Paul Tergat (KEN) (© Getty Images)
Paul Tergat is adamant he will have time to recover from next year’s Flora London Marathon before making his last appearance in a Kenyan vest at the Olympic Games in Athens.
Indeed, the Kenyan star believes running London in April will help keep him focused for the bigger task ahead, and if he wins it will boost his confidence as he seeks to finally win Olympic gold having twice been denied by great rival Haile Gebrselassie at 10,000m.
Warm-up for Athens
Until September, Tergat had failed to win in five attempts at the marathon, but his 2:04:55 world best in Berlin has boosted his confidence. That victory saw him pre-selected for Athens but he was still happy to sign up to race Olympic marathon champion Gezahegne Abera, world champion Jaouad Gahrib and Sammy Korir, the man who pushed him to the world best in Berlin, for an Olympic warm-up in London.
He says: “I don’t believe it is too close to Athens. You can comfortably run two marathons in a year, and in fact I was ready for Berlin by August. I take a month to recover from a marathon and having done London this year I had got into very good shape by August and then just kept things ticking along until Berlin.
“I knew I was in very good shape going into that race. I increased my training in preparation for it and I went into the race believing I could break the world best, even though I had never won a marathon before.
“At 38km I was still feeling good so I knew I had a good chance of winning. But you can never be sure in the marathon because in London this year I felt going past Buckingham Palace in the final mile that I might win.
“I had a scare going through Brandenburg Gate because there was confusion and I followed the lead car and took a wide turn, which allowed Korir to close the gap, but it was a great feeling to finally win a marathon.
“I put everything into that race. I was so exhausted at the finish that I could not bend down to untie my shoelaces, and the next day I couldn’t walk. The only other time I have felt like that at the end of a marathon was on my debut in London in 2001 when I went into the race without enough training behind me. I just hadn’t run enough miles.
Painful lesson
“That debut was a painful lesson for me, I learned a lot about the marathon that day and it took me until my third marathon, in London in 2002, when I felt I could really call myself a marathon runner. Running 2:05:48 told me I had become a good marathon runner. It restored my confidence and I felt then that one day I could break the world best.”
Having now accomplished that goal, winning London and then the Olympic gold are his next targets as he says: “Obviously Athens is my main aim, but before then I am concentrating on London which is a race that is special to me.
“I have run London three times and it is where I made my marathon debut. It is a tough race, as the course is not as fast as Berlin and the weather can be against you, but it attracts so many of the world’s best distance runners that to win in London would mean a lot to me. I have never won the London Marathon so I want to put that right.”
Looking further ahead to Athens, Tergat says: “The Olympic marathon will be tactical. I can’t see it being won in 2:10, more like 2:14, and the course and weather may be factors. I think the Japanese, Koreans and Spaniards will be very strong, but I will go into the race well prepared.
“I will train in Kenya as always, even though it will not prepare me for the humidity I will face in Athens. It will be hot but not humid in Kenya, and June and July is the rainy season, but I feel happier training back home.”
Final appearance in a Kenyan vest but no retirement
The Olympics will be Tergat’s final appearance in a Kenyan vest, but he has no intentions of hanging up his racing flats after the race. He plans to continue running big city marathons once he has brought an end to his international career.
Asked how long he will carry on running for, the 34-year-old laughs: “I hope you are not saying I should be retiring now! I don’t know how long I will carry on for. I will keep running big city marathons for as long as I feel I can run well, and I think I have a lot of good running still in me.
“The Sydney Olympics was my last 10,000m for Kenya and the Athens Olympics will be my final marathon for them, but I still want to carry on running at a good level.”
