Yifter passes on experience to new generation
By John Mehaffey
LONDON (Reuters) - Miruts Yifter startled his opponents before confusing the statisticians with his 5,000-10,000 double at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
The Ethiopian shot to victory in both races with an unstoppable late surge over the final 200 metres.
Afterwards reporters tried to pin down his age, variously given as 33, 35, 37 or 42.
"I don't count the years," Yifter replied. "Men may steal my chickens, men may steal my sheep. But no man can steal my age."
Looking much as he did in Moscow, however old he might really be, Yifter now helps to train the new generation of Ethiopian distance runners, heirs to a golden tradition which began when Abebe Bikila ran barefoot through the streets of Rome to win the 1960 Olympic marathon.
He was also one of the coaches of the cross-country team who won all four individual golds for the first time at the world championships in Edinburgh this year.
"That's in our blood, in our culture," Yifter said in an interview with Reuters as the team took a break in the northern city of Leeds before returning home. "We expect more, we are never really satisfied."
