| Who or what inspired you to become an athlete ? |
| I started off as an athlete because I could’nt concentrate on other things. Looking Abebe Bikila winning the Rome Marathon, the passion for athletics got through my veins. I owe Abebe huge amount. |
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| Wat was your most memorable performance ? |
| One when I won the Ethiopian Athletics Championship in the 70s. These are childhood memories which I cannot forget. And then the big memorable event was the Moscow Summer Oympics in 1980. |
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| Can you give three tips for how athletes must be trained ? |
| Work hard, listen to your body and don’t be afraid to push yourself. |
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| We all know your background in youth sports and athletics. Have you trained a lot of young athletes ? |
| Well first of all I was a youth athlete so I guess that’s where it all started. As far as training young athletes I’ve worked with athletes as young as 10-12 years in a variety of disciplines. |
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| The age old debate is how should a runner be before he starts running. What’s your view on that controversial topic ? |
| I don’t think it’s controversial when you understand what you are doing. I’ve heard medical experts say kids should’nt run until they are out of puberty. I doubt it. |
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| As a coach of Alfa Athletics Club, is there a particular criteria or method that you follow when nurturing young athletes over a long period of time ? |
| Agility needs to be developed routinely. During our workouts, I try to encourage and enhance a balanced training program based upon endurance work which means strength and lot of agility. |
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| When they are young and starters, should athletes specialize in a particular discipline or participate in a number of different sports ? |
| Unless the sport involves peaking at a young age like gymnastics, I really feel that for runners to start on various disciplines is far more important that following specifics when you are too young. In the field I know, which is athletics, great athletes who specialized early, yet had long and successful careers, are exceptions to the rule. |
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| Mr Tura thank you for your very insightful opinion. |
