Tadesse Abraham with a Swiss record

It could also have gone wrong. At 40 kilometers, the trainer called out to him that if he accelerated, it could even be enough for the Swiss record. And Tadesse Abraham hit the gas, flew across the asphalt, faster than the whole two hours before. Then, shortly before the finish, there was a very sharp left turn, Abraham had to slow down and avoid slower runners of the half marathon. It was close, very close.

The clock stopped at 2:06:38 – two seconds below his previous national record. He had already flirted with the course record, but the Swiss record straight away? “I totally surprised myself,” said Abraham at the finish. And he was hardly alone with this surprise, at least he had to say something after the race: “I showed it to everyone who had already written me off because of my age.”

Tadesse Abraham lost two years because of Corona

Abraham turns 40 in August, which is almost a biblical age even in marathons, where the best performances are often only achieved in the third decade of life. He set the previous record in Seoul in 2016; Back then, the carbon shoe that sparked a revolution in long-distance running didn’t exist yet. But Abraham doesn’t want to attribute the best time to a shoe that enables better kilometer times. Compared to the route in Seoul, the Zurich marathon is more demanding – with small inclines and significantly more curves.

In any case, Sunday’s record is certainly the result of ideal weather conditions and a perfect race strategy: Abraham had instructed his two pacemakers to start more defensively. But after only one kilometer he noticed that his legs were turning completely loosely – and he instructed the two companions to increase the speed immediately. That may have been risky, but the experience of two dozen marathons was enough for his decision. In the end, he ran the second half more than a minute faster than the first half.

And now? Abraham, who fled Eritrea to Switzerland in 2004 and was naturalized ten years later, is spoiled for choice: the European Championships are coming up in July, and the World Championships a month later. But it could be that he misses both title fights at the same time, for a big marathon. Abraham gives himself a few days for the rest of the program. Although he doesn’t hide the fact that it’s also about making money: starting in a well-known marathon could bring him decent bonuses. He lost two years because of Corona, says Abraham, so there is a lot of catching up to do financially.

But he already has a fixed goal: the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. He is also willing to break new ground for this. In February he flew back to Kenya for training for the first time in twelve years. He had bad memories of it because he had injured himself during each of the three stays there, and the stony ground was not good for him. But now he felt it was time to change his life as a professional runner. So he traveled to Iten, stayed in a Swiss pension and was surprised that he didn’t know any of the runners there anymore.

Abraham trained with Julien Wanders in Kenya

He told them he once trained with Kenyan greats like London Marathon winners Martin Lel and Felix Limo. And he was even more surprised: These names only caused a shrug. However, the senior joined the youngsters, more specifically: the training group around 26-year-old Geneva native Julien Wanders, who has been living in Kenya for years as a great marathon hope. Abraham benefited from the new environment, was able to recover from an injury and trained according to the plans of the Wanders coach.

So are Abraham’s months-long training stays in Ethiopia a thing of the past? It could well be. “In Kenya I don’t have to drive for hours to train,” enthuses Abraham. And perhaps Wanders, who disappointed in his marathon debut a week ago, would also benefit from Abraham’s presence. The cool, considered nature of the record runner would certainly do the impetuously starting Wanders good.