Bronze Medallist Röthlin Makes Difficult Journey Home from Eldoret By David Monti (c) 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved January 4, 2008
World
marathon championships bronze medalist Viktor Röthlin of Switzerland
was able to exit safely his winter training base in Eldoret, Kenya, and
make it home to Europe but not without some difficulty.
"After a
few horrible days and a long day at the Eldoret Airport I finally could
get a flight to Nairobi and came back yesterday," Röthlin wrote in a
text message to Race Results Weekly.
Röthlin, 33, normally
trains in Eldoret in the winter with Martin Lel and a group of other
athletes managed by Federico Rosa, his Italian agent. He was there to
prepare for next month's Tokyo International Marathon when the violence
broke out. Now he's not not sure where he will finish his preparations
for the February 17 race.
"I don't know right now," he wrote when asked about his training venue. "I have to calm down first after those horrible days."
He doesn't necessarily see the cold weather in Switzerland as a drawback, however. "The good thing, also Tokyo will be cold."
Röthlin,
the Swiss marathon record-holder with a 2:08:20 personal best, has
performed very well in his last two major championships. In 2006 he
challenged Italy's Stefano Baldini at the European Championships
marathon before finishing second. In Osaka last August he rallied from
fifth place at 40-K to make the podium, the first-ever medal by a Swiss
athlete in a world championships marathon. After that race he was
brimming with confidence.
"I say if you can't dream it, you can't do it," he said.