By Joe Battaglia

PRAGUE -- The question posed to Biruktayit Degefa Eshetu was straightforward and yet so complex.

How fast do you need to run in order to qualify for Ethiopia’s Olympic marathon team?

After a moment’s pause, no doubt taking in to consideration the notoriously fickle nature of team selection in East Africa, Eshetu came up with a lofty goal for Sunday’s Volkswagen Prague Marathon.

Watch the Volkswagen Prague Marathon LIVE on FloTrack Sunday!

“I think I would need to run 2:21 or 2:22,” she said through her interpreter, a response which drew applause from Carlo Capalbo, President of the Prague International Marathon Organizing Committee.

Why? Should Eshetu achieve that lofty goal, not only would she break the course record but she would land in the Top 55 all-time, two achievements which should grab the attention of Ethiopian officials.

While Rio selection has been an underlying theme to every marathon during this spring racing season, it is foremost on the minds of elite runners in the Prague Marathon, which will serve as the last realistic chance for many to qualify for the Games. 

With a relatively flat layout – there are only about 150m lost in elevation – and ideal weather forecasted (58F/14C) for the start, dozens of runners have entered the race with the explicit goal of achieving Olympic qualification.

“For almost 40 runners from the elite field, this race is not only for the podium but it is a run for Rio,” Jana Moberly, elite athlete coordinator for PIM, said. “This race is extremely important for Olympic selection to the national teams in Ireland, Greece, Eritrea, Brazil, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Israel, Italy, Finland, Slovakia, and Portugal. It’s their last chance.” 

For Eshetu, the road to Rio selection will be difficult as four of the five fastest times run in 2016 have been by her fellow countrywomen. That is why the focus of her training since winning the Houston Marathon in January has been on increasing the speed of all her workouts.

“My goal for Sunday is to run faster than my PR of 2:23:51,” Eshetu, who trains in Albuquerque, N.M., said. “I have to run a fast time.”

If Eshetu’s odds of making an Olympic team are long, the chances for Felix Kandie are otherworldly as Kenya has seen seven athletes just this year run under his personal-best of 2:07:07, and that doesn’t even count Dennis Kimetto and Wilson Kipsang, the current and former world record holders in the marathon.

But that hasn’t stopped Kandie from thinking about running a fast enough time in defense of his men’s title to legitimately throw his hat into his country’s already-overloaded ring of Olympic candidates.


"Based on past performances, with hard work a time of (under) 2:05 is possible,” Kandie said. “I will try and see what I can get for a time. This is the last chance that we have to make the team. It is really hard but I will try my best. I have given everything I have in preparation, and it has been very good. I prepared hard last year and I won last year. I came back for the half-marathon, and I am ready again this year now.”

Runners from the Olympic host nation of Brazil will be jockeying for final Olympic positioning throughout this 26.2-mile run through the Czech capital. 

Based on time, Marilson Gomes Dos Santos (2:11:00 Hamburg, 2015), Paulo Paula (2:11:02 Fukuoka, 2015) and Solonei Silva (2:13:15 Milan, 2015) stand to be chosen to Brazil’s men’s team. But Sunday’s race is a final opportunity for those three to solidify their standing and for a runner like Damiao Anselmo DeSouza to crack the top three and earn a spot. On the women’s side, Adriana Silva (2:35:28 Nagoya, 2015), Marily Santos (2:37:25 Seville, 2015) and Graciete Santana (2:38:33 Seville, 2016) will be looking to solidify their top-three standing.

In Eritrea, achieving the qualifying standard of 2:13:00 is no guarantee for selection considering Ghirmay Ghereslassie (2:07:46, London, 2016), Amanuel Mesel (2:08:18 Warsaw, 2015), Kibrom Ghebrezgiabhier (2:09:36 London, 2015), Stifanos Tewelde (2:09:16 Frankfurt, 2015) and Yared Asmerom (2:09:41 Tokyo, 2015) have all gone way below the standard. 

For Asmerom (2:07:27 PR), Beraki Beyene (2:08:27 PR), Yohannes Ghebregergish (debut) and Samuel Tsegay (2:07:28 PR), ending the Sunday in the top three on the national list is all that matters.

Among local running fans, all eyes will be on a group of Czech runners looking to achieve their country’s qualifying time in their last opportunity to do so. Eva Vrabcova, a three-time Winter Olympian in cross-country skiing, will be making her marathon debut in a bid to become the 133rd athlete ever to compete in the Summer and Winter Olympics. The 30-year-old finished 10th in a personal-best 71:06 in last month’s Prague Half Marathon and needs to run 2:35 or faster to punch her ticket to Rio.

On the men’s side, Jan Kreisinger, Jiri Homolac, Vit Pavlista and Petr Pechek will all be in pursuit of the Czech Athletic Federation’s qualifying standard of 2:15.

The Prague Marathon will be live-streamed and archived on FloTrack Sunday April 8.

National Olympic Qualifying Times Of Note

Men

Brazil: 2:19

Czech Republic: 2:15

Eritrea: 2:13

Finland: 2:16

Greece: 2:19

Ireland: 2:14:30

Kyrgyzstan: 2:19

Mongolia: 2:19

Portugal: 2:14:30

Slovakia: 2:19


Women

Brazil: 2:45

Czech Republic: 2:35

Ireland 2:37

Italy: 2:30:30

Kyrgyzstan: 2:45

Mongolia: 2:45