As a child she wanted to be a doctor or a pilot, perhaps that is why when she is older she takes care of her body and flies with her feet. Letesenbet Gidey (Endameskel, Ethiopia, 1998) “is ready and in top form” to debut in Valencia in the Marathon distance on December 4. This is confirmed by Marc Roig, the elite selector of the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon 2022who closely follows the preparation of the world record holder of 5,000 (14:06.62, Valencia 2020), 10,000 (29:01.03, Hengelo 2021), 15K (44:20, Nijmegen 2019) and Average (1:02:52, Valencia 2021).
Gidey, once again, has chosen the City of Running to debut in a Marathon and in its streets he will threaten the Kenyan Brigid Kosgei’s world record (2h14:04, Chicago 2019). The Ethiopian athlete, who will land in Valencia next Thursday, December 1, has been preparing for months in her country to add another milestone to her career, which began at school thanks to the good eye of one of her teachers, who advised her and his parents to dedicate himself to athletics.
“We constantly follow the war conflicts that may be in his region of Ethiopia, although we know that he has been able to train and complete the volume that his coach demanded of him”
Gidey is training outside of Addis Ababathe capital of Ethiopia and a region far from the ethnic conflicts that prevented him from traveling to Valencia in 2020. “We constantly follow the conflicts that may be in his region of Ethiopia (Tigers), although we know that he has been able to train and complete the volume that his coach I demanded of him”, emphasizes Roig, for this reason “we are confident in his state of form”.
Gidey is under the orders of Haile Eyasu, his faithful adviser since 2015, when at the age of 17 he won the Under-20 world cross country championship. He and she have chosen to prepare for the 2022 Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon the high-performance facilities in the Sululta neighborhood, 15 kilometers from the capital, an area located at an altitude of 2,800 meters, about facilities built in 2008 by Kenenisa Bekele to prepare for the Beijing Olympic Games.
Marc Roig: “In the men’s category Tola is the favourite, but watch out for Mutiso’s debut”
Marc Roig has been the elite selector for the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon for years. His influence on the growth of the Valencia event, thanks to his knowledge of the athletes and his experience in the field of great long-distance runners (Kenya and Ethiopia), makes the Valencian event one of the best in the world.
What is the goal of the Valencia Marathon in 2022?
The big goal is in the women’s race. Gidey’s debut. We are very happy and grateful for the relationship that Valencia has with her. We are confident.
And in the male category?
There the great incentive is Tamirat Tola, who in recent years has achieved great results, such as winning the Amsterdam Marathon with her personal best (2h03:39) or the Oregon World Championship, with a partial in the last 10 kilometers that left no choice. He is the great favourite, although watch out for the rookies.
For example?
We have hopes in several, among them Mutiso, who has a time of 57 minutes in the Average and was a hare last year in the Valencia Marathon, already then with expectations for his debut. He liked the circuit, the organization…
What does Valencia have for debutants?
Valencia loves rookies. We offer you the best circuit and the best deal. Some athletes see this as added pressure, because debuting here is easy, but it is also a place with big names and these athletes are used to getting on the podium when they compete.