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Kotov met 48 jaar nog atlijd topatleet

Vladimir Kotov

Door Riel Hauman

Can an almost-50-year-old runner, no matter how good his pedigree, win the “up” Comrades for the fourth consecutive time against runners young enough to be his sons? Vladimir Kotov (BLR) is 48, but has shown he is no ordinary runner and many experts regard him as the favourite for Fridays Comrades ultramarathon from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

Voorbereiding
This years race, the 81st, will be over 87.5 km. The finish is 670 metres higher than the start in coastal Durban; the highest point on the route is at 870m. Kotov first won the Comrades in 2000, setting a new record of 5:25:33 for the up run. Although he has not been able to duplicate this kind of form in the “down” run, he also won the next two up runs, in 5:30:59 in 2002 and 5:31:22 in 2004. In the 2001 down run he was third in 5:27:21 and in 2003, when struggling with an injury, 22nd in 5:57:03. Last year he finished fourth in 5:33:59. He changed his preparation for the 2006 race in one significant way: Whereas he has always used the 56 km Two Oceans ultramarathon over Easter as part of his build-up, he did not do so this time. When he set the Comrades record in 2000, he also finished second in the Two Oceans, running a veteran (40+) record of 3:13:21 that still stands. In February Kotov won the veteran (masters) title in the South African Marathon Championships in 2:25:22. Although still a Belorussian citizen, he has permanent resident status in South Africa. The last few weeks he spent, as usual, in Russia for the final stages of his preparation.

De uitdagers
Sipho Ngomane, surprise winner of last years Comrades, reportedly is nursing an injury and tends to over-race, which could cost him dearly on the up run. Ngomane (24), not yet born when Kotov finished fourth in the 1980 Olympic Marathon, was third in the Two Oceans. He won the Comrades in 5:27:10 in 2005 and most experts believe he will become a force in the race in the future, but not yet in the up run. Andrew Kelehe, winner in 2001, is another runner who seems to be better on the down run. His winning 5:25:51 has been beaten only by Bruce Fordyce, and Kelehe (41) has been out of the top five on only one occasion during the past seven years, placing second, fifth, first, ninth, fifth, fifth and third. Willie Mtolo, winner of the 1992 New York City Marathon and second in the Comrades as long ago as 1989, was second and fourth in the last two up runs and has also been bothered by an injury in recent weeks. He has shown his toughness in previous Comrades, but over the weekend was still in doubt about running at all. No one will be surprised if the first three runners are all foreigners, because two frequent visitors to these shores have the credentials to finish in the places behind Kotov. Oleg Kharitonov (RUS), ten years younger than Kotov, will contest his sixth Comrades. After finishing twelfth in his debut in 2001, he has crossed the line fourth, second, third and second. He wants to win very much and this could be his year. His best up run time is the 5:34:43 he ran in 2002. Jaroslaw Janicki (POL) has won before, the 1999 down run, but was also second in the 2004 up run (2:55 behind Kotov) and although he prefers the down run, he has the experience to be right there when the serious racing usually starts on the murderous climb up Polly Shorts. Other contenders are 2003 winner Fusi Nhlapo (tenth in his last up run in 2002), former Two Oceans champion Hlonepha Mphulanyane (seventh in 2004), Johan Oosthuizen (ninth in 2004), Albe Geldenhuys (sixth in 2002), Elias Mabane (ninth in 2005) and Sipho Maisela (16th in 2005).

Dameswedstrijd
In the womens race the whole of South Africa will again be behind Farwa Mentoor, the quiet-spoken Cape Town mother of two who has been the top SA finisher for the past four years: fourth in 2002, followed by eighth, third and fourth. She came closest in 2004 when she gave the Russian Nurgalieva twins a real fright and in fact beat Olesya to finish behind Yelena and Marina Bychkova (RUS) in 6:18:28. Mentoor has grown in stature and confidence every year and in this years Two Oceans was the first South African when finishing fifth behind Tatyana Zhirkova (RUS), Yelena Nurgalieva, Simona Staicu (HUN) and Bychkova. The consensus is, however, that the foreign onslaught will again be overpowering. The Two Oceans also seemed to confirm that the twins are a major power only when running together, because Yelena was beaten for the first time after two successive wins when Olesya chose to run the Boston Marathon instead. She will not be in the Comrades either, where Yelena won in 2003 and 2004 (setting the up record of 6:11:15) but was only third last year. Zhirkova seems to be the clear favourite. Tough as nails, she scored a commanding win last year, leaving Olesya in her dust by more than 11 minutes. Bychkova was then fifth behind Mentoor, followed by another Russian, novice Marina Myshlyanova. The only question about Zhirkova is whether she has recovered fully from her quick time in the Two Oceans – the 3:36:19 that gave her a narrow victory is the second fastest in the history of the race. Of course, the same goes for Yelena, who was just 10 seconds behind her. Bychkova has never won the Comrades, but has a record of consistency second to none: starting with third in the 1999 down run, she has gained consecutive positions of sixth, fourth, third, fifth, second and fifth. Her 6:14:14 in the 2004 up run was just 2:58 behind Yelena Nurgalieva. With the experience gained last year, Myshlyanova will be even more of a threat, and it will be interesting to see how another Russian, Lyudmila Kalinina, performs in her first outing over the formidable hills of Kwazulu-Natal province. Apart from Mentoor, other South Africans who could challenge for a top ten position and a gold medal are Yolande Maclean, who has yet to achieve her tremendous potential in this race (she has three golds, but not a top five placing so far), Grace de Oliveira (third, sixth and eighth in the last three up runs), Lindsay van Aswegen (10th in 2005) and Riana van Niekerk (16th in 2005).

Ook Burfoot
Among the hundreds of overseas runners will also be Amby Burfoot, Executive Editor of Runners World Magazine and winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon. Burfoot will not be the first Boston winner to run the Comrades – 1982 champion Alberto Salazar won the ultra at his first attempt in 1994.

Bio
Name: Vladimir Kotov
Age: 48
From: Belarus
Date of Birth: 21 February 1958
Athletic Club: Mr Price Western Province
Shoe Sponsor: Asics
Occupation: Full time athlete
Languages: Russian, Polish, English
Marital Status: Married with 1 child, Olga
Personal Bests: 10km 28:28 1982, 21.1km 61:07 1988,42.2km 2:10:58 1980, Two Oceans 3:13:21 2000,Comrades 5:25:33 2000
Interesting Facts: Mention the name Vladimir Kotov, and you will be sure that someone in the room will know of him. The king of the up run as he is dubbed, Vladimir has won the past 3 up runs with wins in 2000 which he also set a new record, 2002 and 2004. He was 3rd in the down run in 2003 and was 4th this year. Vladimir aims to win the up run next year again. He is also no slouch over the shorter stuff and regularly gives the youngsters a run for their money. At the age of 47, he is also the oldest winner of Comrades in the history of the race.

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