Five athletes in marathon show

Five Tanzanian long distance runners, Christopher Isegwe, Getul Bayo, Faustin Baha and Lucian Hombo, Andrea Silvini, are all set to prove their prowess and peak performance in the Berlin marathon tomorrow afternoon.

Speaking after the morning training session in Berlin yesterday, the national team captain Isegwe said this year’s training program has been superb.

Everyone had trained on his own before the athletes camped in Arusha and later boarded a Berlin bound flight to set up a camp in Liebenberg.

The athletes trained under coach Rehema Killo ahead of tomorrow’s showdown.

“The coach allows us to train on our own under her tailor-made training programme and attends all speed work sessions. It’s not like in the past as I do feel more responsible for what I do in the training session,” said Isegwe.

When he was asked on what to expect from the marathon show, he instantly responded: “I think Tanzania will not miss the best ten in the final standings. That is how confident I am about our chances.”

Another athlete Baha said all is well at the camp and they have been treated with exceptional hospitality at their camp since they arrived last week.

He said he feel happy to represent the nation at the global stage as he also wished the best of luck his colleagues.

Tanzania runners are expected to face stiff opposition mainly from Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco and Qatar athletes who are competing in big numbers at the world championships.

The International Association of Athletics Federation’s communications director, Nick Davies, said for the first time in the history of the event the starting and finishing points will not be in the stadium.

The race will start and finish at the Brandenburg Gate at the heart of Berlin which used to be a city gate and remains one of the main symbols of the city