Julian Drew: Athletics
Had the International Olympic Committee bowed to tradition rather than commercialism when it awarded the centennial Olympic Games to Atlanta, Josiah Thugwane’s marathon victory would have been framed with even greater significance.
If the Games had gone to Athens not only would he have become the first black gold medallist in South Africa’s 92-year association with the Games, he would also have passed into the folklore of Pheidippides and Spyridon Louis.
On Sunday five South Africans have an opportunity to make their own contribution to the mythology of marathon running when they race over the historic course between Marathon and Athens at the World Athletics Championships.
This gruelling course is associated not only with the very first marathon race but also the legend which led to its creation. But like the man whose actions inspired the modern marathon, the event itself is now surrounded by myths, many of which are taken to be fact.
Perhaps the most pervasive of these is that the marathon was contested at the ancient Olympics. In truth it has more recent origins ad when it was run at the first Olympic Games of the modern era in Athens in 1896 it was being staged for the first time.
The marathon race was the idea of Michel Bral, a friend of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Together they championed its cause and introduced it onto the programme of the first Olympic Games. Bral was accomplished classicist and linguist who wanted to honour Greece’s contribution to sport with a unique competition.
In the heroic deeds of Pheidippides he found the inspiration he was looking for: in 490BC Pheidippides is reputed to have run from the battlefield at Marathon to bring the news of victory over the invading Persians to Athens.
Bral’s proposal of a race to commemorate Athens’s most famous victory caught the imagination of all Greece on the eve of the first Olympic Games. It was considered a matter of national pride that the race should be won by a Greek. but having failed to win any of the other athletics competitions Greece was becoming increasingly desperate over its prospects in the marathon.
Only 18 competitors started the race and things looked ominous when the Frenchman Lermusiaux bolted into a huge lead. By 32km his suicidal pace caught up with him and he had to drop out, but the Australian Edwin Flack, who had already won the 800m and 1 500m, took over.
Further back a small Greek peasant called Spyridon Louis was taking a more conservative approach and even stopped for a glass of wine along the way. One by one the foreign athletes either gave up or fell back and with 9km remaining Louis took the lead and never relinquished it, racing home in a time of 2:58:50.
If uncertainty envelops the history of this supreme test of physical endurance, the same can also be said of the outcome of Sunday’s race. Among the running events on the athletics programme none is more unpredictable than the marathon where so many factors come to bear and so many things can go wrong.
The only real surprise perhaps would be if a Greek runner were to emulate the victory of Spyridon Louis.
The heat and humidity suggest an athlete from a similar climate will prevail and perhaps the favourites lie among the Spanish or Portuguese, although neither country has its fastest athlete in the race.
Portugal’s Domingos Castro, who won in Rotterdam in April in the year’s quickest time of 2;07:51, entered the 10 000m because he felt the marathon conditions unsuitable, while Spain’s Alejandro Gomez, three seconds behind Castro in Rotterdam, was also down to run the 10 000m before withdrawing through injury.
This year there is also a team competition with each country allowed to enter five athletes with three to count in the team event. In 1994 European champion and 1995 world champion Martin Fiz, Spain may have one of the favourites to win the individual title, and there can be no doubt that they are the bookmakers’ tip for the team event.
They have six sub-2:10 marathon runners from which to choose their team and with conditions also to their liking it is difficult to see them missing out on the team gold medal.
Had there been a team competition in Atlanta, Mexico would have won. They have a strong team in Athens too, led by 1993 New York winner Andres Espinosa.
Second behind Mexico in Atlanta would have been South Africa and although like Spain and Portugal this country is also without its top marathon runner in Josiah Thugwane, we still have a strong team which could place in the medals if all goes well.
Like last year before Atlanta the South African runners have prepared at high altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “We were there for two months and at first we concentrated on endurance work because I wasn’t sure how fit they all were,” said marahton team manager Stephens Morake.
“Later we did speed endurance work with sessions on the track or forest trails and I believe eveyone is in very good shape.”
The fastest man in the team is Lawrence Peu who also ran in Atlanta. He came seventh in London this year in 2:09;10. “The world championhsips and Olympics are the same in that you don’t go for a fast time but rather position,” said Peu.
“We will work together as a team early on and then if some of us feel like we want to go then we will push ahead. If one of our opponents goes to the front then one of us must go with him but we won’t be racing each other.”
He is noncommital on the main contenders for the title. “Pinto is there, Moneghetti (Steve, Australia) is there, but then so are we. When Josiah won last year he was a complete unknown and the same thing can happen here.
“You can’t say who will win the marathon because it’s not like other races. I will only say that the South African team is very good and I won’t be surprised if we win. We are not here as individuals. We are here for South africa and we want to do well.”
The marathon team only arrived form Albuquerque on Tuesday afternoon, but when Peu’s room-mate returned that evening he had the best possible motivator for the marathon team hanging around his neck. Peu is sharing a room with javelin thrower Marius Corbett and now Peu, Xolile Yawa, Abel Mokibe, Adam Motlagale and Abner Chipu want a gold medal too.
ENDS