Bekele set for marathon with Royal touch
london — Ethiopian track legend Kenenisa Bekele believes he is in the sort of form to break Eliud Kipchoge’s fastest ever time in the London Marathon on Sunday.
Should the 34-year-old — who still holds the 5,000 and 10,000 metres world records — manage that it would be a fitting end to a week that has seen the great race receive even more advance publicity than usual.
That has been thanks to Britain’s Prince Harry revealing earlier this week he had sought help from mental health professionals four years ago to resolve the issues arising from the death of his mother Princess Diana in 1997.
Indeed the Heads Together campaign — which is led by Harry, Prince William and the latter’s wife Kate and aims to remove the stigma surrounding mental health — is the official charity for the race this year and it has a particular interest in 10 runners with mental health issues running as the ‘Mind Over Marathon’ group.
“A great man, and a beacon of how to speak out if you’re suffering in silence,” one of the ten runners Jake Tyler remarked on his Instagram account about Harry and his frank admissions. While those 10 will not only raise awareness for the mentally fragile but also badly needed funds, Bekele will be seeking to rake in the cash himself and produce an eye-catching performance.
Bekele, a three-time Olympic champion (the 10,000m in 2004 and 5,000/10,000 double in 2008), will not face either of the Kenyans who beat him home in London last year with Kipchoge setting a new race record of 2hr 03min 05sec.
Bekele, who is also a five-time world track champion, responded later in the year by running the fastest marathon of 2016 in Berlin and he feels he is in that sort of shape for Sunday’s renewal.
“I am in just as good shape as I was in Berlin last year,” he told the official race website. “I think I can improve my personal best, that would be perfect for me. Of course, in a marathon anything can happen, but I can say I am ready and full of confidence.” —