Invincible Bekele is stronger than ever

Many speculated that Kenenisa Bekele wouldn’t find the courage and strength to bounce back after his fiancée Alem tragically passed away earlier this year. However the 22-year-old Ethiopian completed his fourth consecutive World Cross Country double in St-Etienne/St-Galmier, France and proved he’s not just another great runner but arguably the strongest ever cross country specialist. Doug Gillon reports.

A global TV audience of billons watched Kenenisa Bekele win the Olympic 10,000 metres gold in Athens, but he was the loneliest man on the planet just a few months later. Bereft and “feeling naked” after his teenage fiancée died while training with him, he regularly travelled 150 miles from Addis Ababa to weep in solitary contemplation by her graveside in the eastern town of Assela.

Alem Techale, winner of the 1500 metres at the 2003 IAAF World Youth Championships in Canada, and the multi-medalled Bekele had been planning their wedding on 8 May, but she collapsed on a trail at Arrarat, the wooded area where many leading Ethiopians train near Addis.

Bekele reportedly found her leaning against a tree, complaining of pains in her chest. He raced back for his car, but she died before he could get her to hospital. By nightfall the following day, she was buried in the town of her birth.

It is hard to begin to grasp the anguish. Eerily, in Bekele’s last interview before his partner’s death, a reporter had asked if he was afraid of death.

“I’m not afraid of death, but let’s talk about the wedding,” he replied.

Some speculative nonsense in a few publications defied the bounds of taste and decency. Whether the World 5000 and 10,000 metres record holder was made aware of them, we may never know. If he was, it can only have unravelled him further.

Convention demanded that Bekele mourn for 40 days, but even without preparations being compromised by adherence to cultural decree, family and friends of the 22-year-old Ethiopian feared that Kenenisa’s unique gift might have died with his sweetheart.

Two defeats on the boards, in Boston and Birmingham, suggested such might be the case. In the US he was so distracted that he lost count of the laps, and was beaten over 3000 metres by Irishman Alistair Cragg. In England, compatriot Markos Geneti outsprinted him on the final lap of a two-mile race.

Claiming both men’s World Cross Country titles had already become routine for Bekele. Though no other man had ever done this, Bekele had managed it thrice in succession. Now, however, prospects of defending either title seemed remote, especially after a traumatic press conference on the eve of the championships in central France. 

He dismissed expectation and individual aspiration. He sat, face unshaven as a badge of mourning, as if carved from stone. His eyes were unfocussed as he told the media: “I have to compete for my country, and my people, and I will do my best. I’ll work to achieve a result for the team.”

So an explosive cocktail of emotions greeted his double success at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships at St-Etienne/St-Galmier.

If he should never run another race, his place in the pantheon of endurance running is secure. He is simply incredible. This matches the record 13 world individual and team golds by Kenyan legend Paul Tergat, though Bekele has more individual golds. At the age of 22.

He dismissed the accolade of greatest cross country runner ever: “That’s not for me. That’s something only other people can determine.”

His improbable feat even eclipsed fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba. At 19, the youngest world track champion achieved the first African long and short course women’s double, enlarging her own niche in history.

In the short race over the hippodrome, Bekele cantered past Qatar’s World Steeplechase record holder, Saif Saaeed Shaheen, retrieving what appeared an invincible lead. In the long he broke men with fresh legs, including World 5000m champion Eliud Kipchoge who 48 hours earlier had said Kenyans had a sure-fire plan to reclaim the team title. Bekele led Ethiopia to victory in both races.

Tears flowed immediately after his first win. “She is in my heart,” he said, hand across his chest. “It was very good, but it was difficult . . . I did think about Alem, of course, but I did not lose her. She is in my heart.

“Compared to last year it was harder, because the course was harder, and I have been in mourning. So my preparation was not the same as last year.”

As he regained composure his eloquence verged on poetic: “Joy comes frequently in life, but grief on this level is something that you encounter very rarely. So to come here, to this competition where I first made my name, and to win after losing Alem, is a very significant victory for me…better than when I won at the Olympics.

“This was very significant, because I had really suffered as a result of the tragedy. I was disturbed and anxious.”

Jos Hermens, his manager and no stranger to endurance prodigy having nurtured Bekele’s predecessor, Haile Gebrselassie, regards it as the most amazing race of his career.

“He was hurting terribly. He was very down. All the athletes came to Alem’s funeral. They came to the house and cried together. It was so touching and emotional. Kenenisa left his house, and moved into a hotel, just to get away from people.”

Given all the circumstances, Hermens was astonished. “Because mourning in his culture means not training for 40 days, he felt guilty starting back training before that,” he explained. “There was some criticism of him for running again, but for athletes, the best way to mourn is to run. He did not wait 40 days. If he had, he would not have been here…I actually told him to forget the World Cross.”

Bekele cannot doubt now that he did the right thing.

“This double means more than the others put together,” he said. “For me this is the greatest, because this year I was in mourning. I spent the other years happy with my friend and lover by my side. I did this with grief and joy trading places in my heart, so this is much more significant. In the past I faced my competitions as two people, with Alem, my friend, by my side, encouraging and supporting me. I feel now, after losing her, as if I am naked and facing these competitions alone. So to have achieved this after such a short time, I truly thank God.”

Bekele’s 18-year-old younger brother, Tariku, who looked likely to medal himself before injury struck in the junior race, said: “At one time, I doubted if Kenenisa would ever have the heart to run as well again.”

Shaheen, confessed to a suicidal burst: “too fast, too soon,” and said he thought his personal tragedy had undermined his rival. “I had the idea in my mind that he might be vulnerable, that after these defeats in Boston and Birmingham, maybe he was not strong,” said Shaheen, “but mentally, he is stronger than ever…Bekele deserved to win it.”

Indeed. Bekele has been recast anew in his furnace of grief. There is no saying how strong it has made him. Yet the pain still burns.

He was asked what he thought he might do to the marathon when he goes there, and whether he would attack his own World 10,000 metres record in his opening track race, on 29 May. He declined to speculate on the marathon. Recent experiences have taught that future plans can bring anguish.

“I praise God for what he gives, the good and the bad. I accept them both,” he said. “Yes, I have been asked to run in Hengelo, but no one has approached me about attempting the World record. As time approaches, I will think about it.”

As time goes by, we pray his wounds will heal.

 

Published in IAAF Magazine Issue 1 - 2005