Source: AFP
ZURICH (AFP) — Maria Mutola will call time on her illustrious running career at Friday’s Golden League meeting here, giving way to a new batch of athletes including Kenya’s Olympic teenage champion Pamela Jelimo.
The 35-year-old 800m runner from Mozambique, who earlier this month competed in her sixth Olympic Games and her fifth final, was adamant that there would be no comebacks.
“My last race will be here in Zurich,” she said.
“I have won 12 times in Zurich and I have also stayed here in Switzerland for training.
“It’s a good place to run my last international race.
“It would be even better to set a personal or seasonal best here,” she said, adding: “I will probably do some more domestic races.”
One highlight of Mutola’s long career was the 12 successive victories she recorded at the Weltklasse from 1993-2004, making her a highly popular figure when she appears before the capacity 26,000 crowd at the Letzigrund Stadium.
But she will be up against newly-minted Olympic champion Jelimo on Friday, with Russian Svetlana Klyuka - who finished fourth in the Beijing Games 800m final, one place ahead of Mutola - acting as pacemaker.
Jelimo’s 1:54.87 in the Chinese capital was a new world junior record and also a time that bettered Mutola’s African record, which the Mozambiquean had also improved eight times during her career.
“Of course, Jelimo’s time surprised me,” said Mutola. “1:54 is a very fast time.
“I was surprised to see someone run so fast but records are here to be broken.”
She added: “The first time I saw Jelimo was at the African championships in Addis Ababa this year.”
Mutola, a star soccer player in her youth who was schooled in Eugene, Oregon, thanks to a bursary from the Olympic Solidarity Committee, was praised by Jelimo as an athlete to admire.
“Mutola is a great athlete who has done great things and achieved very good results,” said the Kenyan teenager.
Mutola has achieved many feats since bowing out in the heats of the 800m at the 1988 Seoul Games, her first Olympic experience.
The record seven-time world indoor 800m champion is also a two-time Commonwealth champion and three-time world outdoor gold medallist.
She medalled twice in her five other Olympic forays, winning gold in Sydney in 2000 and bronze four years earlier in Atlanta.
She has also picked up a brace of silver and bronze medals at the world outdoor and indoor championships, along with a Commonwealth bronze in Melbourne in 2006.
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