shaheen in action

DOHA Qatar’s pride and fit-again Saif Saaeed Shaheen pledged he won’t pass up a chance to run in the 2012 London Olympic Games. Call it quirk of fate or callousness, the 3000m steeplechase world record owner Shaheen, gifted with aggressive finish, had twice missed the glory of being in the electrifying atmosphere of the quadrennial games. First his parent federation threw road blocks before the 2004 Athens Games and then injury forced him to watch the 2008 Beijing Games on TV. If he missed the Olympics twice, the athletics world also strongly felt his absence — particularly his devastating finish. He aggravated his knee injury last year by making an abortive bid to stage a comeback when not fully fit. Shaheen is now feeling healthy and raring to perform on the track for his adopted home. The steeplechase marvel, talking ahead of the Doha Super Grand Prix, vowed that he won’t call halts or quits before representing Qatar in the Olympic Games once. “My goal is to run in the Olympics. I won’t rest or retire before I achieve this dream,” said a determined Shaheen. “It is not about what people say. It is about what I believe in. I’ve set my eyes on the London Games and I’ll be there.” With three years to go for London Olympics, his first priority is to gain enough race fitness before the upcoming World championship in Berlin. He is confident to be in good physical shape for the August meet, where he had twice won the gold. “I have tremendous belief in myself. Only if I can have two-three good competitions, I’ll be in my old self. And I’d like to add here that my race (3,000m steeplechase) would be under eight (minutes),” asserted the star. Shaheen offered another reason for feeling upbeat. “Before coming here, I was able to do what I used to do. So I feel there is no reason why I can’t run fast again. This is what makes me confident.” Asked if he felt upset or frustrated during his injury time, Shaheen replied, “I didn’t get frustrated at all. I took it as one of the challenges of life. I used the time to relax my muscles. I thought it won’t be possible for me to make a comeback if I do not stay happy. If you can control here (indicating to his head), you can come through a difficult time strongly. That is what I exactly did,” commented Shaheen with a smile. (RT)