SBS VICELAND and will showcase all the World Athletics Cross Country Championship events on offer from 3:30pm to 8:00pm (AEDT) on Saturday, February 18.
Two-time Olympic silver medallist Tergat has returned to Australia as ambassador for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships to be held in Bathurst on February 18, over 22 years on from his narrow failure to secure gold in the 10,000 metre track event at the 2000 Olympic Games.
Regarded as one of the greatest long-distance runners of all time, the Kenyan, who prevailed in every edition of the World Cross Country Championships from 1995 to 1999, spoke of the significance of his arrival in Sydney ahead of the event.
“It’s humbling that I was chosen to be the ambassador to the sport that I love so much," Tergat told SBS Sport.
"Winning five times in a row was one of the biggest accolades that I have ever had in my career."
While also a two-time World Half Marathon champion, Tergat's 10,000-metre track efforts at both the Olympic Games and the World Championships saw him claim silver twice at each event - losing out to Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie on all four occasions.
Drawing upon his success in both events, the Kenyan reflected on the key differences between the 10,000-metre track event and the cross country ahead of the 2023 championships in Bathurst.
“The 10,000 metres is flat, it is a standard,” he said.
“Cross Country taught me a lot of lessons – as much as you have been working and training so that you are able to compete and win medals for your country, you are also competing with the best of the best athletes.
“Athletes from the middle distance to the marathon - this is where all of the endurance and the agility meet together. It remains one of the biggest and toughest races that I have ever competed in because of the weather and the way it was with the terrain.
"When you are competing, you are not just looking at your opponents - you are also keeping an eye on the course itself which is the terrain, the twists and the distance itself. So, as much as you are competing as a team – sometimes there is a hill, there is a downhill, and that is one thing that makes the uniqueness of the cross country."
Speaking with the Sydney Harbour as the backdrop, Tergat reflected on the heart-stopping 2000 Olympic final where Gebrselassie crossed the line only 0.09 seconds ahead of the Kenyan.
"I still hope to get one minute to visit the Olympic stadium here in Sydney," he said.
"2000 will remain one of the biggest events that I will always remember in my life, because it was the last event that I was competing in the track before I moved to the marathon.
"This was an event that I lost by under a second, but again, this is the beauty of sport and I celebrated the winner because there should be a winner and a loser at the same time."
Shifting his attention to the upcoming World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Tergat provided some insight into what audiences should expect from the action on Mount Panorama.
"It is the first [Cross Country] championships held in Australia. I still remember the first race in Oceania, in Auckland 1988, so it is a big thing," he said.
"The course itself is a motor racing course so it will be very challenging for the athletes to handle - they will not only be running against each other, but because of the way the course has been made it will be more of a challenge."
SBS VICELAND and will showcase all the World Athletics Cross Country Championship events on offer from 3:30pm to 8:00pm (AEDT) on Saturday, February 18.
