Gete Wami, one of the greatest Ethiopian runners of the last twenty years is suffering from grave psychological problems. There is recently posted footage on the internet of Wami looking very healthy physically, while acting in a clearly disturbed fashion. The man holding her by the shoulder is believed to be a priest. But […]
On the anniversary of Emil Zátopek’s final consecration as the finest distance runner in the world, if not in history – breaking the 5000 metres world record that had long eluded him – it is worth reminding readers that the Czech was as much of a character off the track as he was on […]
Craig Sharp, who died recently, was such a gent that when he first contacted me in 1983, pursuant to an article I had written about Jarmila Kratochvílová, he was kind enough to say that though I may not know the tortuous twists and turns of variable sexuality, he felt that I had implicitly understood […]
So now we know how to beat the East Africans. Simply arrange for (close) to zero temperatures, high winds, and incessant, driving rain, as happened in the Boston Marathon on Monday. Of the dozen and a half East Africans, thirteen failed to finish; and from having no US women’s winner since 1985, five of […]
Andrey Zvyagintsev may just be the most important film-maker to come out of Russia since Andrey Tarkovsky. But whereas Tarkovsky’s cinematic vignettes, suffused with unforgettable poetic imagery and symbolism often take a while to unfold in the mind, Zvyagintsev’s social commentary has a more immediate impact, including a firmly contemporary political one. Nevertheless, there […]
In addition to seven men under two hours, five minutes, and four women under 2.20 – in both cases, more than the aggregate for all last year’s marathons – the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon last Friday landed the considerable coup of having world record holder Paula Radcliffe as a race commentator. As well as […]