Bairu Hoping To Use Toronto To Qualify For Olympics

He is making a comeback after dropping out of New York last year.

Canadian marathoner Simon Bairu has Olympic dreams in his head. The 28-year-old will be taking part in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 16 with the hopes of qualifying for the Canadian Olympic team. At last year’s ING New York City Marathon, Bairu, who was making his debut at the distance, had to drop out with three miles to go. The race’s erratic pace did not sit well with him and he ended up taking an ambulance to the hospital.

Despite his difficulties in New York, last year was a breakthrough year for Bairu. He finished 12th overall at the 2010 World Cross Country Championships. He then broke the Canadian 10,000m record, clocking 27:23.63.

But after New York, Bairu struggled with injuries for the next three months–most notably, an inflammation of the sciatic nerve.

Bairu is coached by former University of Wisconsin coach Jerry Schumacher.

“Jerry always talks about ‘defining moments,’” Bairu said of his coach. “A lot of people kind of thought that maybe the marathon just wasn’t my event. Our motivation is that Toronto is a ‘defining moment’ which is my chance to come back stronger and better because of New York.”

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