Nine months before the Olympic marathon of the Paris Olympics, scheduled for August 10, 2024, Koen Naert gave himself a good dose of confidence at the same time as a good 5th place, this Sunday, in the prestigious New York marathon.
Six years after his first participation (8th in 2h13.21), marked by severe dehydration at the end of the race and cramps which even forced him to… walk in Central Park, the 2018 European champion, author this time of A time of 2h10.25 (the 6th of his career) definitively chased away this bad memory. And improved the best result of a Belgian in this event.
Our compatriot, who beat his record in Rotterdam in April, distinguished himself again. ©Belga
Koen Naert will leave the United States with a check for $15,000 which will allow him to partially recover the costs incurred by the Excelsior athlete in order to arrive in New York the previous week in order to digest the time difference and to acclimatize perfectly.
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A difficult course, which is similar to that of the Paris Olympic Games.
“But it’s an investment that I make with pleasure,” underlines the person concerned, aware that his performance also depends largely on this parameter.
Kenya to prepare
Better than anyone, the Flandrien, whose meticulous preparation we know, knows that the marathon, which he was competing for the 14th time in his career, is really a matter of details!
Koen Naert (red jersey, fluorescent yellow headband) did excellently. ©AFP or licensors
It was also on the strength of excellent preparation which took place in Iten, Kenya, that the 34-year-old Roularien set foot on American soil. His choice fell on New York “for its difficult course, which is similar to that of the Paris Olympics, and for the duels that take place there”. Forget the clock, this time it was all about learning as much as possible from his performance.
Passed in 1h03.56 halfway through (10th), more than a minute from the future Ethiopian winner Tamirat Tola (in 2h04.58, event record), Koen Naert delivered a magnificent second part of the race during from which he overcame several competitors.
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I listened to my body and followed my own tempo.
“I had to wait a little before learning that I had finished fifth, it’s fantastic,” comments our compatriot, who had the 6th entry time with his record of 2h06.56. “Before the race, I didn’t really know where I was going to finish. I listened to my body, followed my own tempo and I moved up the rankings at the end of the race, it’s a good lesson. Compared to before, I also feel stronger when the road gets higher and that’s another good point. It’s positive for next year.”
In the coming months, Koen Naert will be content with two half-marathons “to work on my basic speed”, without setting out again for the legendary distance of 42.195km before the Games. A deadline that he will prepare for again in Kenya with confidence at the zenith!
2023-11-06 08:07:00
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