10th April 2012 00:37
Türkiye's „°lham Tanui –zbilen, the fastest European over 1500m indoors this winter, made a little bit of history on home territory at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul last month when he got a silver medal over his favourite distance.
Getting some of the loudest cheers of the weekend, he got the host nation's best ever result in the history of the Championships.
However, now Tanui –zbilen wants to go one better at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki this summer, which will be held in the Finnish capital from 27 June – 1 July.
'I would be very happy if I can get a gold medal, I will try my best. I hope they crowd there will cheer me like at the World Indoor Championships, that gave me strength,' reflected Tanui –zbilen.
'I have competed in some other places where they have held the Olympics like Berlin, Rome and Barcelona but never in Helsinki; so I am looking forward to it,' added the 22-year-old runner who set a national indoor record of 3:34.76 in the German city of Karlsrühe in February to move to sixth fastest on the European all-time list.
The Turkish anthem was played three times at the last European Athletics Championships in Barcelona two years ago but it just heralded victories for their women athletes.
In fact, despite the success of their women in recent years, no Turkish man has ever won a gold medal at the show piece of the continent's athletics. You have to go back to 1950 for the one and only time a Turkish man has stood on the podium at the European Athletics Championships, when triple jumper Ruhi Sarialp finished third in Brussels.
'Yes, I have heard that I could be the first Turkish man to win a gold medal at the European Athletics Championships. It could be something very special,' acknowledged Tanui –zbilen.
However, if Tanui –zbilen runs in Helsinki like he did in Istanbul than the result could be 'very special' indeed.
Spurred on by an excited home crowd in the Ataköy Arena, he audaciously took the lead just after 1000m after a tactical opening five laps and held pole position until just a few metres before the line.
'It was a wonderful feeling to have all those people cheering for me. I felt so much at home. It was a good race from my point of view but in the last few metres I just tired a little too much,' said Tanui –zbilen after having the medal hung around his neck.
His potential rivals in Helsinki could include Spain's defending champion Arturo Casado, who struggled with injury for much of last year and so gave this year's indoor circuit a miss, and Germany's Carsten Schlangen, who showed good form this winter and has already confirmed that Helsinki is in his plans.
The likes of France's 2002 and 2006 European Athletics Championships 1500m champion Mehdi Baala and his rapidly improving young compatriots Florian Carvalho and Yoann Kowal could easily enter the men's 1500m medal equation as well.