Recently-crowned Asian 10,000m champion Alia Saeed admits her exploits in Incheon, South Korea, are yet to sink in but that she already has her eyes on similar success at the World Championships next year.
Saeed, 23, made history for the UAE by claiming gold in the 10,000m race at the Asian Games in Incheon six weeks ago – the first ever athletics gold medal won by an Emirati at the quadrennial event.
She shaved more than 40 seconds off her personal best and national record to clock 31:51.86, which was well under the 32:39.39 she ran at the Asian Athletics Championships in Pune last year, where she took silver.
“Oh my God, I don’t know, I’m so happy. It’s the first time for me to run this fast, setting a UAE national record,” Saeed told Sport360° at the launch of the Dubai Holding Women’s Run, in which she will participate in on Friday.
“I did good training and I believed in myself and I knew that I had to get the gold. Last year, I had an injury in my leg so it wasn’t a good season for me. So thank God this year was better.
“In Korea, the people running with me were so strong. In lap 19 or something, I pushed and pushed but the girl (China’s Ding Changqin) was on my heels, I couldn’t shake her off. So when I got the gold I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it.”
Asian 10k champion Alia Saeed with her gold from Incheon @Sport_360 pic.twitter.com/MiaUdFMrXe
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) November 5, 2014
The astonishing part is that Saeed is originally a 5,000m runner. She only shifted her focus towards the 10,000m after her coach of two years, former 1,500m world champion Abdi Bile, insisted she was better suited for the longer distance.
In her own words, she had only run the 10,000m in competition “just two or three times”.
“Before I used to run the 5K but coach Abdi told me that the 10K was better for me. He pushed me and tailored my training more for the 10K and I liked it after that,” added Saeed.
“It’s not like the 1,500 and the 5K. You have to do a lot more for the 10K.
“I honestly never thought I could do the 10K. I kept telling him ‘I’m not going to run the 10K’ but then he’d tell me ‘no you have to run the 10K, better than everyone’. So I told him I’d do my best.
“I tried, did more training ahead of Korea and I gave it everything I got. And I got what I wanted.”
Bile, a Somali world champion in 1987, has had a positive impact on both Saeed and fellow Ethiopian-born Emirati Betlhem Belayneh, who last year also made history for the UAE by claiming two golds at the Asian Championships in Pune.
“He’s a really nice coach, we are so happy with him. He trains us so hard. It’s the hardest training I’ve ever done in my life,” said golden girl Saeed.
“Everything takes time. I think in Korea I felt for the first time that I could really be a champion.
“But now that I’ve done it, I want to do more in my next competitions.
“Now my eyes are set on the Worlds. I draw inspiration from (three-time Olympic and five-time world champion) Tirunesh Dibaba and (double Olympic and world champion) Meseret Defar.
“I focus on what they’ve achieved and I will try to do the same,” said Saeed.
Saeed will run the 10K in Friday’s Women’s Run which will take place on Jumeirah Beach Road, while Belayneh will line-up for the 5K.
