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Whenever they stepped onto the tracks, they created a stir. Middle-distance runner Steve Ovett and sprinter Linford Christie may be past the...

Whenever they stepped onto the tracks, they created a stir. Middle-distance runner Steve Ovett and sprinter Linford Christie may be past their prime but they continue to hold sway. The two British athletes, who are also the brand ambassadors of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon to be held here on Sunday were unanimous in conceding it is difficult to take up athletics as a career. Excerpts:

STEVE OVETT, 49

TALENT IS NOBODY8217;S MONOPOLY

It just happens. Look at the Australian cricket team now. Talent is not the monopoly of one country or region. After us Ovett, Sebastian Coe, Steve Cram came the runners from Kenya, Morocco, Ethiopia. The media loved to highlight our Ovett-Coe rivalry. Maybe, because we dominated for ten years they were able to paint a big canvas. Nowadays, the intense competition has limited the athletes8217; domination to two years or so.

MARK MY WORDS

Addressing the 200-odd underpriviliged Aakansha children, Ovett said: When I was a child, I sat in the audience like you to listen to David Hemory ace British hurdler. That was when it struck me why can8217;t I become a Olympic champion. Maybe, one of you too will become an Olympic champion

nbsp;	Know this

		nbsp;	8226; Steve Ovett was renowned for his 8216;finishing kicks8217; that saw him land two world records, Olympic gold 1980 and many titles in the 800m and 1500m in a career spanning 13 years 8226; The Jamaican-born Christie took up athletics after 19. His collection includes an Olypmic silver, one world championship, three European, three C8217;Wealth, ten European Cup and four World Cup medals. 9.83 secs was the best he clocked at the Stuttgart Worlds, 1993 8226; In 1999 the IAAF found Christie guilty of using banned substance nandrolene. The row died a natural death with his retirement.	nbsp;

ATHLETICS TOO DEMANDING

To earn a living out of athletics is too hard. I8217;d rather be in a good job where you don8217;t turn up for two days and still get paid

MARATHON TIPS

8226; Turn up an hour before the event. You should be in a relaxed frame of mind rather being gripped with last-minute tensions

8226; Do not train on eve of the race

8226; Have a light dinner, the day before. Eat pasta, rice which are rich in carbohydtrates

The definition of marathon: PAIN!

LINFORD CHRISTIE, 44

ANJU AND 25,000 OTHERS

Events such as the Mumbai Marathon will expand people8217;s knowledge in the sport. It shows that Anju Bobby George is not the only Indian athlete.

READY TO SERVE INDIA

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Coaching youngsters is one of my interests. It is my payback. Considering the size of the country, you should have the best sprinter. I find it hard that there are not quite enough sprinters from India at the world level. I8217;m open to it coaching assignments in India.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE 8230;

It is fine to run fast. But it is important how to run fast. And to perform year after year trying to consistently produce sub-10 seconds timings can create lot of problems

RUNNING 26 MILES IS NO FUN!

They say it is fun. Running 26 miles can never be fun for me. I8217;m lazy to become a distance runner. 200 or 400 metres is my limit. And if I can8217;t win it, I cannot take part. It is all about winning too. Maybe, I8217;ll egg the participants on Sunday on a bicycle.

SEEING AIN8217;T BELIEVING

It is very difficult to make a career in athletics. The money in the sport is not enough. The athletes don8217;t have much say in it. We are mere pawns.

ROPE-A-DOPE 8230;

Unfortunately, athletes are guilty until found innocent

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

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I firmly believe that you should never limit yourself and never allow anybody to limit yourself. Nobody knows what human beings are capable of doing. When they ran under 12 secs, timings of sub-10 in the 100m dash was unimaginable. Having said that, I don8217;t think sub-9 would be possible in this decade

I, ME MYSELF ..

My main rival was me. I never believed anyone was better than me.