Bethlem Desaleyn's road to Rio starts at Moscow

The ultimate destination on Bethlem Desaleyn's map is the 2016 Olympics at Brazil, writes Gary Meenaghan.

UAE women’s middle-distance runner Bethlem Desaleyn, centre, has improved since her disappointing turn at the 2012 Games and arrives at Moscow with the full confidence of her coach, Abdi Bile.

The Olympic Games are not due to arrive in Brazil for another three years, but for Bethlem Desaleyn the preparation - and perspiration - starts now.

The UAE's most prominent middle-distance athlete has a road map to Rio 2016 and it is as clearly marked as the running track on which she will compete.

"There are many upcoming events in the coming months that we expect Betty to do well in," said Ahmed Al Kamali, the president of the UAE Athletics Federation.

"Diamond League, Islamic Games, World Indoor Championships, Asian Games … By 2016 we will have made a big vault from our current position and if her progress continues in the same way, hopefully she will be on the podium at Rio."

Desaleyn's first stop is Moscow, where over the next five days she will appear at the World Championships.

She takes part in the heats for the women's 1,500 metre on Sunday before, if all goes to plan, she will follow up with a Tuesday semi-final and a Thursday final

It marks the Addis Ababa-born athlete's first outing against global opposition since the London Olympics last summer where she represented the UAE on the world stage for the first time.

Desaleyn's relationship with the Emirates began in 2010, two years after Al Kamali was appointed president of the athletics federation.

The Emirati had watched closely the likes of Turkey, Germany and Great Britain prosper with athletes born outside their state borders and he had travelled to Ethiopia with the intention to handpick talent that could improve the standard of local athletes.

Al Kamali settled on Desaleyn, now 21, and her compatriot Alia Saeed Mohammed, who were both eligible for naturalisation under the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) transfer of allegiance rules.

Since March 2010, both women have competed under the flag of the UAE.

"When they arrived from Ethiopia, there was lots of negativity, some even from within my own board," Al Kamali said of his decision to import the two women from Africa. "But I was sure I was doing the right thing for the country. And this is nothing new; if you look at other countries, this is common."

Fifty of the 500 athletes in the Team GB squad at last year's Olympics were born abroad. Yet, while Team GB enjoyed a record medals haul last summer, Al Kamali's case for naturalising foreigners was not helped by Saeed's failure to qualify for London and Desaleyn finishing 14th from 15 athletes in her 1,500m heat. Her recorded time was more than five seconds slower than her personal best.

Desaleyn complained of a cold, while the federation lamented visa issues that had delayed her entry to the UK, thus affecting her training schedule.

Al Kamali had another explanation: Six months after her London letdown, Desaleyn was provided a new coach in the form of the Somalian Abdi Bile, the 1987 men's 1,500m world champion.

Waiting half a year to bring in Bile was, Al Kamali concedes, "a mistake", but the change has proved pivotal to the improved performance of the country's first female track Olympian. At Pune last month, Desaleyn became the first UAE athlete to take gold at the Asian Championships when she won the 1,500m and 5,000m.

She arrived at Moscow on Thursday having spent the past month in Sweden undergoing a programme of distance running and speed-walking.

"We don't arrive at Moscow with any expectations," Bile said. "If she does her best, then I will know what her best is and what it will take to really have her challenge. This is her first time running at a World Championships, though, so we just need to be patient and take it step-by-step.

"What we have done this year is make sure she continues on the trajectory we have in place and she is on track. At this stage, winning is not so important, although, of course, that is what we hope for and we are not taking anything lightly."

After Moscow, Desaleyn will return to Europe before flying to Indonesia in mid-September for the Islamic Solidarity Games. Immediately after that, preparations begin for the new season and the World Indoor Championships in Poland.

"Next year is a very important season for us as it is the Asian Games," Al Kamali said, referring to the event in South Korea. "The UAE Olympic committee are putting a big hope in athletics; they have very high expectations. We must make sure we are ready for this and our athletes are very much responsible for ensuring a good result. I am happy with the progress so far, but we cannot rest."

Bile reluctantly reveals a place in the finals is possible this week for Desaleyn and said he is using his experience to prepare her for what to expect: nerves, pressure and a stadium full of spectators.

Al Kamali, meanwhile, prefers to focus on the Islamic Games.

And Rio.

"Betty is already one of the best eight athletes in her discipline," he said. "In Indonesia, she can win gold. And in Brazil, she can get a podium if she follows the same progress.

"Of that I have no doubt."

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