Mohamed Katir, 5,000 meters world runner-up, He declared this Saturday that “in the future”, when he stops preparing for medium-distance events like the 1,500 or the 5k, he will “definitely” drop to 27 minutes for ten kilometers, a distance that no one has ever achieved Spanish for now. .
Mohamed Katir is the great Spanish reference in the middle distance thanks to his victories in the last two seasons with a silver medal in the 5,000 meters in the last Budapest World Cup, he continental runner-up at Munich 2022 or the victory he achieved in San Silvestre Vallecana in 2021 with a time of 27:45.
Last year, in 2022, he could not repeat the victory even though he had a good rivalry on the asphalt of Madrid with the Ugandan. Joshua Cheptegeiwho took the win running ten seconds faster than him, finishing in 27:19, the best Spanish mark in history.
“It’s an honor to run another year San Silvestre Vallecana. It would be almost tomorrow to stand up Aregawi“said the athlete from the Murcian town of Mula, where “moments of victory feel happy” although he values ”defeats more than victories.”
“Defeats connect me more to myself. I see my weaknesses and my mistakes to face them in the future and correct them,” he said.
The Ethiopianand Berihu Aregawiworld cross country runner-up and 5k road world record holder from last year, set this year in Laredo the second best mark in history for ten kilometers on the road (26:33), only nine seconds behind the record of Rhonex Kipruto.
“I’m going to try to run in Madrid below my best time,” declared Aregawi in a press conference.
The Salamancan Mario Garcia Romo, The Spanish record holder of the mile and two miles, is on the starting line of San Silvestre for the first time. Based in Boulder (United States), where he trains with the On Running team, he will be tested at a distance he does not know, as it is not common for ten kilometer races.
“I have wanted to run this race for years and enjoy this experience. I still need to learn the circuit. I know that to debut in the 10k is necessary here. I want to fight in Madrid,” confessed Romo, one of the banners of today’s successful generation of Spanish middle distance runners.
“It is a pleasure to run under 3:30 in the 1,500m and to be, along with Katir and Fermín Cacho, one of the three Spaniards who have achieved this. We will try to continue representing Spain in the best way. I want to give of inspiration to future generations and that the 1,500 and the middle distance of the Spaniards continue to get medals,” he said.
Tariku Novales, Trained by Juan del Campo and Luis Miguel Martín Berlanas, he became the Spanish marathon record holder less than a month later in Valencia, when he stopped the clock in 2:05:48. To end a dream year, he will run in San Silvestre Vallecana, a test where he recorded 29:18 in 2018, his best time on the road.
“I am envious of those who run famous. The one who rides the wave is outrageous. The one who slowly, enjoys, is amazing. I would like to stay a little longer to enjoy it,” said Novales, of Ethiopian origin but lives in Galicia. .
“There you go out at any time of the day and there is a lot of training with the athletes. It is a very different world, with a different culture, and when I go there it is for and to train and in Spain I shape it and finish you polish it,” he said.
The one from Madrid Red Iago, second Spaniard in the Valencia marathon with a time of 2h07:47, set a personal and minimum record for the Paris Olympic Games at the distance. Less than a month later, he will run in San Silvestre Vallecana, where in 2021 he was seventh and achieved a time of 28:27. Last year, injured, he helped the Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei.
“I had a sacral stress fracture, they asked me to help him with some things and I enjoyed it a lot. Now, if I win the San Silvestre Vallecana, it will be a great pleasure,” confessed Yago Rojo, an admirer of the pilot Fernando Alonso, whom he will accompany “for free” in a famous San Silvestre Vallecana.
The one from Madrid Fernando Carro, Spanish record holder in the 3,000 hurdles, said he wanted to fight “for bronze” in San Silvestre under twenty-eight minutes. “This race is a legend. It’s a magic day, we miss the heat of the famous race, but it’s great.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Jason Root, a professional writer working with Today Times Live, the premier news website. I specialize in sports writing, covering the biggest stories in the world of athletics. With an eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, I provide engaging and informative articles that capture the key elements of any event or issue. My work has been featured on numerous respected websites and publications around the world.
