Dubai: Legendary Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele would probably have ended up as an obscure football player all his life if it hadn’t been for his high school teacher, who saw his potential for long-distance running.
Three-time Olympic champion Bekele, who leads the pack of 30,000 runners taking part in the Dubai Marathon on Friday and who is strong favourite to run away with the winner’s purse of $200,000 (Dh734,600) — and possibly even the world record bonus of $100,000 — told Gulf News how football’s loss turned out to be athletics’ gain.
“I used to play football with my friends. My high school teacher, who watched me in action, realised I was a very fast runner on the field and advised me that running would be better for me. He said if I could train hard, I could produce good results.
“Football was not very popular in our country and hence I took up running from the age of 15.”
Bekele, who holds the world record and Olympic record in both 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres is today one of the greatest athletes of our era. “From the day I began running, I enjoyed and got interested in it [running]. I am happy with what I have achieved,” said 32-year-old Bekele, who holds 16 world crowns apart from three Olympic titles.
Asked about the secret of his success, Bekele said: “It is nothing but working hard with discipline. Whenever I work hard, I feel confident. I make sure I am happy while training. Frankly, happiness has to do a lot with my success.”
And what is his message for runners hoping to emulate him? “To be successful in long distance running, talent is very important. I feel those who have achieved success have worked hard on honing their talent,” said Bekele, who is very particular about his diet.
“If you are a runner, you have to choose what you eat. Healthy food is very important. You have to follow nature’s rule and eat minimum three times a day. I like chicken, but don’t eat the same type of food all the time.”
Bekele who has set his eyes on the next Olympics, said. “My goal is to achieve more success. I want to do better in the next Olympics at Rio de Janeiro.”
However, his immediate target is to win the Dubai Marathon. “This will be my third marathon. Dubai is a fantastic place and I am very happy to be running here. I have come here on vacation with my family many a time and indulged in shopping, but it is the first time here as a runner,” said Bekele, who has run in Paris and Chicago Marathon.
In Paris, he won on his marathon debut with a course record and current personal best of 2:05:04.
No wonder, Bekele wants to emulate his country’s greatest runner Haile Gebreselassie. “I know that Gebreselassie has won here thrice and it will be nice to win a marathon which he has won. There are some very good runners on the field and hence it is not going be easy but as always, I will try and give my best,” Bekele added,
