http://www.punemirror.in/sports/others/New-kid-on-the-block/articleshow/48628365.cms
New kid on the block
Aug 23, 2015, 02.30 AM IST
19-year-old Ghirmay Ghebreslassie from Eritrea beat the scorching
morning sun to win the men's marathon.
The mighty Kenyan marathoners wilted in the heat and humidity of
Beijing, with the current worldrecord holder dropping out late and
none of them finishing anywhere near the podium — or even in the top
20, for that matter.
Not a day — a sweltering one at that — to remember for a nation so
rich in marathon tradition. Just the opposite for teenager Ghirmay
Ghebreslassie, a 19-yearold Eritrean who became the youngest man to
win the marathon at the world championships on Saturday.
Ghebreslassie finished in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 27 seconds, holding off
Yemane Tsegay of Ethiopia by 40 seconds. Solomon Mutai of Uganda was
third, while his teammate, defending world champion Stephen Kiprotich,
was sixth.
The soaring temperature didn't seem to bother Ghebreslassie, who said
"the weather was very nice for me." The searing heat certainly
thwarted the Kenyans, whose top finisher was Mark Korir in 22nd, a
distant 8:52 behind Ghebreslassie's winning time.
Korir at least finished. Current worldrecord holder Dennis Kimetto
dropped out late in the race. So did Wilson Kipsang, the former
world-record holder.
"I don't know what happened. Things were not going well," Kipsang
said. "The whole body would not (respond)."
The Kenyans entered the event thinking about a possible sweep. Not even close.
"We had a lot of hope, of course, in the marathon. We know our guys
are good, but I think the weather didn't favor them," Olympic
800-meter champion David Rudisha, another of Kenya's great runners,
said after his opening heat.
It's the second straight world championships in which the Kenyans
failed to finish on the podium. The country's top performance in
Moscow two years ago was ninth. This from a nation that has captured
seven medals in the event, including four golds.
"The pace was not there — but the weather, it was difficult," Kipsang
said. "We could not run normally."
A concern for Kenya ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro?
"No, no, no," Kipsang said. "It's OK." There's another runner to
contend with in Brazil for the games — Ghebreslassie.
Although he only has a few marathons under his belt, Ghebreslassie's
plan all along was to pull away at about 34 kilometers. And with the
Kenyans nowhere in sight, it worked.
"Even strong athletes can get challenged from athletes and from the
course," said Ghebreslassie, who grabbed his country's flag as he
entered the Bird's Nest and waved it to the cheering crowd. "Things
can happen. So you cannot be surprised."
It was the first marathon win for Ghebreslassie, whose parents
encouraged him to attend university over becoming an international
runner. The family is becoming more and more supportive.
"They start to believe I can do some special history," he said.
Received on Sat Aug 22 2015 - 22:12:53 EDT