News23 Mar 2004


Syria's middle distance hope

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Rdwan doing speed work at the Murram track Kip Keino stadium (© Macharia)

Eldoret, KenyaTwentythree year old Jadouh Rdwan is outstanding among his training mates because he takes his training seriously and goes about it with vigour.

The seriousness of this Syrian middle distance runner makes his coach in Eldoret, Kenya, Joseph Ngure feel that the athlete has all the potential that can make world-beaters.

Rdwan will be in Kenya for high altitude training for eight months, not only to train but also to prepare for two major events coming later in the year - Olympics in Athens, Greece in August and Arab Championships in Algeria in September.

The Syrian joined the Eldoret IAAF High Performance Training Centre early in the year and settled in almost immediately as opposed to many other athletes who come on training scholarships from different parts of the world.

Though not very fluent in English, which is the main language used in the camp, Rdwan has managed to overcome the communication barrier and training related problems that is a characteristic of foreign athletes training in Kenya.

What others say about him

Ezekiel Kemboi World 3000 metres Steeplechase silver medallist says, "Rdwan knows what he is doing. He is focused and takes his training serious. He wakes up very early in the morning to train while others are still a sleep."

Esther Kimaru a coach with Eldoret Prisons Athletics Team says "this runner seems very serious. It is unusual for a foreign runner to come and train so hard at this altitude.'

Rdwan is the Syria's reigning 800m champion, a title he has held since 2001. He has also held the national title in 1500m since 2002.

He won 800m bronze during the World Military Championships held in Lebanon in 2001. He was the 2001 Arab Junior Championships gold medallist, a feat he achieved when the games were held in Damascus, Syria.

His main reason to travel to Kenya for training was to prepare for the Arab Championships in September after taking part in the Olympics set for Athens, Greece in August.

He hopes that his eight-month high altitude training will enable him to improve on his 800m personal best time of 1:47.85 which he reached during last year's national championships.

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