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With 6 of the 8 fastest times in 2012, it's anyone's guess who is London-bound this summer
AP PhotoYemane Adhane of Ethiopia celebrates winning the Rotterdam Marathon. Was the win enough to earn him a spot in the Olympics?
The majority of this spring marathon season has been devoted to figuring out how Kenya will sort through the list of its runners who so thoroughly dominated the world scene in 2011 to select three for its Olympic team.
Meanwhile, their Ethiopian counterparts have dominated the marathon in 2012, running 13 of the top 20 times in the world so far.
Which begs the question, who will be making that Olympic team?
In truth, the Ethiopian selection has become equally difficult to try and grasp because their runners have put up the kind of times the Kenyans seemed to have reserved for themselves just a year ago. Consider:
- In January, Ayele Abshero won the Dubai Marathon in 2:04:23, the fastest time in the world this year. To edge countrymen Dino Sefer (2:04:50), 2011 Los Angeles Marathon champion Markos Geneti (2:04:54) and Tadese Tola (2:05:10).
- Last week, Yemane Adhane won the Rotterdam Marathon in 2:04:48, beating teammate Getu Feleke by two-hundredths of a second.
In just two races, Ethiopia has recorded six of the eight fastest times in the world. And not included among those runners are former world-record holder Haile Gebrselassie, who has removed himself from Olympic consideration, and two others who would seem to have strong credentials for selection.
Gebre Gebremariam is the 2010 New York City Marathon champion. Last year, he finished third in the Boston Marathon in 2:04:53, the sixth-fastest time in the world in 2011. On Monday, Gebremariam finished 14th in Boston, running 2:22:56 in the sweltering heat.
Then there is Tsegaye Kebede, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, whose personal-best of 2:05:18 came in Fukuoka, Japan in 2009. He is running Sunday’s London Marathon and knows he needs the race of his life if he is to get a shot at upgrading his medal from Beijing.
"I have guys ahead of me," Kebede said. "I need to run 2:04 or quicker to get to the Olympics. These guys can now run under 2:04, so I have to try that too."
Athletes are assuming that time is going to be the determining factor because unlike Kenya’s Isaiah Kiplagat, no one from the Ethiopian Athletics Federation has outlined what criteria will be used in their selection process.
Before Boston, Gebremariam said he had no idea what he needed to do to make the Olympic team. Somewhat cryptically, Tola was scheduled to run in Boston but scratched. Scuttlebutt in running circles was that he was sent home by Ethiopia “to rest.”
Rest for what? Has he already been picked for the team? Were his managers spooked by the 80-degree temperatures that were forecast for the race and decided to let his performance in Dubai speak for itself?
Once again, there are lots of questions and few answers.
2 comments:
no help
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