Tergat still
the strongest
March
18 1997
MONTE CARLO -
Monaco - "Kenya has a very strong senior
men’s team, the women’s team is more
difficult to analyse but would appear weaker than
the Ethiopians. The situation is identical for
the men and women junior teams, though there
could be surprises amongst the youngsters".
This opinion comes from Dr Gabriele Rosa, a
doctor from Brescia in Italy who has a passion
for athletics, especially for distance running.
For Rosa, who
bears the name of his great grandfather who was
one of the heroes of the Italian Risorgimento,
Kenya is his second home. Since the end of 1990,
when he had his first dealings with Moses Tanui -
10,000m world champion in Tokyo, half marathon
world champion in Montbeliard in 1995 and the man
who completely dominated the Boston centenary
marathon - Rosa spends many weeks each year in
Kenya, more precisely in Eldoret in the Rift
Valley, that fertile ground for great distance
runners. Tanui, Tergat, Kororia, Onyancha,
Kipkorir, Kitur, Kibitok to name but a few
achieved a huge number of successes in marathons
around the world in 1996. In all, some sixty
athletes belong to the international group
trained by Rosa.
A few days before
the 25th IAAF - Pirelli World Cross
Country Championships, which will take place in
the Valentino Park in Turin, Italy, on 23 March,
we asked Gabriele Rosa for a forecast of the
results in the four races in the individual and
team categories. Rosa has been following the
latest training schedules of the Kenyan athletes
at Embu, their traditional final base before the
world cross country championships.
"I saw two
athletes with an extra gear: Tom Nyariki and a
re-invigorated Paul Tergat, who makes no secret
of his ambition for a third title. Paul Koech
seemed a little tired. He gave a lot in the
trials and in the Nairobi International. I
believe that the fight for the title will be
between these three Kenyans and the Moroccan
Salah Hissou. For the team result I am sure that
this will also go to Kenya, who can take both
men’s team titles and probably also the
junior women’s title. On the whole the
Ethiopian senior women look stronger, with Gete
Wami in great form, as she showed in the
"Cinque Mulini". But watch out for
Tulu. Ethiopian Kutre Dulecha, who ran in the
1500m in the World Indoor Championships also has
a lot of talent."
In Embu, Paul
Tergat will be measuring his compatriots’
performance. After Seville, the Kenyan Trials and
the Nairobi Cross, he decided not to participate
in other races (notably the Cinque Mulini) and
has concentrated solely on preparation. On the
other hand, the young runner from Lake Baringo
has never abused competition and always raced
sparingly. " His current form - comments
Rosa - is as good as it has ever been and he has
shown this in training in Embu, where anyone who
wishes to keep up with him has to give of their
all. But the fighting spirit of these athletes
always rises to the fore, even in the most banal
training session!"
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News
Dr Gabriele Rosa who has played a major role in the
preparation of Kenya's distance runners gives his
forecast for the 25th IAAF - Pirelli World Cross
Country Championships.
Why Tergat didn't run to school
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