Goumri seeks victory in New York City Marathon

Nov 1, 2008 - 10:12 AM By Simon Lewis PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

Martin Lel twice denied Abderrahim Goumri a major marathon victory in 2007. Now that the Kenyan is injured and unable to run, he is backing his Moroccan rival to win Sunday's ING New York City Marathon.

Goumri finished runner-up to Lel in both London and New York last year and the pair were set to clash in the Big Apple until the defending champion fractured his left foot while competing in the Lisbon half marathon in Portugal in September.

Lel will be in New York as an interested observer, hoping to maintain his World Marathon Majors Series lead and capture the $500,000 winner's prize, to be awarded on Monday.

When Goumri, 32, bumped into his old foe in a hotel lobby on Friday, Lel was happy to anoint the Moroccan as his successor.

"I met him this morning at the hotel, and he said I should win this year," Goumri said with a laugh. "I told him I want you this year, too."

Aside from wanting another crack at Lel, Goumri said his rival's absence is double-edged.

"I am sad because it's an exciting race," Goumri said. "Having someone strong at the finish, it's so exciting for me, the marathon, to test yourself.

"It's okay, I am so happy because I don't have such a strong athlete, and when someone is not running you know you have like some (better) percentage to win. I am so sad for him, too. I hope for him to get well and come back to the race."

Goumri will not complain too loudly about Lel's absence, though, as he tries to finally convert his near misses into a major marathon success.

"This year, I know it's something special because all the three marathons I do, I was just losing at the last moment," Goumri said. "This year, I am so excited to do a big race in New York, and I hope I can win on Sunday. I'm feeling very well, and I train very well. I feel after the Olympics I am strong ''

Among Goumri's rivals will be friend and fellow Moroccan Abderrahime Bouramdane, who is making his debut in New York having asked race director Mary Wittenberg for a place in the elite field earlier in the year when he was getting ready to run in the Boston Marathon.

"I said, 'If you finish in the top four, we'll welcome you to New York'," Wittenberg, president and CEO of New York Road Runners recalled, and Bouramdane kept to her to her word after he finished as runner-up to Robert Cheruiyot.

Other contenders are former champions Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil, Paul Tergat of Kenya and Hendrik Ramaala of South Africa.

Tergat and Ramaala share a common bond in New York, following the closest finish in race history in 2005. That was when Ramaala, as defending champion, and Tergat sprinted shoulder to shoulder towards the finish line in Central Park, the South African launching himself into a dive across the line only to come up short.

Tergat comes into the race for his first marathon since the 2007 London race while Ramaala was third last year and dos Santos eighth. Both Ramaala and dos Santos are also looking to bounce back from Olympic disappointment, the South African finishing 44th in Beijing and the Brazilian 20th.