Viktor Rothlin’s Marathon journey to be Europe’s best

As a World bronze and a European silver medallist, Viktor Rothlin has quite rightly earned a reputation as one of the finest and most respected Championship Marathon runners.

But as the man from Kerns in central Switzerland will testify it has been a long, hard journey to the top, and one which his parents, initially, strongly objected to him pursuing.

Rothlin recalls being inspired to take up running after watching his compatriot Markus Ryffel win 5,000m silver behind Said Aouita at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

However, his running ambitions did not meet with the approval of his hard working parents.

"Since I was a 10-year-old and I watched Markus Ryffel win silver at in the 5,000m I wanted to be like Markus," Rothlin told European Athletics. "But I came from a typical Swiss family that liked me at home playing music and working on my education."

Despite his parent's lack of enthusiasm for their son's passion, such was Rothlin's single-mindedness and determination to compete in athletics they were prepared to compromise and strike a deal. Rothlin could continue to run only providing he maintained his high standards at school.

Relieved to be given the opportunity to run, the young Rothlin kept his side of the bargain and worked industriously at school. On the track, too, his hard work started to pay dividends and he qualified to compete for Switzerland at the 1993 European Junior Championships in San Sebastian where he performed with distinction to finish sixth in the 5,000m final.

"I think when I started to qualify for international races my parents saw running as something worthwhile," Rothlin, now aged 33, explained.

But despite making a rapid ascent up the ranks as a Junior, his switch to performing consistently as a Senior did not run quite as smoothly. He broke his foot aged 20 and spent a number of years hampered by injury and struggled to fulfil his Junior talent. Even when he finally qualified for a Major Championship the experience proved humbling as he trailed home last in the 10,000m final at the 1998 European Championships in Budapest and was lapped by both the gold and silver medallists; Antonio Pinto of Portugal and Germany's Dieter Baumann.

In the wake of this performance Rothlin faced a tough choice,

"I thought do I go back to my parents and do a normal job or do I move up to the Marathon," admitted Rothlin.

He opted to persist with athletics and move up in distance and it is a decision he has never regretted. On his debut over the 26.2 mile distance he ran a solid 2:13:36 in Hamburg, and the following year finished 36th at the Sydney Olympic Marathon.

The self-coached Rothlin's steady progress continued in 2001 as he recorded a new personal best of 2:10:54 to finish eighth in the Berlin Marathon and he was 16th at the 2002 European Championships followed by a 14th place finish in the following year's World Championships in Paris.

The Athens Olympics was to prove a disappointment as he was forced to drop out of the Marathon at the 25km point through injury, but Rothlin finally got into his stride at the 2005 New York Marathon.

On the streets of the Big Apple he finished seventh in 2:11:44 behind Paul Tergat giving a good account against World-class opposition.

"That really was the big turnaround for me and the moment I believed anything was possible," explained Rothlin. "That is where the change in my mind came that I was not far away from the World's best Marathoners."

His optimism and new-found self belief was justified in the most decisive manner on in Gothenburg last year when he picked up a silver medal behind Italy's great Olympic Champion Stefano Baldini at the European Championships. Since then Rothlin has backed up this form by setting a new Swiss record of 2:08:20 to win the Zurich Marathon in spring and at the World Championships in Osaka August he took an unexpected bronze medal in the Marathon behind Luke Kibet of Kenya.

The Swiss athlete was involved in a memorably tense tussle for bronze as the lead chopped and changed several times in the final kilometres before a late surge over the final 2km secured the final podium position in 2:17:28 for Rothlin.

"I run between 30 and 35km on my long runs and 5x1km on the track maybe my training helped in the later stages," he replied of his strong final 2km in Japan.

Rothlin also revealed a strange phenomenon. He has successfully dreamt his finishing position in the weeks leading up to all of his big races.

Before the 2004 Athens Marathon he correctly dreamed he would finish the race. Prior to Gothenburg he was second in his sleep and leading up to Osaka, guess what? He finished third in his dreams. But how does he prove his dreams really happened?

"After I have my dream I put my finishing position in an envelope and I open it in front of the other journalists after the race."

All of Rothlin's focus is now fixed on Beijing. He plans to run an early season Marathon to prepare for the Olympic Games and after winning bronze in Osaka he has encouragingly shown he can compete in the oppressive heat and humidity he is likely to face in China in August.

He credits his ability to perform well in the heat and humidity down to regular training periods in Kenyan alongside two-time London Marathon winner Martin Lel and a physically demanding weekly training workload of between 200 and 230km.

But has he yet dreamed about where he will finish in the Beijing Olympic Marathon?

"No, no not yet," he said. "But I expect to have a very good race and make the top ten and, of course, you always dream of the top three. My theory is if you dream it, you can do it."

Source/Courtesy
European Athletics (EAA)
https://www.european-athletics.org/
EAA