Learning to get to know his wife ("We've never been so much alone") • Meditation helps him to dare ("Remembering the pains I got and imagining the desired result") Win yourself. ”Marathon runner said like you didn't know

• Girma said, at the Wingate Institute yesterday. "I left the Israeli head"

  Photo: 

  Alan Shaver

"Any rejection for us is difficult, certainly of the Olympic Games we have been preparing for the last four years. Our age does not stop. Being in the pressure for so long to achieve the criterion and then hearing rejecting the climax event is not easy. I had personal plans after the games, "On a private level with my wife, too, but there's no point in being stressed or crying now. You can't do anything about it, things don't depend on me."

Marathon runner Girma said (32) will represent Israel at the Tokyo Olympic Games next year, but until that happens, he - like all the super athletes - has a long time to go in preparation.

We met at Wingate Institute, the National Institute of Sport Excellence, which just began to shake off its own thin layer of dust as athletes were dispatched to their homes following the Corona virus. Just before Independence Day, they returned to activity, and it seems that it is now possible to start summarizing the challenging period they have undergone.

"There were days I didn't train at all. We came back from a marathon in Valencia and immediately went into quarantine, so it worked out with our desire to rest in order to recover the body," she said in an interview with "Israel Today," "We started training in a limited format. From the week, we now stand 100 km a week. We have no target competition, so we have to keep fit. We all work according to the coach's instructions. During this period I strengthened my head more than my legs. "

She said in action. "The environment has a part of who you are" // Photo: Alan Shiber

How to practice alone?

"It's not easy. In the past we used to train 6-5 runners together, now we went to private training."

There is no physical contact in your industry, so why should you exercise normally?

"That's true, but when you run with a lot of effort, you also gasp and sweat a lot. It can infect others. We don't want to take risks. As athletes, our bodies are constantly in high effort and every little thing may affect it, so it's better to be disciplined."

And were you disciplined?

"I took it very seriously. My wife Swalam is learning to be a nurse, so I got clear instructions from her as well. My grandparents are older and I care for them too. Just when the corona started I moved with my wife to our own apartment, but of course I continue to look after them."

Getting used to being home fast?

"It's a different experience. We're married from 2016 and I've never been with her for that long alone. More than that, we're friends from 2009, and never came out that we had three meals a day together. She got to know me and me all the time. And in training, there's not much of a thing together. "

"Marathon is a mental issue"

She obtained the ticket to the Tokyo Olympic Games at the Prague Marathon, which he finished eighth in 2: 09.54 hours, which was then a new Israeli record. That was officially enough for him, but since his climax has already been shattered in the Seville Marathon, in a running celebration where Marrow Teppieri and Emery Alamya finished with him in 2:07 hours. The official record, by the way, belongs to Claws (2: 07.20 hours, 9 May before she said).

She said with the flag. "Marathon is a mental issue" // Photo: Alan Shiber

Is there any point to a marathon without an audience at the Olympic Games?

"What is it worth? I don't think it's a sports experience. The whole point is to bring the fans closer to the best athletes in the world. When that doesn't happen, it's better to put it off."

How did you prepare for the canceled games?

"A marathon is a mental issue, you don't depend on anyone and just have to be strong. During the year we worked a lot with a psychologist, even learned to meditate. Every day I tell myself that I am capable of anything and that nothing will stop me. Nobody believed we would come for two hours and seven minutes , But it happened. "

What helped you to jump up?

"The head. In the past, I thought I couldn't beat the big runners. The limit you set is in your mind, you just have to beat yourself."

And where did you find yourself falling?

"In the past, in training in Ethiopia, I would not dare to run alongside the strong runners. Today I understand that they have worked hard like everyone else, and every time I feel inferior I say to myself: 'You can, the pain is temporary.' I'm not at their level. "

And if you were born in Europe?

"The environment has a part of who you are. Today I see what conditions the athletes in Ethiopia are practicing: their shoes, clothing, equipment and food - everything is less than ours, and they don't care at all. I left the Israeli head looking for excuses all the time. I was born there, I came here at 18 And I had to change the direction of thought back to the Ethiopian head. "

What does that mean?

"When you see a super athlete who has nothing to eat, you understand your place and learn to understand it. You will see them in competitions, they don't care who runs next to them, they will try to get it. That's the right approach."

Said spending time at the Haifa Marathon. "First let us return to full activity" // Photo: Hertzi Shapira

Do you have an example of a failure you learned from?

"In 2018, I reached the European Championships in Germany and crashed. I finished last. I cried, but I said, 'Well, you got a nose and this is a positive thing, now you have to prepare for the next task.' I trained hard and broke the Israeli record there. I knew there was no such thing as 'can't' and that if I fail - I will deal with it. "

And if you didn't finish last in Germany?

"Maybe I would miss the kappa and not learn to the end. Until that moment, I came up with a little fear in front of the others, but from that moment on - it's over. If you win yourself, you can probably beat your opponent.

"Every day I write what result I want to achieve, what my goals are and always dare to aim up. I also say this to myself while meditating. I remember the aches I got and imagine the desired result.

What will you do in the coming year until Tokyo 2021?

"First of all let us go back to full activity, see all my friends. By then we will have to find a goal to run for her."

How about Luna Chemtai-Salfter?

"An amazing athlete, she has no fear. When she first started running with us - and I know her from the first moment - she always said 'why not? I can too.' There is only one way for her - forward."

Hiding in the country another amazing runners who did not discover them?

"I think so, but you need proper infrastructure to look for them in schools and not to build on the luck that a coach will discover one like Luna happens to be in the park. Military service also cuts quite a few careers. If you don't achieve good results before the military, your chances of breaking out are very small. A talented person immediately gets a job and represents his workplace and the state and when he retires, he has a profession, job and a neat pension. "

Today you only make a living from running?

"Yes, but I think a lot about the day after. I know what's going on here for runners who have spent days and nights in the industry. I do it for the state, yes, but know it's my duty to look after the future when I retire. I studied at Wingate and slept four hours a night. From eight in the morning until eight in the evening. I've learned - physical education and translation of the material.