The Olympic Games end today:

Lanka’s last hope Cooray to dish out ‘something extraordinary’

Dinesh WEERAWANSA reporting from England

OLYMPICS: LONDON, Aug. 11 - Sri Lanka’s only hope at the XXXth Olympic Games - Anuradha Indrajith Cooray, will be seen in action at the men’s marathon which will be worked off here in the British capital tomorrow, commencing from 11 a.m. local time (3.30 p.m. Sri Lanka time on Sunday).

But it will be an uphill task for the 34-year-old veteran Sri Lankan long distance runner who will be up against the cream of marathon runners in the world. Nevertheless, Cooray wowed to dish out “something extraordinary” at his pet event.

“It is going to be an acid test. But I will make every endeavour to finish within the top 15 competitors,” Cooray said on the eve of his pet event. He is a seasoned campaigner in the big league, having competed at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games marathon in Greece.

It was his creditable performance at the 2012 London Marathon which gave him the passage to run in his second Olympic marathon. “I have been training hard, worked really hard with intensive training. That helped me to reach Olympic qualifying standards at this year’s London Marathon in April. Since then, I have worked really hard,” the South Asian Games gold medallist said.

Accompanied by Sri Lanka’s Athletic Team Leader and AASL Secretary, Rear Admiral Shemal Fernando, Cooray inspected the marathon route last morning, making a careful study. “I really earned a place with all my hard work and dedication. I want to make the best use of the opportunity I got and prove it a point. I want to be within the top 15 competitors with a new Sri Lanka record. It is not going to be easy but I am equally confident that I could make my presence felt,” said Cooray.

The Mall – start and finish

Both the start and the finish of the 2012 London Olympic men’s marathon will be at The Mall, an iconic location in central London and a popular backdrop for formal ceremonies and major sporting events. Its iconic red road will also give the effect of a giant red carpet for athletes participating in the road events that start and finish at the venue during the London 2012 Games.

Kenya and Ethiopia, the two African countries which has produced many long distance runners over the past years, will once again go favourites to win the 2012 London Games marathon.

“Sometimes the Ethiopians are strong, sometimes the Kenyans,” Haile Gebrselassie, the greatest long distance runner of the modern era, said. “We understand each other, without Kenya there’s no Ethiopia.

We need each other,” said Gebrselassie, 39, who had hoped to conclude his career by running in Sunday’s race but time and injury mean he can no longer run the times needed to qualify for a strong Ethiopian team.

He lost his world marathon record to Kenyan Patrick Makau in Berlin last September and said that he would not be running in next year’s Moscow world championships. Underlining the strength of the Kenyan team, Makau was not selected for the Games.

Kenya challenge Abel Kirui

Kenya’s challenge in London will be led by two-time world champion Abel Kirui, this year’s winner of the London marathon Wilson Kipsang and last year’s champion Emmanuel Mutai. Kirui said this week he thought he could break the Olympic record of two hours six minutes 32 seconds set by Sammy Wanjiru in Beijing four years ago.

Wanjiru, the only Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon, died last year when he leaped from the balcony of his house after his wife found him in bed with another woman. Mutai said times were not important in Olympics or world championships. “We are prepared for any kind of weather. I am ready to tackle the course,” he said.

The British royal family took an active interest, with the race starting in the grounds of Windsor Castle and finishing in front of the royal box in the White City stadium when London first hosted the Olympic Games in 1908. As a result, the now standard race length of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km) was set, a distance which became firmly established after one of the most dramatic races in Olympic history.

Marathon very close to Olympics

“If you talk about the Olympics, you have to talk about the marathon. The marathon is very close to the Olympics historically,” said Gebrselassie, who won consecutive 10,000 metres gold medals in 1996 and 2000 before moving up to the marathon.

Large crowds are expected to line the streets over the weekend to watch the walking races and men’s marathon as athletics concludes in the Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

Guor Marial will be the only Olympic marathon runner that doesn’t have a country, at the London 2012 Games. Hence, he will run an independent athlete under the banner of the International Olympic Committee. “Representing the five rings is the best,” he said. “I’m representing the whole world, basically.”

Marial – unique independent participant

In a case that the IOC has called “unique,” Marial was given a place at the games under the Olympic flag after he fled a refugee camp in what is now South Sudan during a civil war over a decade ago and landed in the United States, seeking asylum.

With no passport, no country and seemingly no hope, Marial met fellow runner Brad Poore at a race in Minneapolis in October and struck up a seemingly casual friendship over a pasta dinner.

Meanwhile, the curtain of the 204-Nation Games will come down on Sunday night with a spectacular closing ceremony.

The organising committee LOCOG said today that a number of extra closing ceremony tickets could be made available before Sunday’s spectacular. London is gearing up for the final events of the London Olympics ahead of Sunday night’s closing ceremony.