Coaching great Sentayehu Eshetu passes on top tips
Cross-country runners at a Shropshire school are being put through their paces by one of the world's best coaches.
Shrewsbury School is hosting a visit by Sentayehu Eshetu who has flown in from Ethiopia as a coach in residence.
Eshetu is regarded as a brilliant coach and possibly the world's best discoverer of running talent, whose protege Derarta Tulu became the first African female to win Olympic gold in Barcelona in 1992, winning the 10,000m title.
He has also trained the Bekele brothers – Kenenise is a three-time Olympic gold medallist and younger brother Tiriku Bekele won bronze at London this summer.
He coached Tirunesh Dibaba, gold medallist in London in the 10,000m, and can count over a dozen Olympic medallists and world record holders amongst his former charges, all from the village of Bekoji, which only has 16,000 inhabitants.
Peter Middleton, a teacher at Shrewsbury School who is charge of the cross-country running club, said: "In short, 'Coach' as he likes to be known, is running royalty and we are honoured to have him at the school for a week."
The residency is being financed by a former pupil and runner from the school, and has been facilitated by Malcolm Anderson, whose charity Running Across Borders helps Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes and coaches.
Mr Middleton added: "Cross-country is a major sport at the school with over 60 runners competing regularly.
"We have some exciting runners, who are all very excited about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get coaching from one of the very best in the world."
