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| Look out for Mo Farah at next Sunday's London Marathon. (Getty Images) |
In the first of a weekly round-up, European Athletics looks at a big issue in the sport, sets the scene for the week ahead and reviews the past few days.
Uibo tees up a place in the big time
In the early hours of Monday morning, European time, the pictures were being beamed back from Augusta of Adam Scott winning The Masters to become the first Australian to triumph at this historic golf event. In the moments after his victory, Scott, 32, was quick to thank his legendary countryman Greg Norman, 58, twice a major champion, for being an inspiration to so many.
It was around 8pm local time that these plaudits were being dished out, and 130 kilometres across Georgia, a young Estonian multi-eventer would probably have known exactly what Scott meant in his tribute to a man he could look up to with such pride.
Few in the world of track and field would know the name Maicel Uibo, but take note. Uibo, 20, won the decathlon at the Spec Towns Invitational with a score of 8223 points. The significance was immense. Not only did it take him to the top of the world rankings, it increased his personal best by a staggering 675 points.
But in the wake of what Scott achieved in Augusta, with Norman as his inspiration, it is with rich irony that Australia could play a part in where Uibo is now. September will mark the 13th anniversary of Erki Nool, then 30, becoming the first Estonian to win an athletics gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Uibo would have been only seven at the time, but equally Scott turned six just the day before the start of golf's 1986 Open at Turnberry in Scotland when Norman won his first major.
Age does not matter. If a legend has such a status in their country that their success transcends generation upon generation, their achievements can be as fresh as the day they happened.
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THE WEEK JUST GONE
Talking about European marathon venues and running half-marathons for that matter, the Austrian capital of Vienna once more has a special place in the heart of Ethiopia's legendary distance star Haile Gebrselassie.
On Sunday, running parallel with the full marathon, where Kenyans Henry Sugut and Flomena Cheyech won the men's and women's races respectively, the OMV Champions Race over half the distance was won by Gebrselassie in 61:14. It was his third consecutive victory at this event and on Thursday, he will celebrate his 40th birthday and officially become an athletics 'master' And what now? 'I can still run faster,' he said.
The record books had better watch out. Haile Gebrselassie has not finished with Europe yet.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The spring marathon season is reaching its height. On Sunday, Europe was awash with events, with Rotterdam and Vienna staging two major races, Boston hosting their annual race on Monday before this Sunday, the London Marathon takes place. Only this time in London, the first half of the men's race will be watched with more interest than perhaps usual.
The reason? Mo Farah.
Britain's double Olympic and triple European track champion is making big steps towards the 26.2 miles distance by running the first 13.1 miles on Sunday. His plan is to test himself out against some of the world's best before his full marathon d