HIS athletes may have smashed just about every world record in women's middle-distance running this year, but China's best-known coach, Ma Junren, is not predicting any fireworks when his team travel to Spain today for the World Cup Marathon in San Sebastian.
''I will be happy if they just break the three-hour barrier,'' Ma told startled reporters at a press conference in Beijing yesterday.
Given that Ma has boasted on numerous occasions that his team of 18 women athletes have been running a marathon at high altitude just about every day, the incredibly slow time he predicted for San Sebastian came as quite a shock.
In a rare public appearance, the athletics guru explained that his team had devoted all their energy to the 7th National Games in September and were now going through a period of ''readjustment.'' ''The main purpose of going to Spain is for the runners to study other athletes and improve their marathon performance,'' Ma said. ''We have no great expectations or high hopes.'' In all, five runners from the Liaoning provincial team, including world record-holders Wang Junxia and Qu Yunxia, will take part in the marathon, but none of the athletes attended yesterday's press conference.
''We have just arrived in Beijing from high-altitude training and, tomorrow, we leave for Spain. The runners need time to rest and recuperate,'' he said.
''I cannot allow any interviews before the marathon because they need to concentrate on the event.'' Ma's highly protective attitude towards his young athletes has once again fuelled speculation that he has something to hide.
