News25 Sep 2008


Mikitenko ready for Berlin Marathon: “If I race, I always want to win”

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Irina Mikitenko in Berlin (© Victah Sailer)

Germany’s Irina Mikitenko will run the Real Berlin Marathon on Sunday (28). A year ago she had a great debut at this race, finishing second in 2:24:51. Then she caused a major upset by taking the high-class London Marathon in April with an official German record of 2:24:14.

Due to a back problem the 36-year-old was denied of the chance to further impress at the Olympic Games. But recently Mikitenko came back strongly, taking the German 10k title in a world season leading 30:57, which was a national record as well. If successful on Sunday she would become the first German winner of the Berlin Marathon since Uta Pippig in 1995.

Here follows an interview with Mikitenko:

During the summer a back problem stopped you from competing at the Olympic Games. Now you are running Berlin instead of Beijing. How did your training go in the past weeks and months?

“Despite the problem I had been able to train at the time before the Olympics,” confirmed Mikitenko. “I was able to do endurance training. But for a longer period I could not do any of the vital speed sessions. Whenever I tried I ended up with back and pelvis pains and had to stop. It was sad, but I had to cancel my start in Beijing because of that. For a bit more than four weeks I am now able to run fast again in training. So I could prepare well for Berlin and did weekly training of between 180 and 200 kilometres.”

How did your training go compared to the London in spring?

“Because of the injury it was all completely different and it is impossible to compare. But my fine time at the German 10k championships shows me that I am in a good form – may be similar to London.”

With which goals will you run in Berlin?

“I will give my very best and as usual when I go into a race I want to win it. If you are satisfied with a third place and somehow admit defeat already before the race then why do you go to this race? My other goal is to further improve my personal best in Berlin. I want to run sub 2:24. Running well in Berlin would be a good sign for me regarding the World Championships next year in Berlin, where I want to run the marathon.”

You are still unbeaten this year.

“Yes, I have won all of my six races. This is a big motivation for me and additionally if you enter the next race you do so with great self confidence. Winning the Flora London Marathon was of course the highlight and this really spured me on. When I ran the Avon Women’s Race in Berlin after London specatators shouted: ‘Thank you for London’. This was a great feeling and so I hope that I can win the Real Berlin Marathon on Sunday.”

Do you feel you are as strong as never before since you started your marathon career?

“Yes, I think I am in my best form ever. This also has to do with the training, which is much more fun again after I changed to the marathon. One reason for this is of course that everything goes well and I have success.Another reason for the joy in training is that I know I can still do better. You get additional motivation when you know that there is still room for improvement. Once you have reached your limit it will get much more difficult to motivate yourself for training.”

What are your next goals after Berlin?

“I am pretty sure that as a defending champion I will return to the Flora London Marathon. After that I would like to run the marathon in the World Championships in Berlin. I hope this will work.”

If you should win in Berlin on Sunday and you have a bit of luck you may still win the World Marathon Majors (WMM) Series 2007 – 2008. Do you look at the points’ table?

“First of all I fully concentrate on my race in Berlin. I want to run well on Sunday. After that we will see how many points I will have and how it goes on at the following WMM races.”

Would you consider running New York to win the WMM series as Gete Wami did last year?

“That is not on my schedule. If I have a great race on Sunday and then wake up on Monday and say ‘Oh I want to run another one’ then I might consider this. But you have to look ahead to next year as well since there are a couple of more races to come.”

Did you watch the women’s Olympic Marathon on TV? If you did, what did you think when you saw how the race went?

“Yes, I did watch it at nightime on TV and it made me angry. Because I saw the great opportunity I had missed due to the injury. At one stage I could not stand it and switched the TV off. But then I switched it back on because I was too curious how it would end.”

It is difficult to tell from the distance and purely hypothetical – but do you think you would have had the courrage to follow tha latter winner Constantina Tomescu-Dita, when she went away before the half way mark?

“Normally I am the type of runner who takes a risk so I believe that I would have gone with her … but of course this is very difficult to judge from sitting at home. For example I don’t know if I would have coped well with the conditions. But one should not look back too much, because otherwise you will loose too much energy.”

What about the Olympics in London in 2012?

“It is a long way but, yes, London is a goal.”

Jörg Wenig for the IAAF

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