 Bekele admits he has struggled with training since the tragedy |
Olympic 10,000m champion Kenenisa Bekele has spoken publicly for the first time about the death of his fiancee Alem Techale. Bekele, who had been due to marry the 18-year-old in May, was training with her in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 4 January when she collapsed and died.
"We'd only been running for 10 minutes (before it happened)," said Bekele.
"It's a tragic loss for her to die at this age, before she fulfilled her dreams. It will always stay with me."
The pair had briefly separated during the run only for Bekele to turn back and find Techale slumped against a tree unable to stand.
He immediately went to her aid as she struggled to catch her breath, but she died before he could get her to hospital.
Following the tragedy, he stopped training for two weeks and pulled out of a high-profile meeting in Edinburgh. He returned to action, however, in Boston at the end of January after being persuaded to do so by fans from around the world.
There he was beaten by Ireland's Alistair Cragg after stopping a lap early believing the race was already over.
This weekend, he is seeking a fourth world cross-country double but admitted his preparations had been difficult.
"Whenever I trained, I remembered the times Alem and I trained together," he said. "There were many times I just had to stop running."
Ahead of the world cross-country in St Etienne, France, he added: "I expect to run both races, It's not about whether I win or lose but I'm here to compete and to contribute to the team's efforts."
MMIX
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