Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 124, November 2019 | Page 27

and the manner of both wins was simply astounding. In the 10,000m, her push for
victory was described as the “greatest ever extended finishing speed in a 25-lap
race.” Her last lap was 61 seconds, her last 1000m 2:39, last 3000m 8:38 and
second half 14:43, but it is her last 1500m that really blew everyone away – from
competitors to commentators to analysts – as she clocked 3:59.09 for the final
metric mile. To put this into perspective, Caster Semanya’s SA 1500m record
is 3:59.92, and 3:59.09 is quicker than the winning times in the last five World
Champs 1500m finals! Just let that sink in.
featuring men as well, versus
a race for women only). The
Kenyan crossed the line in
2:14:04 and took 81 seconds
off Radcliffe’s 2:15:25 record,
which had stood since 2003.
The closest anyone had come
to Radcliffe’s mark was Mary
Keitany running 2:17.01 in
2017 (in a women-only race),
and while Kosgei has put in
some incredible runs over
the years, including winning
the 2018 Chicago and 2019
London marathons, her
previous best time was ‘only’
2:18:20 this year in London.
So while her new world record
may already lead to some
raised eyebrows, it is the
fact that she is managed by
Federico Rosa that has the
tongues wagging even more.
This is because several of
Rosa’s high-profile Kenyan
athletes have tested positive
for PEDs.
Then in the 1500m final, Hassan charged away at the gun and literally destroyed
one of the strongest fields ever assembled for the metric mile. The pace was so
fast that nine athletes went under four minutes, while nine personal bests were run
in this race, along with Kenyan, American and Canadian national records. After
the race, Hassan was quoted as saying she was “running angry because of all the
accusations” surrounding her links to Salazar, but given her incredible times, it is
hardly surprising that her performances were met with disbelief.
The public is becoming
increasingly tired of
hearing about cheating and
underhanded activities in
sport, or even rumours of
such, and with social media
they have a very easy way of making their displeasure known. So, as an athlete, it
is no longer OK to say that you trust your coach when there is a cloud hanging over
him or her. Also, athletes are brands, and they need to look after their interests, so
you need to walk away from a tainted coach or manager if you want the public and
the media to believe that you are indeed clean, and against doping and cheating.
Of course, the same applies to managers who advise athletes. If your athlete goes
to a tainted coach, you should either persuade that athlete to leave or disassociate
themselves from that athlete. It is no longer possible to hide away from the
negative publicity, or recover from the brand damage, when associated with a
tainted coach or manager.
Brigid Kosgei
More Feeling the Heat
Such has been the backlash to Salazar’s ban that every athlete ever associated
with him is now tainted, and media, analysts and fans are asking questions as to
what is real and what isn’t. Even people talking about Salazar have come under
fire – Paula Radcliffe was viciously vilified on social media after her “lukewarm”
defence of Salazar during her stint as an analyst at the 2019 World Championships,
when his ban was announced. She continues to “cop a lot of flak” on social media
due to her apparent fence-sitting on the issue.
Nike, too, has come under fire for protecting Salazar. The company has not had the
best PR of late, thanks to its controversial maternity clause, which saw Olympic
and World Champion sprinter Allyson Felix, amongst others, losing her contract
after falling pregnant, and due to the company’s history of defending or protecting
‘bad boys’ Lance Armstrong, Oscar Pistorius and Tiger Woods. It has finally sunk
in, though, that you cannot protect your brand if the behaviour or rebelliousness of
your athletes or staff causes a public outcry of the utmost negativity. As a result,
Nike has taken action and replaced Mark Parker as its CEO.
Where There’s Smoke...
Meanwhile, at the recent Chicago Marathon, 25-year-old Brigid Kosgei shattered
Paula Radcliffe’s long-standing women’s marathon world record (in a mixed race
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Manfred Seidler is a freelance Olympic sport
journalist who has been in the industry since 1994, in both print media and
broadcasting,covering four Olympic Games for SABC Radio, and producing
various athletics shows for the SABC. Follow him on Twitter: @sportmansa;
Facebook: Sport Man SA; Instagram: sportman_sa.
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