Incheon: Four years back, Aliah Saeed was at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China competing in the 1,500 metres and 5,000 metres with her teammate Bethlem Desalegn.
A second Asian Games and Alia is a much better runner – more confident, more vocal – and not the shy, unassuming girl always seeking to be in the background. The secret of this transformation perhaps lies in the coach – an unassuming man who has witnessed the rough and tumble of track and field in his heydays during the late 1980s.
Abdi Bile was in the background once again as Aliah Saeed beamed and hogged the limelight after winning her first-ever Asian Games gold medal on Saturday. She was all over the place at the reception area of the Asiad Main Stadium. She was excited. She wanted pictures, loads of them.
She sought pictures with the officials of the UAE delegation in Incheon, pictures with the media, pictures even with the Korean driver who has been driving her to the practice ground and back, even with the pretty girls who adorn the podium at the track and field medals ceremony.
“This is what a win does to an athlete. It gives the athlete a new belief. Coaching is not just about going out and doing sets and running times. It is also about building up the personality of every athlete,” coach Bile told Gulf News from a remote corner of the reception area.
If he wanted to, Bile could have been part of the limelight. After all, he has been guiding this athlete for the past nearly two years after being drafted by the UAE Athletics Association President Ahmad Al Kamali. But he is not one to do so. “She is the champion. You should speak to her first,” he said as he moved further away.
Bile was a champion in his own right. He won the 1,500-metre World Championship in 1987, running the final 800-metre in 1:46 flat – the fastest final 800-metre of any 1,500-metre race in history. He was also a two-time Olympian for Somalia in 1984 and 1996 while dominating his event in the late 1980s. Bile was also ranked No.1 in the world at the mile distance in 1989 and he was World Cup champion in the 1,500-metre in 1989 and a two-time World Grand Prix winner.
But here he was doing his best at mentoring a girl he believes is yet to give her best to her adopted country.
“The poor girl has gone through a lot of troubles in the past one year, including injuries and even a lack of self-belief. But now I can slowly see the transformation in her. At first, she was not too keen in the women’s 10,000 metres.
“Now I can see how she can progress and make this event her own even at the international level. I believe this is the start for Aliah Saeed. This is her moment in the sun and I am always around to guide her,” he added.
He had a special word of praise for the UAE National Olympic Committee (UAE NOC) for believing and trusting his work.
“I wish they continue with this programme of building up top-level athletes. They may have been born elsewhere, but today these athletes are representing the UAE. They are flying the national flag where ever they go,” he said.
“I am proud to be part of this moment, and I am sure there will be many more such moments for me to cherish as the coach,” he added.
