Paul Tergat, 56, arrived in Sao Paulo this week without the hurry in the steps of the days when he crossed the city at the speed of champion. In the year of the centenary of the São Silvestre race, he did not need to position himself at the start to be recognized. As the largest male winner of the traditional street race from São Paulo, the former athlete traveled to celebrate his five victories, his legacy and the bond between Kenya and the street race-and for commercial commitments.
“Celebrating a hundred years of São Silvestre is a golden opportunity. Each race was unique and historical for me,” he told Sheet The Kenyan, who is still impressed by the tens of thousands of people, among professionals and amateurs, who venture into the race every year. “It’s very unique, there’s nothing the same in the world.”
His charm for the running crowds comes from childhood. In Kenya, running is more than a sport. It is a lifestyle and often a form of survival. Children practice the modality early on, almost involuntarily, as a means of locomotion in the face of lack of public transport. It is common to go from 5 km to 10 km daily to go to school.
It was like this for Tergat, born in Kabaernet, in the Greater Valley of Rift region, cradle of long -range corridors in East Africa. He even thought of abandoning his studies, but found incentive in the UN World Food Program (United Nations), implemented in 1977.
“I grew up in a very remote region and never imagined I could be champion. I stumbled in my career, but I discovered my talent on the way,” he said.
Despite becoming an elite athlete, he started relatively late. He was 20 years old when he participated in his first race. Still, it became one of the largest founders in the country.
Since 2011, Kenya has the record of the marathon, broken in sequence by five different corridors. Tergat already had this brand, established in 2003, in the Berlin race, when he became the first Kenyan to reach the world record.
Its achievement gallery includes five consecutive cross-country titles (1995 to 1999), two silver medals in Olympic Games (Atlanta-1996 and Sydney-2000), three in the World Cup (10,000 meters) and five wins in São Silvestre (1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000).
Tergat says now dedicate himself to the defense of the planet. Against climate change and for a sustainable future, it has transformed its personal achievements into a collective flag.
“Sustainability is fundamental for sports and the environment. If athletes train in a polluted environment, their performance decreases,” he warned. “In Kenya, we perform forums in schools and communities to ensure tree planting, thinking about the next generations.”
President of the Kenya Olympic Committee since 2017, the former combator aims to ensure that the country continues to form champions.
Despite the per capita income annual equivalent to just over $ 2,000 (R $ 10,900), Kenya has characteristics that attract runners from around the world. There are quality coaches and the benefit of the activity under the rareer air of 2,400 meters above sea level. Geography also offers various training conditions on dirt roads on trails with stones, in the middle of forests, hills, mud, heat and rain.
According to Tergat, it is also easier to focus on training because internet access is quite problematic. For the corridors, he says, this turns out to be a way to avoid distractions.
“In Kenya, many athletes come from remote regions and focus more on training and career than on social networks,” said the champion, who participated this week in the launch of a new sports equipment tennis that has sponsored him for 25 years.
For him, this distance from networks is part of the secret of the success of Kenyans in street races and marathons. “We must be grateful for the evolution of technology, but in our day life was simpler, without complications.”
