|
 Eritrea
has shown a great progress in athletics, in a short period of time. For
the first time ever in its history, it has become one of the 71
countries to gain a Bronze medal in Athens in the 2004 Olympic games.
This was materialized via our brave athletes in general and Zerisenay
Taddesse in particular.
A 24 years old Athelet Zerisenay Tadesse, is from Southern region
athletics club. He was suddenly joined to the field of athletics. For
his reputation in athletics he is now not only a hero of our country,
but an international figure as well. Zerisenay is known for his talent
in long distance running and recently he is ranked 11th from world best
runner by the International Athletics Association Federation (IAAF).
An interview was conducted regarding his
local and international experience in the field.
When and how did you start running?
In the very beginning, my enthusiasm was
to take part in cycling competitions. And in 2001 I started competing
for six weeks, and I got a good results. However, I was expelled from
the tournament for the fact that, I was not a member of that Zone. As I
got nothing to do with it, ultimately afterwards lost hope in cycling.
Meanwhile, It was my teacher Yonas who persuaded me to start running,
when he heard from my classmates saying, that I could run well. After
that, I started racing in 2002 in my school Ter’amni, and in that
contest I stood first. Then I decided to work hard, dreaming one day I
could become a famous athlete like Yonas Kifle and Gayme. Encouraged by
their performance in running, I started taking it seriously. I began
training, and participating representing my Zone in a number of
contests.
In 2002, I participated in the national cross-country, representing my
Zone, and, stood third. After that, I went to Ireland representing my
country. And I stood 30th out of 200 competitors. This tournament was my
first international experiences. When I went to Spain, I become
acquainted to the situation. After that, I went to Switzerland and
Belgium; I stood 6th in both tournaments. This was in 2003-2004. Here
after, in 2005 I went to France, to take part in the 33rd international
cross-country, in which I have shown tremendous improvements by standing
second. My achievements in the 2004 Olympic games, was a landmark let
alone for me, but for my country as well.
Concerning my family’s standard of living, well it is based on
agriculture. As every member of our family, I was responsible to go to
farming. When I came from school I went to our farm to reap, harvest and
plough.
Being a latecomer, unlike many other
athletes, in a short period of time, you have made tremendous
achievements in major international competitions. What was the reason
behind your success?
First, I would say it is from God.
Beside this, I worked also very hard. Having a talent or gift without
exerting your maximum effort is not enough. Yet you need to work hard in
order to exploit your potential.
My primary objective was to improve my time. In the very beginning the
way I was running was not that good. While running, my hands and legs
were not proper. But I watched to other athletes as how they were
running and I learnt the techniques of running from them. This was
beside the training I was doing, and the gift that I have. Moreover, I
got sport facility like shoes and sport wear which I never have before.
So, this had a driving impact to improve my capacity in a short period
of time.
The main thing is to have an aim and work vigorously with out losing
your hope to its achievement.
Some people say that, the long distance
from your home to your school has helped you to make a change in a short
period of time. Because that by itself was just like doing a formal
training or exercise everyday, before you start racing. What can you say
about this?
Sure, daily I was using a bicycle to
cover the distance of 16kms from our village to my school. I have told
you, that I was interesting in cycle racing and my enthusiasm began from
this. I can’t say it isn’t true. Usually my friends and I were going to
school late, so we were obliged to go in haste. And in our way there are
high and low elevated areas and we were racing to get to school on time.
So it was a good exercise for me with out any intention of it.
What factors derived you to be come
serious in your training?
I was very angry when I become last. I
was always eager to know, why I stood like that. For example, when I
stood 30th in Spain, I was curious to find out, that where exactly was
my weakness and how I could improve my result? What majors should I
take? I though it was my first experience that made it very difficult to
win and the air condition was different from where I had trained. I was
very angry. So, I decided that I have to work hard in order to improve
this.
What can you say about the major contests
you have had in general and the Olympic competition in particular?
In 2003 I stood first in 5000m in Golden
league with a time record of 13:11. And also in the contest that I had
in Switzerland the time record was 13:09 and in France as well 13:06.
From those tournaments, I got a very big lesson as how I could become a
very effective runner.
Olympic game, I was used to know it in name only. My colleagues like
Yonas and Samson were telling me some thing about that, because they had
already participated in 2000 in Sydney, Australia.
My victory in Olympic was great accomplishment not only for me, but also
for my country as well. It was really beyond my expectation to stood
third, because I was ready to try to come fifth and that was what I was
advised via my coach.
At that moment, I was very happy to the extent I could not express my
joy. Before that moment, in most tournaments I used to see other
countries flag rising and I was very angry. But, when I saw my country’s
flag rising among the flags of other powerful countries, I felt so
thrilled. I was always yearning for the day to see our flag rising, and
I was lucky to see my dream come true.
Besides this, when you happen to see many Eritreans who come from all
corners of the world to give their support, you become encouraged to
win. Eritreans in Diaspora always show us special hospitality and I am
so grateful for them also.
You have participated in many
international contests is there any circumstance that made you fell
angry?
The most challenging thing during
contest is that, you may get wounded or other athletes may hurt you
intentionally or unintentionally. If such situation happens, your
victory is far away. You have worked hard to win, but then if this
happens you become very annoyed. For instance in the 2005 cross-country
France, I was nearly fall dawn when a runner samples me. Had I been fall
down, I would have lost my victory. And there was no one to be blamed
of. Unfortunately it could not happen, and, as a result I won the
contest to become second after Ethiopian athlete, Kenenisa Bekele.
You are
now a public figure. Comparing to the life you have had before what
differences do you experience in your everyday life?
It is good to be a famous person. And sometimes it surprises me when
small children even from the countryside recognize me and call me by my
name. However, I feel more responsible, because, before I became famous
I used to think about my family and myself only. But right now I am
always thinking about the people who, through their support help me to
perform better. Thus, whenever there is a tournament I become
determinant to come first.
You now hold an impressive position in the field of athletics, how do
you plan to keep up your acquired position?
One thing I would like to make clear is that, I can’t always win all the
contests even though I am working hard. There are different reasons that
lead you to loss. Sometimes you may fall ill during training or
something bad may happen unexpectedly. For instance, from my experience
in the contest we have had in Europe, the race was on a track field,
i.e. the racing ground is made of plastic. And as we didn’t have enough
exercise on such fields, it was very difficult for us to compete and
win.
One might get muscle contraction in the middle of a contest . For
instance in one occasion I stood sixth, which was below people’s
expectation. Although I could not score as I hoped, I was able to learn
where my weaknesses lie so that I can work on improving them.
At the moment, with the experience that I have accumulated and with the
training that I am doing here and in Europe, I am in a good condition. I
hope to maintain and improve my standard in the forthcoming contest,
which is to be held in Japan next month.
Many outsiders speculate that the more than 2000 meters altitude of
Asmara, where it is a high pressure area could be the main reason that
helped you to succeed quite easily in Europe, what do you have to say
about this opinion?
Well it is true enough, Eritrea’s location and climatic condition is
very suitable for athletes to become more effective. In fact, it is one
of the best places in the horn of Africa, and expatriates also admire
our climate. This is a natural gift. Athletes who train here have
exclusive advantage to win in lower elevated areas of Europe. For
example, if I stay in Europe for three months or more and when I come
here, it becomes more difficult to adjust myself with the environment
and suffer from shortness of breath. And it takes me some time to adjust
myself.
You have been to many European countries, so how do you evaluate
Eritrea’s position in Athletics?
As every one knows, Eritrea has become famous in international athletics
and it has stood fourth in the long distance cross-country championship
in 2005 in France. Not only this, it has stood also fifth in teenage
racing. These outcomes were made viable not only via my personal
accomplishment, but also other athletes like Yonas Kifle had played
their part.
At the moment many youths have started to run encouraged by those
achievements. The recent tournament in the village of Wokiduba is a
patent evidence of the fact. In that contest, the numbers of athletes
had increased tremendously. This shows us that, outstanding new athletes
will come soon and I have great expectations from them.
In spite of this, I have also observed some athletes losing their hope
in short period of time. But I would like to advice them to continue
their effort, make a regular training and be patient to overcome their
existing problems.
How is your relationship with other Eritrean athletes abroad?
We have a good relationship with the Eritrean athletes abroad. They are
also reason for mentioning our country’s name in the world. When athlete
Mebrahtu Kiflezghi stood second in the Olympic games I congratulated
him. Since his victory is our victory.
How is women’s participation in athletics?
I think women runners have increased in number. In the national
cross-country tournament 68 women have participated, however, this is
not enough, they need encouragement especially from their parents and
friends. Many parents discourage women to participate in running,
fearing it might cause sterility. But this isn’t true. I know several
famous athletes who are still running while having children.
As you know Eritrea is not scoring sound results in the short
distance running, where do you think the problem lies?
The short distance runners need good training and exercise in
gymnasiums. It is only a matter of training. Once they do that, there is
nothing that can hinder them from winning.
In addition, they should also get a chance to participate in
international contests to gain experience. Hence, this could be very
helpful for them to improve their level and know their condition. Other
problem I could mention is that the lack of stadium. Lack of track
stadium is one of the main reasons that lead to loss in a contest. And
without proper training on such stadiums, it is difficult to win. I
guess short distance runners could have improved vastly much had these
things were available.
Besides this, a national team should be established and it should go on
all over the year so as to establish continuous training programs. Most
of the time it is when there is a tournament that athletes are selected
to form the national team. And with out having much training they go
abroad for a contest. After returning back here, no one takes the
responsibility to maintain the team or keep it organized. Thus every
athlete goes his own way.
At present there are only three athletics clubs namely Central, Southern
and Gash Barka Regions. But there should be clubs on a sub-zone level
that compete in the entire country. Consequently, you can cultivate a
good spirit of competition among the athletes in order to keep up their
standards.
As a successful athlete, what would you advice to other youths who
are in sport?
First and foremost I would say that you have to have an objective and
then work hard to its achievement. It is up to you to do what ever you
want to do. But, if you have a goal it is unlikely to go against it. And
after achieving your goal you must not stop working hard to maintain
your success for as long as possible.
As I see there are some sport people who let a moment of success go to
their head and develop undesirable and irresponsible behaviors. But,
this is totally wrong, because it will eventually destroy their career.
So, I encourage them to use their time properly so as to improve their
performance. That will lead them to a fruitful life.
What do you do in your spare time?
Sometimes I read books and watch movies. And on Sundays I visit family
and relatives. But most of the time I don’t have free time, as I am busy
in training and after that I have to take some sleep.
Being a famous athlete you have influenced your brothers as well, how
is their performance?
Three of my brothers are athletes. As you have seen my brother Kidane
has made several breakthroughs in a short period of time. He stood first
in the recent cross-country competition in the 8 km race. I am very
proud of him and I always encourage him to achieve more than I did.
What about
your future plans?
After some
time I will be competing in the Marathon, but I need intensive training,
so for a while I will continue competing in 10 and12kms races. I am more
effective in long distance that is above 10km. But I am also planning to
participate in 5000 meters to improve my speed.
:: END :: |
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