Before the beginning of the recent Askina Meeting in Kassel, Germany, organizers escorted their stars in limousines around the track. But the master of ceremonies forgot to introduce one athlete: Jan Fitschen. Somehow this lapse is symptomatic for the season so far for the European 10,000 m champion from Gothenburg. Not even little
Jan Fitschen won the gold medal at the European Championships in Gothenburg. © www.photorun.ne
things go right for Fitschen.
Nine months after the race of his life, almost nothing is falling into place this season for Fitschen. When the German athlete stormed to the gold medal in Gothenburg last August, it was one of the biggest surprises of the championships. But now it seems like the European Champion will not even be part of the German team for the next big competition, the World Athletics Championships at the end of August.
Time is running out for the 30-year-old to meet the qualifying standard - and his domestic rivals are running away from him as well. About a month before the team is announced, Fitschen has neither the “B” standard nor is he even leading the German rankings for the year, and that applies to his alternative event, the 5,000m, as well.
“The 10,000m is no longer an option for me for the World Championships,” Fitschen said recently. “If you are not fit enough, it’s not going to happen.” He is realistic about his prospects after failing to exploit probably his best chance to qualify for the 5,000m in Kassel.
That meet last week had ideal conditions, and the race was set up for the European champion. Fitschen’s teammate Alexander Lubina did a fine job as pacemaker. But when he dropped out at 2,000 meters, it became clear that Fitschen was not in form. He fell back, and the World Championship qualifying time of 13:21.50 was well out of reach. While Kenyan Moses Mosop won in 13:21.13, Fitschen finished 11th, clocking 13:54.29, and beaten by, among others, his domestic rival Arne Gabius, who finished fifth in 13:27.48.
One reason for Fitschen’s poor form is an inflamed plantar tendon. He suffered the injury when training at altitude in St. Moritz in May. “I was too fired up in training and got myself injured. Now I have to take pain killers to do races. I am able to run, but that’s not competing at the highest level,“ said Fitschen, who won the German 10,000m title before he went to altitude training camp. In windy weather there was no question of going for the “B” standard of 28:06.
“Now I have the same problem which I’ve had so often in the past ten years or so: I haven’t done the qualifying time at the start of the season. The races that are coming up aren’t right because they are going to be either too fast or too slow. And without having done the qualifying time, I can’t plan my next training camp properly,“ said Fitschen. More pressure comes from his domestic rivals. It is looking very likely that André Pollmächer will fill the German 10,000 m spot for the World Championships. The 24-year-old won the European Cup 10,000m in April, and in early June in Belgium improved to 27:55.66.
Fitschen has just one chance of participating in the World Championships 10,000m: he has to run faster than Pollmächer, and in so doing make a big improvement on his personal best of 28:10.94. Only if two or three German athletes had run the “A” standard of 27:49.00 can more than one run at the World Championships.
“For 10,000 m, I just don’t have the base for times like that this year,“ said Fitschen. His fitness has also been hampered because he was concentrating on his physics studies this winter and consequently had less time for heavy training. “I want to finish my studies by the end of the year to concentrate on the Olympics in 2008.”
“I don’t expect pacemakers at the German championships because everyone will be out to win the title for themselves,“ replied Fitschen to the question of whether he, Gabius and Pollmächer might agree to work together to get the “A” standard. As a trio they might have a chance - provided Fitschen is in considerably better form by then. In any case, the performance in Kassel indicates quite clearly that he won’t meet the 5,000m standard for the World Championships either.
