LONDON, AUGUST, 8, 2017 - With triple worldand double 5000-10,000m Olympic champion Mo Farah saying goodbye to his belovedtrack, one of the questions raised by the eternal fans of distance races andthe 10,000m in particular, is who is going to become the poster athlete, for anevent on the verge of disappearance.
In winning the women’s 10,000m gold inLondon, Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana, the world record holder and Olympic championhas put her name firmly atop the candidate list. Her dominance in the 10,000m race sawher go nearly a lap ahead of her competitors in the track, before easing past the finishline. Next is the 5,000m on Sunday night for which she is the favorite. Sheinsists she is ready for it, and for shouldering the responsibility of distancequeen and for the growing expectation coming from her country.
Almaz, 26, started her career by runningthe 3000m steeplechase, but was quick to change her discipline to flatlong-distance track races, which brought her success throughout the years.
Since she start competing in the 5000m and10,000m, she quickly became almost unstoppable at all levels of competitions.Possibly the most dear to her she muses, is her maiden international victorywhich she won over 5000m at the 2014 African Championships in Morocco,defeating compatriot and favorite Genzebe Dibaba in a championship record timeof 15:32.72. Ayana also won the 5000m representing Africa at the 2014 IAAFContinental Cup by over 24 seconds at the same ground.
Many of her opponents in London could donothing but watch her ease to her first 10,000m gold medal at the WorldChampionships, while fans at London Stadium cheered her in disbelief as she ledfrom the 11th lap on.
The 2016 IAAF female athlete of the year sat down with AIPS before she set out to defending her 5000m title from twoyears ago in Beijing.
Who is Almaz Ayana?
The name Almaz means "Diamond"when translated from Amharic, Ethiopia’s official language. Born and raised ina large family, she came from a rural town called Wembera, Benishangul Gumuz,in the western part of Ethiopia.
“I grew up looking after my parentscattle,” she told AIPS. Just like every child at her age in Ethiopia heinspiration to become an athlete came “from watching my school mates competingat the local school championships in the area.”
Almaz is married to her childhood friendand longtime partner, Soressa Fida, a former athlete himself, who is also herfulltime coach. She gushes over having a life companion, who knows,understands, and helps on and off the track and who has been there during alllow and high times during her journey to becoming who she is now.
Another crucial figure in Almaz’s life isher older sister Degie Ayana, the first person who backed her to continueworking on her trainings. When it all began, she was afraid to tell her parentsthat it was practicing she was running to every morning, as they insisted thatshe needed to keep her focus on her education.
Calling herself very religious, Ayanareveals that what she loves doing most off the track is going to church andvisiting monasteries. But it’s her hard work that makes her the champion thatshe is, she adds proudly.
“I take my trainings seriously, day andnight, and with God’s help, that is really paying off.”
Running style
Asked about her highly demanding new styleof running, which sees her kick off her finishing in the early stages of therace, and finishing with the same pacefor the large part of the distance, her reply was simple. “It is because I amworking hard on the things I am good at it, and it works.”
Technical director of the EthiopianAthletics Federation Dubie Jillo had words to add on this matter, “[Ayana’s]running style is unique and very demanding, it needs both endurance and speedat their very best level. So if she wants to stay on top of the game for solong, she needs to manage her races carefully, she need to have a good schedulerace and recovery time.”
After she become African,World and OlympicChampion, world record holder in 10,000m and the 5000m seems to be on thehorizon after she clocked 14:12.59 at IAAF Golden Gala in Rome. The resultmakes her the second fastest woman ever in the 5000 meters, just 1.44 secondsshy from another Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba’s world record. Many believe thatAyana already poses legendary status, but the young Ethiopian disagrees: “Thisis just the beginning.”
