The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Mo races into unknown territory with first marathon Posted: 08 Apr 2014 08:10 AM PDT Farah's ultimate target, however, is some way removed from the rest of the field as, in his first crack at the revered 26.2 mile distance, he is planning to take on and beat one of the best elite fields ever assembled. Four of the 10 fastest men ever, seven of the top 20, including 2.03.23 world record holder and 2012 London winner Wilson Kipsang, will race at a pace that Farah hopes, but is not yet certain, he can live with. "It's completely different, track to road," the world and Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 metres champion told a Tuesday news conference held in the shadow of Tower Bridge, the iconic halfway mark of the race. "When I'm training normally, I can do reps of 5km or whatever it is, but for the marathon it's so much harder as you don't run those distances often. "But I've learned a lot and am looking forward to it. Now is the time to test myself and find out if I'm good at it or not." 'Good', of course, is a relative term for a man with a sound claim to be Britain's greatest-ever athlete. Such is the progress he has made over the last four years, with his superlative distance double among the highlights of the London Olympics, that expectation levels among the public have rocketed. Farah gave them a taster a year ago when he ran the first half of the London Marathon in a bid to gain some experience and familiarise himself with the course and logistics of the race. That went well enough, but another half-marathon outing in New York three weeks ago was not so smooth as he tripped early in the race and then collapsed unconscious after crossing the line in second place behind Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai, who is also racing on Sunday. Farah, 31, brushed off the incident on Tuesday, saying the extra effort he had to put in to recover from his fall, combined with the cold weather, left him completely spent. "When you go down in a race, it's hard," he said, "You're tired and it's hard mentally. I was trying to finish hard, but I was seeing stars at the end. "It's happened before. I did it after a cross country in 2009, so I wasn't worried and I've just got a few scratches on my hip from the fall." On Sunday Farah could face a dilemma as he tries to run the pace he thinks he can handle, while possibly being drawn into a potentially disastrous breakaway if some of the African favourites, as is likely, set off at world record pace. "I think I'll go with the group and see what happens. I'll try to be patient," he said. "I know with my confidence from the track I should be up there, but it's the distance that's the challenge. You have to respect the distance." Farah's presence has delivered a buzz for home fans, who have not seen a British winner since Eamonn Martin in 1993 and fully expect Steve Jones's 29-year-old British record of 2:07.13 to fall. Farah has that mark in his sights. "That's my main target," he said. "I want to go after that British record, then see what comes. "It's going to be an incredible race, whatever happens - just look at the field." Farah said he had taken heart from Kenenisa Bekele's 2:05.03 debut win in Paris last week, as the man who preceded him as world and Olympic double distance champion chalked up the seventh fastest debut ever. "That was a great time for his first marathon and it gives me confidence, but this is different to Paris," said Farah, who won London's mini-marathon three times as a teenager based in the south-west of the city, having moved from Somalia as an eight-year-old. "He had nobody there to worry about. He went in with a different mind than me in London, which is the toughest field." Farah said he had no concerns about testing himself against the best, even if it meant potentially denting his reputation as a serial winner. "Every race is a risk for me," he said. "I've gone straight in at the deep end, but that's what champions do." – Reuters, April 8, 2014. |
| Adrian ready to step into injured Costa’s boots, says Simeone Posted: 08 Apr 2014 07:59 AM PDT Costa is a major doubt for the match due to a hamstring injury that forced him off half an hour into last week's 1-1 draw in the first leg. Adrian has scored just twice this season in 31 appearances, but Simeone insisted he will partner former Barca striker David Villa in attack if Costa doesn't recover in time. "Any player has at least to be at a minimum of 90% to play. If he is at 50% he cannot play, it doesn't matter if it is Costa, (Diego) Godin or Miranda. "If he doesn't play, Adrian will. It will be a great opportunity for him. He offers us a lot and I have full confidence in him." Atletico also lead the way in La Liga, a point ahead of Barcelona, with just six games remaining. However, both sides struggled physically on their way to wins at the weekend and Simeone is counting on the crowd at the Vicente Calderon to lift his players energy levels after a long season. "We have had a great season and it has been hard for the players. We are still competing and that is due to the great physical work of the players. "To work with positive energy is important and it is vital to have that energy in the stadium tomorrow night." All four meetings between Atletico and Barca so far this season have ended in draws with both sides managing to score just twice. Simeone admitted that his side hold a slight advantage heading into the return leg, thanks to Diego's stunning away goal at the Camp Nou. However, the Argentine said Barca's recent 4-3 win away to Real Madrid was a warning that this Barca side still have the ability to turn the tie in their favour with a moment of brilliance. "There is minimal advantage for us, but given the characteristics of the Barcelona team, they always play in the same manner. They want to attack and dominate the game. They never play to defend. "There are still 90 or 120 minutes left to play. They are experts in scoring and we need to remember the four goals they scored at the Bernabeu. Moreover, they have a lot of experience in this type of game." Atletico captain Gabi, meanwhile, claimed the players are enjoying their success too much to let tiredness affect them in the remaining six weeks of the season. "We are in the best form of our lives. Nobody is tired. We want to finish the season as we started it. "From now on we will see the best Atletico of the whole year." – AFP, April 8, 2014. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider : Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan