The 2012 Olympic title was of many to elude Roger Federer in recent years ©Getty Images

He has still won at various points however, to take his total Grand Slam tally to 17, and he has combined this perseverance with a scarcely believable ability to avoid injury.

But after a steady, barely noticeable decline, in 2013 this became a slump. No Grand Slams and, for the first time, dispatched well before the latter stages in several of them. He even seemed somehow less likable - his charm suddenly transcended to arrogance in the face of his three younger and even more gracious rivals.

In a competitive as well as in a chronological sense Bekele's career has followed a broadly similar pattern. After bursting on to the senior scene with the first of five consecutive long and short race World Cross Country doubles in 2002, the diminutive Ethiopian won the 10,000 metre title at the 2003 World Championships in Paris.

Here his dominance was so great that he was able to deliberately slow the pace down to allow Haile Gebrselassie to catch up and thus ensure, not just victory, but an Ethiopian clean sweep.

Although he was defeated over 5,000m at those Championships, as well as at the Athens Olympics the following year, where Hichm El Guerrouj got the better of him in the ultimate miler versus distance runner showdown, Bekele would go on an eight year unbeaten run at the longest track event in a streak that included four world and two Olympic titles.

Kenenisa Bekele proved the best of the dominant Ethiopians at the 2003 World Championships, the first of four straight 10000m victories ©Popperfoto/Getty Images


Like Federer, 2004 and 2005 were his years of absolute dominance where he was breaking world records for fun as well as winning titles but, like Federer, he also continued to win even when those best years were behind him, and took the rarest of 5,000m and 10,000m doubles at Beijing 2008.

Like Federer, Bekele also turned to a fellow athlete for love. But while Federer eventually married Mirka Vavrinec, who he met when both were competing for Switzerland at the Sydney Olympics, Bekele's fiancé Alem Techale tragically collapsed and died in 2005 while the pair were together on a training run. Despite the grief he won the World Cross Championships just two months later and married film actress Danawit Gebregziabher in 2007.

At the 2007 Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the searing Kenyan humidity forced Bekele to pull out and handed victory instead to a great rival, Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese. But the Ethiopian got the better of the Eritrean at the 2008 event in Edinburgh. Then at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin over 10,000m, Tadese's relentless pace in the latter half of the race was too much for everyone. Everyone that is, except Bekele, who hung on to him before kicking away with a sense of divine inevitability over the final lap.

It was those Championships in Berlin which also provided my favourite Bekele moment when he out-sprinted Kenyan turned United States rival Bernard Lagat in the home straight of an otherwise pedestrian 5,000m race which he simply had no right to win over the second fastest 1500m runner in history

Since then Bekele has struggled with injuries which have robbed him of both his consistency and finishing pace. But while Britain's Mo Farah has taken over the summit of the sport, he has yet to get anywhere near Bekele's best times and I would suggest that if both were at their best there would be Ethiopian rather than "Mobot" celebrations at the finish line.

When that clash of sorts did occur, albeit on the road, at last year's Great North Run, Bekele produced a tactical master-class to break clear and hold on for a brilliant victory.

I was at the World Triathlon Series Final in Hyde Park at the time and, in the press tent at least, no one was watching the triathlon but were engrossed by the small television screen showing these two great titans going head to head.

Kenenisa Bekele rolls back the years to beat Mo Farah at the Great North Run in 2013 ©AFP/Getty Images


The New Year is a new start for both Bekele and Federer.

Bekele announced last week he will continue his transition to the road by taking on the Paris Marathon in April. In a competitive sense he hardly set the world on fire at the weekend with fifth place at the BUPA Great Edinburgh Cross Country, but with 200 kilometres per week of marathon training in his legs you cannot read too much into a result over a distance as short as four kilometres.

"Of course, if I train hard I will do a fast time", he said regarding the marathon this week. "The only thing is I have to prepare myself and train hard until I finish a marathon. I have to motivate myself to train hard to be ready to put myself in a good position. We will see in the end what the result will be."

Quiet confidence if ever I heard it.

Federer meanwhile has appointed a new co-coach in Sweden's former champion Stefan Edberg for the 2014 season. With his rivals as strong as ever the challenge for him appears harder still, but whenever he still has that drive and determination you would write him off at your peril.

His first test comes this week at the Australian Open in sweltering Melbourne. "Of course, we do believe we can knock them off, yes," he replied when asked if he felt he could get the better of the likes of Nadal and Djokovic once again.

Confidence from him as well then.

Both Federer and Bekele seem hopeful that they can return to their best form this year
©Getty Images


So while sport has moved on since the halcyon days of the mid 2000s and a new generation has appeared there are two throwbacks who have as of yet refused to go away.

For each 2014 could bring despair, failure and even retirement. But it could, just perhaps, bring success in the shape of a marathon world record and an 18th Grand Slam.