2023-10-01 17:00:20
The women’s world record in the marathon (2.11.53 hours) achieved by Tigist Assefa a week ago in Berlin, with the invaluable help of a male hare, It is just the tip of the iceberg of a revolution with implications for African women that go beyond sports..
The Ethiopian ran in the German capital wearing the logo of Tirop’s Angels, an association of African athletes, men and women, on her t-shirt. that fights against gender violence following the murder of Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop by her husband in October 2021.
A woman like Assefa running bare-legged through the hills of the Rift Valley was, until recently, as scandalous as it was prohibitive. Deep patriarchy and marriages barely out of adolescence prevented African women from dreaming of a sports career.. Actually, with any career.
The Ethiopian’s bite at the Brandenburg Gate (two minutes below Brigid Kosgei’s previous record in Chicago) reveals that African female runners still have considerable room for improvement. Another similar bite would place this or another athlete below 2 hours and 10 minutes, a record that in the 90s was worth a Spanish male record.
Talent
This explosion of talent clearly shows that African women are normalizing the breaking of barriers, at least in the sporting field. Maybe One of the turning points was marked by the victory of the Ethiopian Derartu Tulu in the 10,000 meters final in Barcelona-92..
In the Cobi Games, Ethiopia scored two Olympic medals in men and one in women, in Tulu, while Kenya added six in men’s events and none in women’s events. Almost three decades later, at the Tokyo Games held in 2021, the Kenyans scored five metals, one more than the Kenyans, and the Ethiopians two compared to a solitary medal for their teammates.
Many of the African medalists and champions are paired either with their coach or manager, or with a training partner.. They are marriages of convenience, in the best sense of the word. On too many occasions, only someone who shares the same passion for this sport can understand, and tolerate, that his lady is displayed in public in her underwear.
Footwear
Assefa has also achieved a symbolic record for Ethiopian women by surpassing the 2.12.11 of the legendary Abebe Bikila at the Tokyo Games in 1964. Bikila is a myth with global reach in Ethiopia. No one then dared to question the quality of the Ethiopian’s record for running shoes. in the Japanese capital and improve the record he achieved with his bare feet four years earlier in Rome.
Assefa has had to respond to criticism from the self-proclaimed purists of this sport, for using the childishly called “magic slippers”, equipped with the now famous carbon plate; as if it were a new Cinderella, in which the power to be the queen of the marathon resides in her shoes, the 500-euro Adidas from the German firm. “Sneakers don’t run alone”has been the overwhelming response of the athlete, who began running 800 meters on the track in less than two minutes and ended up triumphing on the 42-kilometer asphalt at the age of 26.
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“We expected to see a mark of this caliber because of how the half marathon world record had been improved,” says the Spanish marathon record holder. Marta Galimany. And he adds: “Even so, it is still spectacular to see a girl run in 2.11, so close to the boys and finishing so strong.”
The runner from Valls, Tarragona, was also an excellent middle-distance runner before becoming the fastest Spanish marathoner in history. Do not give up using the best technology at your disposal to achieve your objectives. “I really enjoyed watching her fly with the new Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1, which I hope we can try soon,” she says, undoubtedly dreaming of a great result at Paris 2024.
#African #women #athletics #revolution