HONOLULU (07-Dec) -- Last August 27th Tatyana Petrova demonstrated that she belongs in the top echelon of world athletics when she earned a silver medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. It was a run she made with confidence, and her performance put USD 30,000 in prize money in her bank account.
But on Sunday, she'll be taking on a completely different challenge, one she admits she may not be entirely ready for: the 35th edition of the Honolulu Marathon.
"There was not a lot of time, a month and a half," she said in an interview of her abbreviated marathon training program in the high altitude of Kislovodsk. "I am afraid that it might not be enough."
But for Petrova, 24, her diverse experiences in the sport might be enough to carry her to the medal stand. She was the European Under-23 Championships silver medalist at 5000m in 2003, earning her the attention of a U.S.-based Russian agent, Konstantin Selinevich. She won her first road race later that year in the United States, pocketing a small check of $500. When she returnd to the U.S. for road racing the following year she was hard to beat, winning thousands of dollars in prize money in cities like Austin and Dallas, Tex., and Richmond, Va. She had not abandoned the track, but still had yet to run a single steeplechase.
Later in 2004, at the tender age of 21, she ran her first marathon here in Honolulu, finishing fifth in 2:36:44 (she was actually a pacemaker who decided to finish). The following year she focused mostly on the roads, but came back to the track to win a gold medal at 10,000m in the European U23 Championships, also earning the silver at 5000m. She ran her second marathon, finishing 8th at Chicago, in a personal best 2:31:03. That was her last attempt at the distance.
Petrova only turned to the steeplechase in 2006, and immediately found her calling. In a rarely-contested indoor 3000m steeple, she ran a world best 9:07.00 at the Russian Indoor Championships in her debut in the event. She had a great outdoor season, capped by her silver medal performance in the European Championships in Göteborg.
Sitting on a bench in the lobby of one of Honolulu's better beachfront hotels, Petrova said that her success in the heat and humidity of Osaka did not fortell success here. "When I ran there it was only a short distance," she said. "When there is humidity it is hard to run a long distance."
She said her longest run before Sunday's race was 35 km and she was putting in 170 km weeks. Not bad, but did she get any advice from her compatriot, Alevtina Biktimirova, who finished second here last year and was seated next to her on the bench? The two exchanged embarrassed smiles.
"No, she didn't say," said Petrova when asked if Biktimirova had given her any advice about the course.
When asked by this reporter, Biktimirova tipped her hand, if only slightly. "It was not very hard," she said. "It was OK."
Clearly a contender for gold at next summer's Olympic Games in the steeplechase, Petrova preferred not to speculate about her chances in Beijing. "It's big secret," she said. "There is still a lot of time."
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