EDINBURGH - The running machine that is Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele has admitted that the pressure of having his new wife as a spectator was a major spur to him winning an unprecedented sixth world cross title.
Bekele certainly did not have it all his own way on the muddy 12.1 km Holyrood Park course here on Sunday.
The 25-year-old was clipped early on in the race and had to stop to put back on one of his running shoes that had been half ripped off.
Kenenisa Bekele (left) of Ethiopia, wearing a tartan bonnet, celebrates with supporters after winning the men's senior cross-country race in the 36th IAAF World Cross-Country Championships at Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, on Sunday. [Agencies] |
But he gathered himself and in a startling display of controlled running, Bekele reeled in the field which had fallen off the pace set by Kenyan duo Patrick Komon and Joseph Ebuya, and defending champion Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea.
As that trio faded on the final lap, Bekele powered through to confirm his status as the most successful endurance runner ever.
"My shoe did not come completely off," the 5,000 and 10,000m world record holder said. "It was half off, but I had to stop, undo it and put it back on so it might as well have been all off.
"It was a lot of effort to put it back on, and it's certainly the first time that's happened to me.
"But cross-country is not like a 10,000m race on a track. A gap of two or three meters is not too much.
"I wasn't worried about being in fourth position. Sometimes in cross-country, being a bit further back can be an advantage as you can monitor the runners in front of you and are protected by the wind."
One concerned onlooker was Danawit Gebregziabher, the Ethiopian film actress Bekele married in November.
"To win in front of my wife was very difficult. I was conscious I had to put in a good performance," he said.
"When my shoe came off I heard that she almost fainted. Imagine if I had fallen back and not won - how hard she would have taken it!"
Gebregziabher herself added: "I am extremely happy. At first I had no doubts that he would win, but when his shoe came off, I was a little concerned."
Bekele admitted that his sixth long-course world cross title, and his 11th individual cross title since 2002, had dispelled his disappointment at not finishing last year's event in Mombasa, Kenya.
"Last year I was set on winning six titles but I couldn't do it. I have won the double five times but this is great," he said, warning that he would not be disappearing off the international running stage any time soon.
"It's true that at this stage of my career, at my age, I have achieved many feats. But I want to remain at this level and in this sport for many years to come."
Bekele, the oldest runner in Ethiopia's team, confirmed he would be at the Beijing Olympic Games in August.
"The problem of pollution will be the same for all the athletes competing there," he said in response to queries about his compatriot Haile Gebrselassie's concerns over air quality in the Chinese capital.
"Beijing will be very different. I will get confidence not so much from my performance here but my continued good performances up until that time.
"I can't really say this far ahead what events I'll be competing in at Beijing," said Bekele, who won gold in the 10,000m and silver in the 5,000m at the Athens Games in 2004.
But his thoughts will immediately turn to the African Games, which are set for home soil in Ethiopia at the end of next month.
"I will compete there even though it's very close to this race. If I was not to compete, it would be like inviting a lot of people to a feast and then not turning up."
