Elias Makori
18 October 2008
Amsterdam — He named his new-born baby Helsinki after clinching Kenya's only gold medal by winning the 5,000 metres final at the World Athletics Championships in the Finnish capital three years ago.
And on Sunday day, former world cross country short course champion, Benjamin Limo, is launching yet another chapter in his stellar career by diving into the most gruelling of races, the marathon, with his debut over the 42-kilometre distance at ING Amsterdam Marathon.
Inspired by the success of former track champions Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat, who have both gone on to break the world marathon record, the 34-year-old Limo has set his sights firmly on the 2012 London Olympic Games in a bid to clinch the most important silverware missing from his crowded cabinet, an Olympic gold medal.
Joining the 2005 Kenyan Sportsman of the Year in taking the huge plunge is another great Kenyan athlete, Lydia Cheromei, a former World Cross Country Championships junior champion (Antwerp, Belgium, 1991), who is also making her marathon debut on Sunday.
Baringo-born Cheromei's career has been a roller coaster but her sheer determination and amazing comebacks have won her admiration from many.
Extended familyThe 31-year-old runner has been out of action since 2005 when she was suspended by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) after testing positive for a banned substance, clomiphene, in an out-of-competition test in Eldoret.
She was banned between May, 2005 and May, 2007 during which time she also decided to extend her family by having a baby.
Her comeback has been splendid. This year, she won the Rotterdam Half Marathon, her first major race since her comeback, setting a new course record of 68 minutes and 35 seconds, improving on the previous record - interestingly that she set four years ago - of 69:13.
She also had a good outing at the Seven Hills race, also in the Netherlands, almost getting the 15km world record, just before her ban was effected. Cheromei ran 47:02 minutes with the world record at the time standing at 46:57.
"I'm happy to have been invited to Amsterdam for my debut marathon," Cheromei said in a pre-race interview. "My body feels good and its great to be back running... I look forward to a great race.
"My baby is two years and eight months now and I have been training for this marathon for five months now. I've run a few road races in France and improved my half marathon personal best from 69:00 minutes to 68:35. My body has responded well to the training and I hope I will improve even more when I run my first marathon."
Limo's vision is long-term: "Being my first marathon, I decided to choose Amsterdam because it's a flat course. It's been a difficult transition from the track because track and marathon training are quite different. In the marathon, one needs to clock a lot of mileage.
"But when I started my track career, I ran a personal best 13:08 in Rome in my first major international race and I hope to also start my marathon career on a high note," he said at the Olympic Stadium, venue for the start and finish of Sunday's race.
The Uasin Gishu (Chepkongony) born runner's biggest inspiration comes from the track stars who have made a successful switch from the track to the marathon.
"I had a lot of admiration for the marathon after winning the 5,000m world title in Helsinki and the success of former track and cross country runners like Tergat and Gebrselassie in the marathon. That they could suddenly switch to the marathon and succeed is something that kept me going," Limo, who won the 1999 World Cross Country Championships silver medal behind Morocco's Salah Hissou, said.
His namesake, Richard Limo, also a former 5,000m world champion on the track (Edmonton, 2001), also made his marathon debut at last year's Amsterdam Marathon, finishing second behind Emmanuel Mutai.
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