DISTANCE RUNNING
A TRUE 'WORLD' SPORT
I don’t
follow International athletics anywhere near the level of
enthusiasm I used to when I was competing myself. I do however
get excited when a fellow Australian shines on the International
stage.
Australia’s own
Craig Mottram is currently setting the World on fire as he
circles various athletic tracks in Europe. Last Friday night
Craig was narrowly defeated over 5000 metres by Ethiopia’s
Kenenisa Bekele at London’s Crystal Palace meet. Kenenisa ran
12.55.55 to Craig’s 12.56.13 and daylight was third. A video of
the race can be viewed online for
free here.
Craig Mottram
(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Kenenisa
Bekele is currently the best distance runner in the World and he
is on course to overtake Haile Grebrselassie as the greatest of
all time. It was in this very race 12 months ago where Craig
also had a ding dong battle with Haile which resulted in Haile
just finishing ahead of the lanky Australian.
I feel
proud to be associated with distance running
The sport
of distance running appeals to me in a number of ways.
I, along
with a handful of fellow stayers, watched the finish of the
Gold Coast Airport Marathon until the very last competitor
crossed the line. Moved by the sounds of “Chariots of Fire” we
all formed a human tunnel to welcome home
Tsutomu Shimabukuro from Japan who finished just short of 8
hours. Tsutomu tragically lost both of his legs in a car
accident and he traveled the entire 42.2km on crutches. There
were a few emotional tears shed by the onlookers.
''Your a true Inspiration
Tsutomu''
Photo courtesy Gold
Coast Bulletin
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