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Marathon men save Africa's Olympic
blushes
There are 302
Olympic events, but only one gets a prime-time
billing during the closing ceremony itself. That
would be the men's marathon, which is good news
for Africa because it gives us a chance to share
in a little Olympic glory, too little of which
came Africa's way. But if there's one thing we
know we are good at, it's running very far, very
fast. By SIMON ALLISON.
In the
Olympic Games, not all events are created equal. A
medal is a medal, sure, and no matter what the
discipline it takes extraordinary skill and
dedication to earn one. But where winning the shot
put earns you an ovation and the respect of your
colleagues, crossing the
line first in the men's 100 metres guarantees a
lifetime of fame and fortune. And the equestrian
champion of the dressage is unlikely to receive
the same attention as the stars of the swimming
pool.
Then there's the men's marathon. It
doesn't have the glamour of the pool or the track,
and it certainly doesn't have the superstars, at
least since Haile Gebrselassie hung up his running
shoes. It is unique, however, and its winners are
given a special place in the Olympic story.
By tradition - the same traditional that
sees the Greek national anthem gratuitously played
at the end of each Olympics - the medal
presentation for the marathon is not done at the
same time or place as the race itself. In
recognition of the event's historic significance,
and of the remarkable physical endurance it
requires, the medallists in the marathon are
honoured at the closing ceremony in front of a
packed stadium, a huge TV audience and all of the
other Olympic athletes. As a country, if you're
only going to win one event, the marathon is the
one to aim for. It's a singular honour that
guarantees the marathon winner more than his fair
share of the limelight.
On Sunday night,
the man in that limelight was Uganda's Stephen
Kiprotich. Nobody expected him to be there, not
even the great Gebrselassie, who predicted a tough
fight between the Ethiopian and Kenyan teams.
Kiprotich himself looked a bit shocked. When he
finally got his gold medal, the Kenyans on
alongside him on the podium had to help him put it
the right way round.
It was a nice end to
the tournament for Africa; while we are the
worst-performing continent, at least we dominate
the blue ribbon event.
For Uganda, which
had waited 40 years since its last gold medal,
Kiprotich's victory was even sweeter. The country
needed a good news story. It's been a rough year
for Uganda: thrust into the spotlight with the
Kony 2012 campaign, fighting a difficult war in
Somalia and dealing with a deadly outbreak of the
Ebola virus.
Reactions were ecstatic. "In
a feat now already etched in Uganda's sporting
history, an achievement that will be talked about
for generations to come, a success that catapulted
an entire nation from a dead silence to the
highest scales of ecstasy, Stephen Kiprotich ran
the race of his life to win GOLD in the marathon
on the closing day of the London 2012 Olympics,"
wrote the Observer in Kampala (their caps, not
mine).
The Daily Monitor was even more
excited, describing the win as a "national
salvation": "Magnificent, fabulous and astounding
genius.…It was the most surreal moment. It was
beyond unimaginable. Put simply, words don't do
justice to Kiprotich's feat achieved on a
beautiful early summer afternoon. The boy-wonder
is now a Greek god. Kiprotich stands tallest in
the world of athletics today morning."
The
other major paper, the New Vision, has already
started a prize fund for Kiprotich, raising
$100,000 for him in less than 24 hours. "My appeal
to the Minister of Finance is to exempt
Kiprotich's cash prize from being taxed," said a
representative of the paper. They hope to raise
$500,000 in total.
Chances are Kiprotich
won't be all that worried about a little tax. In
fact, he probably won't have to worry about money
for a long time. He's already a national hero, and
he can expect the endorsements to come rolling in,
as well as a lifetime of adulation in his native
land.
Kiprotich left his native land to
prepare for these Olympics, however, training
instead in Eldoret in Kenya, the region that
produces most of Kenya's top runners. His coach
was one of them, Eliud Kipchoge, a 5000 metre
specialist with a bronze from Athens and a silver
from Beijing.
Whisper this in Uganda, but
perhaps Kiprotich's Kenyan connection is the
secret to his success. Kenya is, after all, the
powerhouse of long distance running. "The
statistics are hard to ignore," wrote Max Fisher
in The Atlantic. "This medium-size country of
41-million dominates the world in competitive
running. Pick any long-distance race. You'll often
find that up to about 70 or 80% of its winners
since the late 1980s, when East African nutrition
and technology started catching up with the West,
have been from Kenya."
Fisher reels off
the impressive statistics: Since 1988, 20 of the
25 winners of the men's Boston Marathon have been
Kenyan. Kenyan women have won nine of the last 13.
Seven of the last eight London Marathons were won
by Kenyans. Of the top 25 male record holders for
the 3,000-meter steeplechase, 18 are Kenyan.
When it's not a Kenyan breaking the tape,
chances are it will be someone from their northern
neighbours Ethiopia, who specialize in taking home
Olympic medals despite a much smaller pool of
top-class runners than Kenya. Three of the last
four gold medals in the women's 5,000-metres were
won by an Ethiopian; same in the women's
10,000-metres. Ethiopian women had a particularly
good year this year, going home with gold in the
women's 5000-metre, 10,000-metre and marathon. The
men's record isn't quite as good, but it's not far
off, with two of the last four golds in the 5,000
and four of the last five in the 10,000.
East African dominance of long and
middle-distance running is unquestioned. Less
certain are the reasons for it. There is plenty of
speculation, of course. Most of the runners come
from a relatively small geographical area in the
Great Rift Valley, which indicates that physical
environment plays a role. Most likely, the extreme
altitude makes it easier for these athletes to
compete elsewhere in the world. Some suggest it's
an ethnic thing, that some gene prevalent in East
Africa and particularly among specific ethnic
groups codes for distance running. Or maybe it's
about upbringing - kids that run miles to and from
school every day are in constant training, whether
they know it or not.
Few rigorous
scientific studies have explored the phenomenon,
however, and the supremacy of East African runners
remains an enigma. In the meantime, all we can do
is celebrate their success - and expect more
Africans to grace the prestigious medal
presentation during the closing ceremony in Rio
2016. DM
This
article is run courtesy of Daily Maverick. To
visit their site, please click here.
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