Posted: January 3, 2005

Athletics: Gold Medalist Baldini Ready To Tackle Tough 2005

From David Monti

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

By Alberto Zorzi

He may have the Olympic Marathon gold medal, but Stefano Baldini must quickly turn his attention to what is coming up next.

"In 2005 I'm going to run not just one, but two World Championships," said Baldini in a telephone interview. "Before Helsinki, London will be an amazing clash!"

The field announced for the April 17 Flora London Marathon by race director Dave Bedford is incredible: in addition to Baldini, there is World champion Jaouad Gharib; Olympic silver Meb Keflezighi; the two fastest men in history, Paul Tergat and Sammy Korir; and the last five winners of the race: Evans Rutto, Gezahegne Abera, Khalid Khannouchi, Abdelkader El Mouaziz and Antonio Pinto.

In addition some other 2:06-2:07 men as Daniel Njenga, Toni Peña and Joseph Ngolepus, and strong man as Lee Troop, John Yuda and home runner Jon Brown will also take part. Also Ian Syster was in the field, but as RRW reported last week he died in a tragic car crash. Among the big absentees, just Haile Gebrselassie and Felix Limo can be named.

"I want the big clash," said Baldini whose philosophy is clear: "I like hard races, I like to challenge the best athletes in the world. In London I will find what I couldn't find anywhere: the greatest field. This is the reason why I decided to run there. I had been also very tempted for long time by Boston Marathon for its history and its course. But I didn't want someone could think I fear and escape the highest level clashes. I have never escaped them, even if it is a risk, as this time really is."

The Sixth Time In London, The First Win?

"Apart from the years when I was coming back from some injuries (1998, when I won in Rome, and 2001, when I was second in Turin), since 1997 I have always run in London my Spring marathon. I'm aware that this year it will probably be harder than ever, as there is not only a strong field, but also the Olympic gold that gives me pressure and responsibilities. And you know, my favourite races are major championships: heat, hard courses, no rabbits, like in Athens."

In the five past starts in London, Baldini suffered in races paced too fast from the beginning. He has never won in London, but he took his best place (2nd) in the two editions in which the winners clocked the slower times, being outsprinted in both: in 1997 by Spain's Abel Anton (2:07:55), who was going to take the first of his two World titles four months later; in 2003 by then reigning Olympic and World champion Abera (2:07:56).

When the London winners ran faster than 2:07, he placed behind: in 2000 (Pinto, AR 2:06:36) he was sixth, in 2002 (Khannouchi, WR 2:05:38) sixth again, last year (Rutto, 2:06:18) fourth. In 2002, when he set the Italian record with a time of 2:07:29, he ran alone for nearly the whole race, as the leading pack started at a sub-2:00 pace. They crossed halfway in 1:02:47, while Baldini was half a minute behind. During the most of the race he thought many times about dropping out, until at 30 km when he began to catch up to the casualties of such a crazy pace. Ahead of him remained Khannouchi, Tergat (2:05:48), Gebrselassie (2:06:35), El Mouaziz (2:06:48) and Syster (2:07:06).

Perhaps The European Record?

Asked about the subtle changes in London Marathon's course that, according to Mr. Bedford, could make the athletes run about 45 seconds faster, Baldini admits not to have heard it yet. Could Baldini aim to broke the 2:06:36 European record set by Pinto in London 2000 and then equalled by France's Benoit Zwierzchlewski winning in Paris in 2003?

"I know I was worth that time in Athens, had the course been flat," said Baldini. "There I had the best shape of my life. My main goal will surely be to run fast and try to win. I want to lower my Italian record, of course, even if by just one second. Running about a minute faster, that's very difficult. However I will do my best."

The Best Ever December Shape

The two months after the Olympic win were simply fantastic for Baldini. His schedule was very busy with commitments everywhere. Howeverm he was able to produce strong results in Scicli (2nd just behind 10,000m Olympic silver medalist Sileshi Sihine) and Trento, where he won the race on October 9. The he took a pair of week for complete rest and the began to train again.

"I did less strength training work and more quality ones," Baldini revealed. "I feel very good now, much better than I did last year at the same time. In December I trained for some ten days in Riva degli Etruschi (Tuscany) with many other top Italian marathon runners. The climate was very fine. I really don't like cold, so it was wonderful to run with 18°C at noon."

He showed it in the two races he ran last week. The day after Christmas he was 5th in Corrida de Houilles, a 10-K close to Paris, then in the New Year's Eve he took a wonderful second place in the BoClassic Silversterlauf behind Ukraine's Sergey Lebed, who won the race for the fifth time. In the previous eight starts in the race, Baldini had never been able to take a place on the podium: his best was fifth in 2002, last year even dropped out. In both races Baldini was a protagonist, running in the lead for the most of the way.

"This is the icing on the cake of a magic season for me," Baldini told the IAAF after the Bolzano race. "What is making me stronger is the extra motivation after my Olympic triumph in Athens. I am still full of adrenalin".

The Build-Up To London

From January 10 to 31, Baldini will leave for the first training phase. The venue will be as usual Windhoek, Namibia. Then his schedule has two classic Italian cross country (Cinque Mulini and Campaccio), three more weeks in Namibia, and then the Half-Marathon in Lisbon. During the five weeks between Lisboa and London, Baldini will train at home.

Statistics

BALDINI AT LONDON MARATHON
1997 - 2nd, 2:07:57 (NR)
2000 - 6th, 2:09:45
2002 - 6th, 2:07:29 (NR)
2003 - 2nd, 2:07:56
2004 - 4th, 2:08:37

BALDINI'S INTERNATIONAL MEDALS
1996 Palma de Mallorca - World half marathon champion, 1:01:17
1998 Budapest - European champion, 2:12:01
2001 Edmonton - World Championships bronze medal, 2:13:18
2003 Paris - World Championships bronze medal, 2:09:14
2004 Athens - Olympic champion, 2:10:55