Posted: June 9, 2005

Athletics: Kemboi's Chase For Shaheen Begins In Ostrava

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

by Bob Ramsak

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic -- For 2004 Olympic steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi, one thing is certain as he toes the line here tonight Vitkovice Stadium: he won’t finish runner-up to world record holder Saif Saeed Shaheen.

With Shaheen, the former Kenyan Stephen Cherono, not in this eastern Czech city to defend his title, the personable 23-year-old Kemboi will be able to polish his race against a formidable field, one that includes 2004 Olympic champion Ruben Kosgei, meet record holder Wilson Boit Kipketer (8:06.14, 2002) and Richard Matelong (8:05.96), before he once again faces the world’s premiere steepler. If any Olympic champion can be considered the proverbial bridesmaid, Kemboi certainly fits the bill. In many eyes, Kemboi’s was a hollow victory in Athens last August when Shaheen was kept from the competition because of his change of allegiance to Qatar. On paper, his detractors certainly have ample evidence to support their claim.

Kemboi lost on three occasions last year, each time finishing runner-up to the Qatari. Since June 2002, the pair have met 14 times in the event and Kemboi has yet to reach the line first. In their last seven meetings, all won by Shaheen, Kemboi has finished second five times.

Yet Despite their lopsided rivalry, Kemboi doesn’t think less of his victory at Olympic Stadium, but does admit that he missed his long-time friend in the race.

"Yeah, I was a little bit disappointed. I did a lot of difficult training, preparing physically and mentally for the Olympic Games. And it’s too bad Shaheen couldn’t compete."

"But I hope that this year," Kemboi continued, "like you saw in Paris, that we will have with him a very fantastic race in Helsinki." At the 2003 World Champions in the French capital, the two waged an all-out brawl that was so entertaining that it had nearly 60,000 people on their feet for virtually the entire race. There too, Shaheen prevailed, winning by just under a second.

"Right now, I don’t know who’s going to win that one, but I know that I’m going to have to train very hard to be the champion in Helsinki."

Kemboi trains at the Kip Keino Training Center in Eldoret, logging 20 to 30 kilometers a day prior to the season, and has now cut that back to twice daily sessions totaling about 150 kilometers per week. His regimen includes speed sessions on the track three times a week that helped propel him to the last two Kenyan championships.

"To be a champion in Kenya is a lot of hard work, a lot of discipline, a lot of training," he said. "In the steeplechase we have at least 30 athletes who are very strong. So we have to do hard personal training, and you need the spirit. It’s very, very, very competitive.

As many other Kenyan athletes do privately, Kemboi doesn’t criticize Shaheen’s switch of allegiance, but said that it’s a move that he himself could never make.

"Shaheen is a good friend of mine, we’ve been friends for the last ten years, since when we were in high school. He’s a family friend. But I was born a Kenyan, and I know that in my heart I want to remain a Kenyan for the rest of my life. That cannot change for money," he added. "You can have money and lose money, but you still survive."