Posted: April 16, 2004

Athletics: Coming Off The Sidelines, Wami Looks To Contend At London

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

LONDON (16-Apr) -- When Ethiopian legend Gete Wami lines up for Sunday's Flora London Marathon, it will be the first time in nearly 18 months that she will be contesting the 42.195 km distance, and 16 months since she's raced at all. Wami, 29, gave birth to a daughter, Eva, last August and has had to adapt to motherhood like any other woman who also has a career.

"With being the mother of a hyperactive baby, my attention has been divided," admitted Wami through an interpreter.

But her commitment to athletics remains strong, as does her competitive instincts. She smiled often in today's press conference, but hers was a sly smile; she knows something we don't know.

"I'm acutely aware of my competition," she said. "While in Addis Ababa I've been under intensive training."

Wami is not only under-raced, but she has a very short marathon résumé. She's only run the distance once, at Amsterdam in October, 2002, where she ran a national and course record 2:22:19. However, she plans to make the marathon her stock-in-trade for the remainder of her career, but has left the door ajar to return to the track.

"Yes, I want to make that leap to the marathon," she said adding later about her decision on the Athens Olympics, "the selection process is still going on. I'll only decide on the result of Sunday." She said if the marathon does not go well here she would consider trying to make the Ethiopian team for 10,000m, instead.

With credentials on all three surfaces (cross, road and track), Wami has won more than her share of titles and has posted fast times from the 1500m to the marathon. She is the most decorated athlete in the history of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. From 1991 through 2001 she won an astounding 18 medals, eight of them gold, and won three individual titles. She was the bronze medalist over 10,000m at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and came back in the 2000 Games in Sydney to take two medals: bronze at the 5000m and silver at the 10,000m. She was also the world champion at 10,000m in 1999, and earned the bronze at the same distance in 2001. Her career best times are 4:01.47 for 1500m, 14:30.88 for 5000m, 30:22.48 and for 10,000m.

Here in Britain, Wami is particulary well known for having passed Paula Radciffe on the backstraight of the final lap of the IAAF World Championships in 1999, costing Britain a gold medal. Answering a British reporter's question about that night in Seville nearly five years ago, Wami looked slightly embarassed.

"Radcliffe, of course, I greatly admire," said Wami in a half apology. "But, it's a case of let the best woman win."

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