BEKELE: WORLD CROSS DEMISE DUE TO MOMBASA CONDITIONS

by Bob Ramsak

(c) 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

A day after his shock defeat at the World Cross Country Championships here, five-time defending champion Kenenisa Bekele blamed his withdrawal from the race's waning stages on by the harsh conditions runners faced on the course at this Kenyan seaside resort city near the equator.

The 24-year-old Kenyan appeared on the verge of his record sixth straight title before he succumbed to the conditions, eventually dropping out midway through the final two kilometer lap.

After experiencing some stomach problems mid-race, Bekele said, “Suddenly I felt that my coordination was not good and that my mind was dizzy. I even started to doubt about how many laps I still had to run.”

His confusion was apparent, as was his inability to respond to the late race assault by Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea, who, seemingly oblivious to the heat and humidity, sped by over the final lap en route to a commanding victory.

"I felt that I lost all my energy,” Bekele said. “I was slowing down and felt that I was losing control over my body as well as my mind. This is why I decided to stop the race."

"Now, one day later, I am convinced that this had to do with the heat and humidity." Bekele said he took all the necessary precautions, but his body simply didn't respond.

"I drank extra water, cooled my body with ice before the race and for the rest did everything the same as usual. So what can I do? I have to accept what happened yesterday, take a small rest and than start all over again for the summer season."

The conditions at the venue along the Indian Ocean on Saturday were by far the most arduous ever witnessed at the world championships. Afternoon temperatures reached nearly 35 C (95 F), with humidity at over 70 percent. In all, 82 of the 471 competitors who started their respective races did not finish. 27 were hospitalized, but none with conditions serious enough to require overnight stays.

ENDS

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