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Zimbabwe: Fokorani a Disappointed Man
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 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
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The Herald (Harare)
24 April 2008
Posted to the web 24 April 2008
Collin Matiza
Harare
MIKE Fokorani is a very disappointed man. Almost three weeks after finishing fifth at the Pyongyang Marathon in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the 30-year-old Olympic Games-bound long-distance runner is still kicking himself for what he thinks was a poor performance by his own standards at that race.
In coming fifth at this year's Pyongyang Marathon, which was run on April 5, Fokorani clocked "a slow time" of 2 hours 15 minutes 26 seconds.
The time was, however, outside the time of 2hr 14 min 01sec which he set when coming third at the same event last year.
The time, which Fokorani set last year, earned him a ticket to represent Zimbabwe in the men's marathon event at this year's Olympic Games in Beijing, China, in August.
It (the time) was inside the men's marathon A Standard qualifying time of 2hr 15min.
And yesterday Fokorani still cut a forlorn figure following what he thinks was "a very poor and disappointing" performance by him at this year's Pyongyang Marathon three weeks ago.
Fokorani spoke about his disappointment for failing to reproduce the form that saw him coming home in third place at last year's event and how it has affected his preparations for this year's Olympic Games.
"I don't want to lie to you, I was very, very disappointed by my performance at this year's race in Pyongyang.
"I still don't feel like I ran in a marathon race because of my poor performance there.
"I think what really affected my performance was the condition in which this race was run under. Unlike in last year's race, which started at 6am, this year's race started at around 9.30am when it was already hot.
"There were also no pacesetters as compared to last year and this resulted in the race being run at a very slow pace because the leading bunch reached the halfway stage (21km) in 67 minutes as compared to 65 minutes which was clocked at the same stage during last year's race.
"And in the end the winning time was 2 hours 14 minutes 32 seconds, meaning it was a slow race by international standards," Fokorani said.
He also said he was out in front of the leading pack at the 40km mark but ran out of steam in the final two kilometres.
"At 40km, I was leading the race and my manager was urging me to keep on pushing but my legs could not carry me any longer as I was already finished because of the hot and humid conditions . . . It was just very hot."
And after his "debacle" in Pyongyang, Fokorani said he was thinking of taking part in another marathon before heading for the Beijing Games but he has been discouraged from doing so by both his manager and the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee.
"After that disappointing performance in Pyongyang, I was dying to take part in another international marathon but my manager and ZOC are refusing for fear of burn out before I compete at the Olympic Games."
So, what are his next plans as he prepares for the August Olympic Games?
"They (his manager and ZOC) are saying for me to run in another marathon before the Beijing Games will be just too much and too early for me.
"So, my next plan is to run in a half-marathon in Paraborwa, South Africa, on July 1 just to sharpen my speed for the Beijing Games.
"In-between, I'll try to run in one or two 10km events but the July 1 race will be my last race before I leave for the Olympic Games in August," Fokorani said.
Fokorani is currently the only male Zimbabwean long-distance runner to have attained an A Standard qualifying time for the men's marathon at the Beijing Games.
The other top local road runners such as Oliver Kandiero, Phillip Bandawe, Abel Chimukoko, Michael Ngaaseke and Brighton Chipere have set B Standard qualifying times for the Beijing Games.
But they are not eligible for automatic selection into the Zimbabwe team for the Games because of Fokorani who has set an A-Standard qualifying time.
According to the rules of the 2008 Beijing Games marathon, if a runner from a particular country has achieved an A Standard qualifying time, no other athlete from that country can be entered for the same event unless he or she also has the same A Standard qualifying time.
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Each country is allowed to enter three male or female athletes in the Olympic Games marathon event and this is the maximum number allowed for every participating nation provided the athletes have achieved the A Standard qualifying time.
So, this leaves, the other Zimbabwean male athletes, including Bandawe, Chimukoko, Ngaaseke, Chipere and Kandiero still with the task of setting A Standard qualifying times before the June 30 deadline if they are entertaining any hopes of making it into the team for the Beijing Games.
One of the country's top female middle and long-distance runners Tabitha Tsatsa has already set an A Standard qualifying time for the women's marathon at the Beijing Games.
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| Copyright © 2008 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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