Kenenisa Bekele and Lauryn Williams, two athletes who have confronted personal tragedies in their lives, raced to world title glory at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki on Monday.
Bekele retained his 10 000m title in style but admitted the death of his fiancée earlier this year ruled out taking on the 5 000m challenge. Williams won the women’s 100m crown impressively despite her father’s long-running battle with leukaemia.
But while they were celebrating victory on Monday, there was disappointment for others, with the agony particularly acute for the French team.
First, their favourite for the 1 500m men’s title, Mehdi Baala, made a complete mess of his semifinal and crashed out.
That was soon to be followed by another disappointment for the immensely talented Christine Arron who, having looked the winner through the first few rounds, could only take bronze behind Williams.
It didn’t stop the 31-year-old protesting that she was still the best despite Williams, 10 years younger than her, having already accrued an Olympic silver and now the world title within a year.
A lesson for Arron in keeping your nerve after several near-misses came with the women’s high-jump triumph of Swedish pin-up Kajsa Bergqvist, who despite taking bronze at the Olympics and last two world championships refused to buckle when young American Chaunta Howard pegged her back at 2m with her last attempt.
However, Bergqvist threw back the challenge, jumping 2,02m at the first go, and the American failed her three.
”I felt this was my chance to get the gold medal at the world championships. I knew I had to jump well with Howard going so well, but I held my nerve and won,” said the 27-year-old.
There was also a show of mental strength in the men’s hammer throw as Ivan Tikhon of Belarus retained his title after trailing for most of the event.
”I knew I had the psychological advantage as I was already the champion,” he said proudly.
Bekele, though, was majestic as he led home an Ethiopian 1-2 — Sileshi Sihine having to make do with another silver after his Olympic second place last year — but confessed that the death of his fiancée, Alem Techale, of a suspected heart attack had understandably worn him down.
”I lost my fiancée and it has been very difficult to come back to international competition,” said an emotional Bekele. ”My fiancée … I loved her very much. She was very important to me.
”Even now I don’t understand why she had to pass away,” the 23-year-old said, adding that he had contemplated stopping running.
Williams’s father’s illness, by contrast, seems to have seen her thrive as she pounded her way to her first major senior title, leaving Arron and silver medallist Veronica Campbell trailing in her wake.
However, even the seemingly nerveless American admitted to not having been as cool as all that.
”I was very nervous before the race. When I crossed the line, I wasn’t counting my chickens and didn’t know I had won till I saw the race on the video screen,” said Williams.
While her father — who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1989 and has since suffered from a serious kidney disease — wasn’t present unlike in Athens to see her win the title, she had no doubts he would be proud of her.
”I run always with him in my mind but I know he gets the most joy in a difficult life from my successes and that in part is why I enjoy the sport so much,” she said.
On Monday, both her and Bekele shone through their respective sadnesses and brought joy to the thousands that packed a rain-soaked stadium.
Unlike Arron, they were simply the best. — Sapa-AFP