News Archive

Shortly after winning the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON in 2:07:41, we spoke with the 2005 champion, Philip Manyim of Kenya.

Were you surprised at your win because this was only your third marathon. So you’ve been a quick learner?

Philip Manyim:

“Yes, the success was surprising because I was not expecting to win

against my fellow Kenyans who had run 2:06. But, God willing, I won the

race, by surprise.”

You attacked at that moment in the

marathon when so many people attack, at around 30 k. It was a hot day

so you had to have a lot of courage and faith in your ability to attack?

Philip Manyim:

“I changed my training in Kenya from early in the morning to around 9,

so I was not worried but the problem is that when you are at low

altitude the air is too warm to breathe, so that was a problem.”

Hot weather is not necessarily easy for the Kenyans to cope with?

Philip Manyim:

“It is very hard for the Kenyans to cope with training at high

temperatures because we train early and in the hills where it’s very

cool. If you have a problem with temperature, the Kenyans also have a

problem.”

You began your international career as a

steeplechaser and, indeed, you’ve paced world records in the

steeplechase (ed note : Manyim was a pacemaker when the Moroccan Brahim

Boulami broke the world record in Zurich in 2001). What made you change

to the marathon?

Philip Manyim: “I have an Italian

coach, Renato Canova and he told me, when you jump the barriers, the

impact is the same as running on the road. He told me, one day, I hope

you will run a better time on the road because you have jumped a lot

over the barriers. That was my ambition, I tried and was successful.”

Renato Canova coaches a lot of very good Kenyan athletes. How do you rate him as a coach?

Philip Manyim: “I thank him and hope God may help him

to assist the Kenyans who are willing to stay with him because he’s a

very good coach and he also has experience because he was a coach in

Italy before coming to Kenya.” (Canova coaches among others the former

Kenyan Stephen Cherono now running for Qatar as Saif Saaeed Shaheen,

who won the world steeplechase gold in 2003 and retained the title in

Helsinki in 2005).

We all know that Berlin is a very fast

marathon course and you’ve equalled the third best time in the world

this year with that 2:07:41. How much faster do you think you can run?

Philip Manyim: “If I’m in good condition with good preparation, I hope to run if not 2:05, I can run below 2:06:30.”

What

are your plans now? In Kenya you have a wife and two children and

you’re taking back a nice lot of prize money. What are your plans for

life in general?

Philip Manyim: “My plan now is go

home and have a party in December with my family to celebrate our

wedding anniversary. After that I shall start training because when you

start spending money, you forget your career. So the money will be put

aside and I’ll continue with my career and hope to achieve a better

goal.”

Do you really think of yourself as a marathon runner now?

Philip Manyim:

“Yes, because of the capability of running 2:18 after a short period

(of preparation), 2:08 after another short period of three months, then

2:07:41, which means another marathon can make me run, maybe, 2:07 or

below 2:07:30, maybe the next one, because I’m getting experienced,

maybe 2:06.”