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Arusha athletic star, Fabian Joseph |
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Fabiano Joseph (left), beating Mubarak
Shami at the finishing line |
Arusha teenager tops Edmonton's World Half Marathon
By Valentine Marc Nkwame
He is young, charismatic and a speeding force to reckon with. But most
important, the teenager who emerged the champion in the IAAF World Half
Marathon, over the weekend, is from Arusha and very proud about the fact.
After finishing second in the two previous International Athletics Association
Foundation's World Half Marathon championships, the 19 year old sensation
Fabiano Joseph Naasi, scored his first major victory in Edmonton, Canada last
Saturday clocking 1:01:08.
Even so, it was only a disastrous miscalculation by Qatar's Mubarak Hassan Shami
that allowed the Arusha teenager to claim the 14th IAAF World Half Marathon
Championships.
Approaching the finish line the Qatar runner raised his arms in victory and
slowed to cross the line. As he did so, Joseph slipped past to claim the gold
medal and the US$30,000 first prize. Renata Canova, the Italian coach of the
Qatari team was visibly angry at his athlete's elementary slip up, which
reportedly cost him not only international glory but US$15,000 prize money as
well.
The bronze medal went to little known Yonas Kifle of Eritrea in 1:01:14 who out
sprinted the pre-race favorite Sileshi Sihine of Ethiopia, who was credited with
the same time.
The weather conditions probably contributed to the surprising results as runners
woke up to near freezing temperatures. By the 11:30 a.m. race start it was still
only 6 degrees, coupled with a steady downpour, leaving puddles across the
pavement, thus rendering most areas of the course rather slippery.
On the first of four and a half laps it was Sihine, the Olympic 10,000 meters
silver medallist, who pushed the pace with Ethiopian teammate, Abebe Dinkesa
Negera, before settling back in the pack. Joseph was never far from the front
but allowed Shami to do most of the spade work. Indeed, they passed 10km in
28:48 and 15km in 43:28 with Shami in the lead most of the time.
"I am very happy with this race because the Ethiopian and Qatari were very
tough," said the Tanzania star, Joseph Fabiano. "I was prepared for this race
and therefore quite happy to win it."
"This time I was prepared, having trained for the event," he said. " In 2003 and
2002 I was second, so I really wanted to win this time. I am training at home in
Arusha, with John Yuda, there is also Filbert Bayi, Juma Ikaanga and Suleiman
Nyambui all living in Arusha. Filbert Bayi ran in the Olympics and it occurred
to me that, training with him, I can also go to the Olympics"
Acknowledging he had beaten athletes with much faster times -Sihine for instance
has a 10,000m track personal best - Joseph smiled. "I am good for road races but
not exactly that good for track races."
Covered by an aluminum foil blanket and huddled under a overhead heater the
silver medalist was reacting well with good nature following the day's occurence.
"I was thinking I had won the race," said Shami, who was born Richard Yatich in
Kenya, "I thought the Tanzanian was back. I didn't see him. It is obvious in a
competition you dont know who is the winner until you cross the line."
"This is a first." he said, laughing. "I am not disappointed. A good competition
is like that. You cannot say "I am the winner," when you don't know who is out
there. The course is very nice but the weather was extremely cold."
Ethiopia won the team gold medal, their top three runners scoring a cumulative
time of 3:06:18, while the silver medal went to Eritrea, whose top runner,
Olympic 10,000m bronze medalist Zersenay Tadesse was a no-show. A back injury
and visa problems, apparently kept him at home in Madrid. Japan won the bronze
medal.
Joseph will celebrate with his family and friends upon his return to Arusha, but
that won't be until sometimes from October 11th. After the Marathon he flew to
London, then on to Paris for a 10km race.
"My family is lives Arusha," he says. "My father is a farmer, tending crops
while keeping goats, cattle and chickens as well. I have a brother and a sister
at home. I am the only runner in the family, the rest are all farmers."
With his cash prize, Fabiano intends to build a house and buy a car for his
family. "I plan to continue living with my family." He explained. The influence
of other Tanzanian runners is apparent and has been since he was a small child.
He remembers seeing national heroes excel in sport and wanted to emulate their
achievements.
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