![]() ![]() No one has come close to challenging his world records at 5,000m (12:37.35) and 10,000m (26:17.53) in almost a decade. To date Bekele has amassed 19 gold medals at championship events, including double gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2008 Olympics and 2009 world championships. In 2002, at the age of 19, he earned his first senior world cross country title. This is a very good wake-up call for him.”įor those who watched his run of unmatched brilliance at the beginning of the century, Bekele needing a wake-up call sounds blasphemous. “But this is the moment he needs to wake up. Let him sleep,” says his agent, Jos Hermens, in between calls to Bekele’s room that go unanswered. “Hey, it’s just a few hours after the race. His coronation as the GOAT-Greatest of All Time-is on hold. When push came to shove, a trio of Kenyans ran away from Bekele. The explanations for his lackluster performance-and, by extension, this nap-swirl online and downstairs among the media, coaches and runners. He’s just run 2:05:51 for fourth place in his second marathon, 47 seconds slower than his debut at the 2014 Paris Marathon in April. Carey Pinkowski, race director, is chatting up one of the world’s most powerful agents.Įverywhere there is hustle and bustle and Mylar, except upstairs where Kenenisa Bekele sleeps in silence. Five-hour marathoners with large medals draped around their necks enter the hotel and head straight for the elevators. Olympians Deena Kastor and Dathan Ritzenhein-brought in for publicity-line up for coffee across the hall. They laugh and chat in Swahili while U.S. Men’s champion Eliud Kipchoge is reclining on carpeted stairs beside his training partner, Bernard Koech. ![]() Several floors below, running celebrities and amateurs alike mill around the Hilton Chicago’s concourse in various states of disrepair after that morning’s 2014 Chicago Marathon. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play ![]()
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