Where the King of the Mile got his ideas

No, double Olympic champion and world record holder El Guerrouj, the King of the Mile, is not thinking of coming out of retirement, despite appearing at the New York Marathon -- and despite rumours flying around at the recent Toyota Great Ethiopian Run organized by Haile Gebrselassie.

But in denying the rumours, British mag Athletics Weekly comments that if he did decide to make a comeback, he would be formidable, as he excels in peaking for specific events. And according to AW, that's something he and his coach Abdelkader Kada learnt from the British -- specifically Seb Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram.

"Back in the late 90s", says AW, "Kada was invited to the UK by the British Milers’ Club to explain the ‘secrets’ of El Guerrouj’s success. 'It is ironic that the British invite me here', he told the BMC, 'because I learned my training techniques from the great British runners of the Eighties'”.

* Source: "Overheard in Ethiopia..." , by Jason Henderson, posted on the Athletics Weekly blog, November 28: www.athletics-weekly.com