Is the European Running dead? This provocative question was the British athletics magazine, Spikes' in an issue last year regarding the top sports a number of athletes, officials and managers.
Here is part two of this survey:
Jos Hermens (Netherlands), former world class runner and now a successful manager of several recreational athletes, including Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele:
"The skiing in Europe is definitely not dead, but he is struggling. I think sometimes we overdo it with problems. We must accept that there is in our sport athletes from over 200 countries that are in competition. We can have heroes and they are proud when they do not come from Europe - such as Maria Mutola of Mozambique.
Bolt is not European, but look at the audience at the World Championships in 2009 - its nationality is not matter. Sometimes we are a bit too chauvinistic and nationalistic. Of course, we all like to have is one that local hero ', but the strength of our sport that athletes can gain from 40 to 50 nations medals. "
Mark Butler (IAAF statisticians, including BBC):
"For the number of Europeans, it is attractive to fully concentrate on racing. The talent base is thin, so the peak too weak. And the stars that we have to be respected by the media less and less. If David Beckham changes his hairstyle, which is 100 times more interesting for the media as a world record by Kenenisa Bekele. And the children who read this then go to the hairdresser rather than to put the running shoes. "
Lidia Chojecka (Poland), three times European indoor champion in the 1,500 and 3,000 m:
"It is very difficult to run against the Ethiopians and Kenyans. I think that Spaniards can keep up. I do not know if athletes train today still as hard as 20 years ago. I'm not saying that Europeans are lazy, but I was in Ethiopia and saw how extremely hard to train the runners there. The Europeans can improve, but the key is, I think, in more altitude training. I go three times a year for three weeks in the altitude training, but maybe not enough. "
Jukka Keskisalo (Finland), European champion in the 3,000 m steeplechase in 2006:
"Running in Europe is not far away from death. Today there are so many other sports and perhaps no longer running so in 'as before. At the highest level is crucial that we cooperate closely with each other. The U.S. runners make good and they get really good results. "
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