VILLAGISATION OF ATHLETICS

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  (Addis Fortune) – Ever since the great marathon runner Abebe Bikila (Maj) stunned the athletics world by not only breaking the record time of two hours and 12 minutes but also beating the ground for 42 kilometres with his bare feet, Ethiopian distance runners have made a name for themselves over the years. They have also brought honour and reputation to a country that otherwise has made the headline news with its droughts and famines not to speak of the civil strife that casted for decades.

People have wondered why on earth Ethiopian athletes excel at long-distance races, including the marathon. Some curious sports experts have even ventured out to do research, with the intention of establishing scientific explanations for the unfaltering success the athletes have enjoyed time and again.

Questions still hover about their secret. Could it be their training skills or their exposure to international meets? Could it be the ingredients of their daily catering? Could it be the high altitude of the area where they were brought up and trained?

Some of them were even more sceptical about their assumptions when they found out that many of the distance runners came not only from Arsi Zone, Oromia Regional State, but from the same family tree. They contemplate whether the secret is genetic.

It could be anything except one thing.

There have never been any athletic villages, like in Kenya or other countries, in Ethiopia. It was only last week that the Yaya Athletics Village was inaugurated some 11km northwest of the capital on the road from Addis Abeba to Gojam.

Most of the great distance runners were born and raised in rural places and had to jog for miles, daily, to make it to school and back in time. In one way or another, running long distances was not a sport for these students but a way of life, one could say. Indeed, it later became their economic means of life.

The demand for an athletic village was previously going to be satisfied when a nationwide fundraising campaign was carried out in full swing through a telethon show. The project was to establish an athletics centre at Sendafa, a town 38 kilometres northeast of Addis Abeba.

For some obscure reason, the project seems to have been aborted. Tirunesh Dibaba Sports Centre in Arsi Zone has been, so far, the only viable project, the baton carried by owner Tirunesh Dibaba, who incidentally has returned to race after a long dry spell to win races once again, sending a threatening message to her London Olympics rivals.

An Athletics Village, however, has, of late, become a reality, at long last, curtsey of veteran Joseph Kibur, the 40-year old athlete cum investor. The story of the establishment was indeed anecdotal.

The owner was a Diaspora returnee from Canada some six years ago after living abroad for over 30 years.

One day he packed his backpack with his sports outfit and went to Addis Abeba’s National Stadium to do some jogging. To his dismay, the guardsman prohibited him from entering the stadium on the grounds that only registered members are allowed to use the running track. That incident was a blessing in disguise, as the unexpected disappointment sparked the idea of establishing an athletics village in his mind.

The conceived thought was not aborted. He, having consulted with prominent personalities, translated his thoughts into the tangible design and construction of an athletics village not far from the capital.

Negotiating the sloped landscape of the Addis Abeba to Gojam Road for about half an hour, starting from Menelik Square, one comes to a pass in the Entoto Mountains where an open checkpoint is located, closer to which resides the centre.

This area is also a topographical relief that divides two river basins. Every brook and stream in the area carrying rainwater drains into the tributaries of either the Awash or Abay (Blue Nile) rivers, in due course.

After an exclamatory term found in many African languages including Kiswahili, Yoseph christened his athletic centre Yaya Athletics Village, symbolising the enjoyment that athletes will find using facilities and services delivered at the village.

The village, though presently in its embryonic stage, is an 80 million-Br project, based on a strategic plan divided into phases. A sandy running track, beach volleyball court, 30 rooms for lodging, a café on a terrace, a restaurant, bars,  a playground for children, and beautiful parks are already functioning. Horse riding and trekking with a scout is also available. People interested in sightseeing can even walk a two-kilometre distance to the checkpoint spot and enjoy the beautiful panoramic sight of the metropolis and its environs.

Its owner plans to offer free services and lodging to all Ethiopian athletes registered for the coming Olympics competition in London, to be held in the coming five to six months. The village is indeed a cosy place for trekking or lying back in a swinging chair in a park to read. The fresh air and calmness of the village is a typical feature that would be treasured by any nature-loving person.

Athletes coming from any country in the world to be trained in the highlands of Addis Abeba and have taste of Ethiopian athletes’ endurance can use the services of the village at a rate of 75 dollars per day. Local visitors are charged only 50pc of that.

The most interesting offer is the one-year athletics training scholarships given to youngsters coming from anywhere in the surrounding area. Of course, there are criteria to qualify for the scholarships, to be defined by the Village.

No doubt that the village creates employment for many people, including 60 people employed on a permanent basis. In the end, the project will host one of the most attractive resort areas for families who would like to take their children out for recreational hikes over the weekend.

In and of itself, however, the project might indicate the changing landscape of Ethiopian athletics, ascertaining the historic lead that the nation has maintained ever since Abebe’s glorious victory.

Author: Girma Feyissa is a long time columnist for Addis Fortune newspaper based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He can be reached at: girma@addisfortune.com.