BEKELE STILL TO MAKE UP MIND ABOUT ANOTHER OLYMPIC DOUBLE COMPETES IN SPAR GREAT IRELAND  RUN ON SUNDAY

Press Release
April 13, 2012

Kenenisa Bekele who on  his last visit to Dublin a decade ago  claimed both the IAAF World Cross Country long and short course titles can look  towards a stiffer test when facing four of Europe’s top runners in the SPAR Great Ireland Run.

Bekele would normally be considered the favourite but in his first race since a disappointing 11th position at the Bupa Edinburgh Cross Country in January , there is global interest that was just an offday hiccup and whether he can now regain the ascendancy which has seen him christened the world’s greatest ever cross country and track distance runner.

It will be no pushover for the reigning Olympic 5000 metres and 10,000m champion who faces the highly experienced Spanish trio of Jesus Espana, Chema Martinez and particularly Ayad Lamdassem in the 10 kilometres race at Phoenix Park on Sunday.

With Italy's 2010 European 10,000m bronze medallist Daniele Meuci also in the line up,  the strong European contingent  will all be chasing his scalp in what promises to be an intriguing race.

Bekele – last month he set another milestone in his outstanding career when surpassing  the feat of  Finland’s Paavo Nurmi for holding the world 5000m and 10,000m records when having kept the titles in his possesssion for 2850 days   – says has trained extremely hard since his Edinburgh setback.

The 29-year-old  has shed the two or three kilos of excess weight he was carrying during his demise in Holyrood Park and is very  positive about retaining both his Olympic titles - although cautiously on his arrival in Dublin on Friday refusing to fully commit himself to a repeat performance of his victories in Beijing four years ago.

Bekele with an abundance of talented Ethiopian athletes also determined to fulfil their Olympic dreams, said of another double: "I'm preparing really well to do it but I don't know yet, I still have to decide.

"I have to run in the qualifying races and make a decision later. We'll see what happens as the season gets going."

Gaining strength rather than speed training has been his major task in the last three months and the athlete’s agent Jos  Hermens believes a tough road race before he embarks on his track season in Doha in mid-May will give a strong indication of his shape

"My training has been going well and I have lost the extra weight that I was carrying," said Bekele. "So it is very good that I can come here and have a hard race. We'll see how it goes but I'm feeling good."   

Certainly he will have no time to relax against Espana who is defending his SPAR Great Ireland Run crown and preceded Mo Farah as European 5000m gold medallist plus Martinez who is a past Euro 10,000m title holder and Meuci.

However Lamdassem of the three Spaniards is currently the man in form and after a great winter season where he won the European Cross Country silver medal then three weeks later beat the gold medallist on that occasion Atelaw Bekele in Edinburgh,  sees his Dublin outing as very important.

“Ayad is a very determined athlete  and his major early season target is to gain the  Olympic 10,000m qualifying  time in Bilbao in a few weeks time,” said his agent Miguel Mostaza.

“At the same time he and the other two guys are looking forward to running against Bekele and I am certain a great race will be on the cards."

Mark Kenneally who holds the Olympic marathon qualifying time and will run a leg of the Games  Torch Relay when it comes to Dublin will carry Irish hopes while the top Briton in the race will be Nick McCormick recently returned from a training camp in Australia.

Charlotte Purdue  a superb winner of last year’s SPAR Great Ireland Run is returning to defend her title along with fellow Briton Gemma Steel  whose career has come on leaps and bounds since finishing runner up on that occasion.

Purdue despite her small frame has one of the biggest hearts in UK  athletics and not surprisingly is reckoned to have the massive potential to eventually follow in the footsteps of the legendary Paula Radcliffe.

The  20-year-old will know Steel is the the opponent to beat but will also be wary of fellow British international Helen Clitheroe winner of the 2011 Bupa Great Manchester Run over 10km.

France’s Christelle Daunay, the very experienced three time Olympian Aniko Kalovics from Hungary and Marta Estepan of Spain should also be in the mix at the meeting which has been elevated to IAAF Silver Label status.

Linda Byrne, and Maria McCambridge who  both hold the Olympic marathon qualifying standard will be determined to produce good displays on home soil but Ava Hutcheson another Irish woman with the Games standard at that distance,  has after suffering all week pulled out with 'flu.

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