a name for himself as someone who can win by the narrowest of margins, and he would be happy to also break the World record by a similarly small amount.
"If I break the World record by a microsecond that would be great, but the more I can beat it by the better. I am not saying I will break the record on Sunday but I want to before I retire."
Injury is no bar to ambitions or race tactics
Some might think Abera may have to adjust his successful racing tactics following the Achilles injury that forced him to drop out of last year's World Championships marathon after 31k, but he doesn't share those views. He is adamant the injury will not prevent him producing his trademark sprint finish whenever such tactics are necessary.
"I am fully recovered from the injury," he says. "If I need to sprint, my previous injury will not stop me. Most of all it is a matter of attitude and I am feeling very positive. I have a huge drive to be successful on Sunday."
Abera insists he does not yet know whether he will be selected for the Olympics, but having won four years ago and added a world title 12 months later it seems most unlikely he will not be named by the Ethiopians.
World champion Gharib aims to secure Athens berth
World champion Jaouad Gharib is another awaiting confirmation he will be selected by his federation. The Moroccan says he is in the provisional squad but has not been told whether he will line up in Athens.
The 31-year-old is therefore looking for a fast time in London on Sunday, and having produced a 10km split of 29:34 from 30-40km when winning the world title he must be feared if he is in contention in the closing stages.
He went on to win in 2:08:31 in Paris, beating Spaniard Julio Rey by seven seconds, but has not yet proved himself a big city mnarathoner. His marathon debut was a modest - in world terms - 2:09:15 in Rotterdam last year.
The former World Half Marathon silver medallist arrived in London in good shape after breaking the hour for the half distance in Lisbon three weeks ago.
"Running as fast as I did in Lisbon has done wonders for my morale," confirmed Gharib. "I tend to be a confident runner anyway, but my run in Lisbon means I can go into the marathon expecting a very fast time."
Korir is the field's fastest
But none of Sunday's field have run as fast as Sammy Korir, the second fastest man in history. He ran 2:04:56 in Berlin in September when pacemaking for Paul Tergat, his close friend and training partner. Tergat, who beat Korir in Berlin by one second to set the current World ecord, was forced out of London by injury, and today announced he would not be coming over as a guest as had been intended.
Korir believes Tergat will miss a very fast and exciting race. "My training tells me I may even improve on the time I set in Berlin. I was surprised with myself that day. I went into the race to pace it, but I was also confident I could carry on to the finish and improve my personal best.
"I thought I would run 2:06, maybe 2:05-something, but to go under 2:05 was unexpected. Now it would not be such a surprise. I made a big improvement in Berlin because it was the first time I had trained for a long period without injuries."
"My training for London has gone just as well, and I now know I can run a very fast time so I am looking forward to the race. To win and beat all these great runners would be a nice boost before the Olympics," concluded Korir.
NB. a detailed race preview will be published on www.iaaf.org at the end of this week.
