From: Essayas Fessahaye (essayasf@yahoo.com)
Date: Sat Oct 11 2008 - 13:34:12 EDT
Zersenay Tadese on the Verge of Making History in Rio de Janeiro
By Essayas Fessahaye
Looking for a Global Hattrick History
Reigning champion Zersenay Tadese is on the verge of making history at IAAF / CAIXA World Half Marathon Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday 12 October 2008.
It is expected to be one of Zersenay’s favorite competitions. In the past two years, when the competition was better known as World Road Running Championships, Zersenay stood first to win gold medals. In 2006, at the 1st IAAF World Road Running Championships held in Debrecen, Hungary, Zersenay outdid his rivals to climb on the podium with a historic victory. A year later, he successfully defended his title at the 2nd IAAF World Road Running Championships 2007 in Udine, Italy. This brought a thrill for the crowd of Eritrean fans who lined up in the finish line waving their flag. In today’s World Half Marathon Championships, he is ready to defend his title for another consecutive year in front of an overall 107 competing athletes and produce a much bigger thrill across the word with a new victory in making it a historic hattrick!
This competition has bounced back to a 21km race from 20 km to make it a complete half marathon contest. According to IAAF, “this year will be the seventeenth occasion that many of the world’s best distance runners have gathered to contest the global title on the roads. There have been 14 editions of the World Half Marathon (1992 – 2005) and two outings for the World Road Running Championships (2006 – 2007).”
Paul Tergat (KEN), Haile Gebrselassie (ETH), Tegla Loroupe (KEN) and Paula Radcliffe (GBR) are some of great winners of the competition. But Zersenay and Tergat are the only two winners who have claimed a pair of individual titles. Zersenay grabbed victory in 2006 and 2007 as Tergat won the race in 1999 and 2000. Thus, history awaits Zersenay if he manages to make it three.
Zersenay Tadese, Micheal Tesfay, Somson Kiflemariam, Mogos Ahferom, Yemane Teame and Fortuna Zegergish are representing Eritrea in the World Half Marathon Championships in Rio. Best of luck!
EAAA Representative in Asmara
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