The athletics world will look to Valencia on Sunday. All the spotlights point to Letesenbet Gidey (Endameskel, 24 years old) and his distance debut at the 42nd Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon. The Ethiopian runs for the third time “at home” and does so with the same objective as the two previous occasions: to break the world record. He did it in the 5,000 test (14:06.62) and also in the Half Marathon., with a stratospheric mark ((1:02:52). Now, the world record holder also of 10,000 ((29:01.03) and 15K (44:20), arrives at the City of Running to surpass Brigid Kosgei’s mark (2h14 :04, Chicago 2019).
“I am convinced that I can do it,” said Gidey. upon his arrival at the City of Arts and Sciences, where a larger number of national and international journalists than usual in recent years of the event awaited him. Valencia has managed to carve out a place among the Marathons to be followed closely and Gidey’s debut in the distance is a claim and recognition. “In Valencia I feel at home”, remarked the Ethiopian, who acknowledged “having had other offers to debut”, although”, it was clear that it would be in the City of Running “since here I achieved the world record of 5,000″ .
Gidey has prepared his debut in a Marathon in his country, specifically on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, at an altitude of over 2,500 meters, with series of 25 kilometers on the road and also on the track. His strategy to continue in the race is about to be finalized. He will define it this Saturday together with his coach, Haile Eyasu, and Marc Roig, elite selector for the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon.
From the Oregon World Championship to the Valencia Marathon
The world record holder had planned her 2022 to close it with her debut in the Marathon. Gidey dedicated the first semester preparing for the Oregon World Championships, where he won gold in the 10,000, and from there, he focused his body and soul on preparing to cover the 42,195 meters through the streets of Valencia. Gidey faces the challenge of covering the kilometer at 3:11. “The training sessions have gone well and I’m sure,” Gidey insisted, protected at all times from the cold and humidity that she did in the Valencian morning. You have to take care of her, after all, she is 42,195 meters away from being able to become the first person in the history of athletics to achieve the world records of 5,000, 10,000, Half… and Marathon.
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A for the test record in the men’s category (2h03:00)
‘The Marathon of Marathons’, the slogan that the organization has devised in this 42nd edition, not only has its sights and aspirations set on Gidey. Paco Boroa, Marc Roig and José Antonio Redolat have designed a race and a selection of elite athletes (300 in total) with which they also aspire to break the record of the event in the men’s category (2h03:00, Chebet) and the Spanish record for both men (2h06:25) and women (2h26:51).
Paco Borao: “The show is given by the runners, what we have to do in the organization is to make available to them the best possible conditions to give that show. For us, an outstanding thing is that there is no incident worth noting and that the race is carried out in the best conditions, and obviously that there is a record, because we are going for national and international records”.
Marc Roig: “Everyone knows that this is the City of Running and that people run fast here. Every time we have to be more elitist when it comes to choosing who comes, because everyone wants to come to Valencia. We have 8 athletes with less than 2h05:00 in Marathon and three beginners with less than 58:00 in Half. We have to see if they meet expectations in the Marathon. In women, in addition to Gidey, we have another newcomer that generates expectation like Sheila Chepkirui and three women under 2h20:00 (Kebede, Gelana and Girma)”.
The elite coach Marc Roig pointed out that the race strategy, in the men’s category, will be designed with two defined groups. A first group of runners who will seek the test record, which will include, among others, the current world champion, Tamirat Tola, and other athletes such as Getaneh Molla, Ozbilen, Wolde, Korir, Tewelde, Deso and Geday ( all of them with personal bests less than 2h=5:00). In addition, there are rookies that generate expectation such as Mutiso, Kiplimo or Kiptum. Meanwhile, the second group will be designed so that Spanish athletes aspire to the world record, with the presence among them of the European Media record holder, the Swiss Julien Wanders.
mutiso: “I am happy to be back in Valencia. I keep great memories of the 2020 Average (57:59, fourth best mark of all time). I think it’s a good circuit for me, I know him from last year (he acted like a hare), I would be happy just for my body to respond to me, this is not a Half Marathon, it’s a Marathon and I know it’s different The circuit is fantastic, although I remember that last year it was very windy and that made it difficult”.
Julien Wanders: “I don’t want to put pressure on myself, I’m going to follow the second group, I made my debut in Paris and things didn’t go as well as I had planned, I’ll try not to make the same mistakes and I’ll try to improve my brand. I am in better shape than for Paris, I was injured and had to do more gym work, but my body is now more prepared for the kilometers”.