1 day ago
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
2:05:18 course record and personal best for Kebede in Fukuoka!
Monday 07/12/2009
Man City 2 - 1 Chelsea
Shay Given was Manchester City's hero as they staged a stirring fightback to come from behind and beat Premier League leaders Chelsea in an enthralling encounter at rain-soaked Eastlands.
Man City 2 - 1 Chelsea
Shay Given was Manchester City's hero as they staged a stirring fightback to come from behind and beat Premier League leaders Chelsea in an enthralling encounter at rain-soaked Eastlands.
2:05:18 course record and personal best for Kebede in Fukuoka
Tsegaye Kebede, the defending Fukuoka Marathon champion, won the 63rd edition of the race in 2:05:18. It was a personal best for the Ethiopian by two seconds as well as a Japanese all-comers record.
Kebede became the first runner to defend his Fukuoka title since Gezehagne Abera in 2002. He improved on his personal best of 2:05:20, recorded in the 2009 London Marathon. However, he did not move up on the all-time list. Kebede also improved the course as well as Japanese all-comers record of 2:06:10, which he recorded with his victory here last year.
“I am very happy to run faster than expected. I don’t know how to describe my happiness in words,” Tsegaye said in a post-race television interview. “I was convinced of my win after 30Km when I started to run away from my competitions. I also knew that I had a chance for a personal best when I passed 40Km point much faster (1:59:01) than last year when I think I passed 40Km in 1:59:45.”
Behind him, two other Ethiopian runners improved their personal bests by a huge margin. Tekeste Kebede, with a previous PB of 2:09:49 recorded in Boston earlier this year, was second with 2:07:52. Tsegaye Kebede’s training partner, Dereje Tesfaye, improved his personal best from 2:11:42, recorded in Dubai this year, to 2:08:26 when he finished fourth. Tekeste Kebede ran more than a dozen marathons before he cracked the 2:10 barrier for the first time in Boston.
“Previously, I was training in a group with a coach but I am now self-coached,” Tekeste Kebede, 28, said. “I think it gave me an opportunity to think about the right training for me and that I think is the reason why I was able to improve the personal best by a huge margin.”
In between the Ethiopian pair, Ukraine’s Dmytro Baranovsky was third with 2:08:19. Not only was it his first sub-2:10 marathon since 2006, it was also his second fastest. Rounding out the top five was Evans Cheruiyot of Kenya who clocked 2:09:46.
Mekubo Mogusu, whose marathon debut was attracting a lot of attention, lost contact with the leaders at 26Km. By 30Km, he was essentially reduced to a walk. He stopped several times and stretched his leg muscles and made a valiant attempt to continue. However, he was finally forced to drop out at 31.4Km.
How the race unfolded -
With Yu Mitsuya, a designated pace setter, taking the lead immediately after the start, the race began with a three minutes per Km pace, a 2:06:35 pace, slightly slower than the 2:06:10 course record. After 5Km (15:02), pace setters Samson Ramadhani and John Kales took over the lead with the favorite Tsegaye Kedebe just behind them. Then just before 7Km, as Ramadhani and Kales picked up the pace, the lead pack was split into two. The front group consisted of two pace makers plus six runners, which include all major contenders like Tsegaye Kebede and Mogusu, who passed 10Km marker in 29:53 (14:51 second 5Km). The second group led by Mitsuya stayed on three minutes per Km pace and reached 10Km in 30:02. The wind was strong in the morning causing some concern but fortunately began to die down just in time for the 12:10 start. “The wind was a bit of a problem, but it was not a major problem,” Tsegaye Kebede said.
After 11Km, debutante Mogusu, who was attracting a lot of television attention, seemed to have fallen behind, only to catch up to the lead pack again. The race stayed fast, passing 15Km in 44:42 (14:49). Toshihiko Seko, a four-time Fukuoka champion, who was providing television commentary, pointed out that Mogusu’s form is now more efficient compared to the days when he was running college ekiden races.
The lead group passed the 20Km check point in 59:44 (15:02), while the second group lead by Mitsuya was 30 seconds behind. Cheruiyot who arrived Friday was trailing the first group. The half marathon split was 1:03:05, right on course record pace. The second group passed the half marathon in 1:03:35, at which point Mitsuya was released from pace making duty. Eight runners in the lead pack were still together at 25Km (1:14:57), clocking 15:13 for the 5Km split between Kms 20 and 25.
The first major contender to fall off the lead pack was Mogusu, just before 26Km. A half kilometre later John Kales, one of the pace setter dropped out. Tsegaye Kebede started to run slightly ahead of Ramadhani, the pace maker. Soon Tsegaye started to push the pace and Baranovsky, the 2005 champion, and the pace maker Ramadhani fell behind.
Tsegaye Kebede lead three other runners (Tsefaye, Cheruiyot and Tekeste Kebede) at 30Km with 1:29:47, while Mogusu was struggling as he was apparently having trouble with his left hamstrings. “If you don’t try to finish the race, you won’t really find out what the marathon really is. If his leg does not hurt, he needs to finish it,” Seko said. Mogusu dropped out at 31.4Km, however.
Meanwhile Tsegaye Kebede was breaking away from Cheruiyot and Tekeste Kebede. The big surprise was that Tefaye was the only runner able to stay with Tsegaye. However, by 33Km Tesfaye also lost contact and Tsegaye Kebede was running alone. He passed 35Km in 1:44:24 (14:37),the fastest ever split at 35Km in Fukuoka. Meanwhile, at 38.6Km Tekeste Kebede caught Tesfaye who struggled to stay with him, but by 40Km, Tesfaye fell behind by 13 seconds.
Tsegaye Kebede passed 40Km in 1:59:01, 44 seconds faster than his split time at 40Km from last year. He was also 1:54 seconds ahead of the second placed Tekeste Kebede. Tsegaye Kebede also covered the 35 to 40Km in 14:37, the fastest ever for this segment, before reaching the finish.
Ken Nakamura for the IAAF
Weather: cloudy; temperature: 10C; humidity: 42%; wind: 4m/s NNW
Leading Results:
1. Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) 2:05:18
2. Tekeste Kebede (ETH) 2:07:52
3. Dmytro Baranovskyy (UKR) 2:08:19
4. Dereje Tesfaye (ETH) 2:08:36
5. Evans Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:09:46
6. Luis Feiteira (POR) 2:13:07
7. Oleg Kulkov (RUS) 2:13:49
8. Harun Njoroge (KEN) 2:14:17
9. Tadashi Shitamori (JPN) 2:14:42
10. Vitaliy Shafar (UKR) 2:15:07
Splits
5Km - 15:02 - Yu Mitsuya
10Km - 29:53 (14:51) - Samson Ramadhani
15Km - 44:42 (14:49) - John Kales
20Km - 59:44 (15:02) - Samson Ramadhani
Half - 1:03:05 - John Kales
25Km - 1:14:57 (15:13) - Samson Ramadhani
30Km - 1:29:47 (14:50) - Tsegaye Kebede
35Km - 1:44:24 (14:37) - Tsegaye Kebede
40Km - 1:59:01 (14:37) - Tsegaye Kebede
Finish - 2:05:18 (6:17) - Tsegaye Kebede
Tsegaye Kebede, the defending Fukuoka Marathon champion, won the 63rd edition of the race in 2:05:18. It was a personal best for the Ethiopian by two seconds as well as a Japanese all-comers record.Kebede became the first runner to defend his Fukuoka title since Gezehagne Abera in 2002. He improved on his personal best of 2:05:20, recorded in the 2009 London Marathon. However, he did not move up on the all-time list. Kebede also improved the course as well as Japanese all-comers record of 2:06:10, which he recorded with his victory here last year.
“I am very happy to run faster than expected. I don’t know how to describe my happiness in words,” Tsegaye said in a post-race television interview. “I was convinced of my win after 30Km when I started to run away from my competitions. I also knew that I had a chance for a personal best when I passed 40Km point much faster (1:59:01) than last year when I think I passed 40Km in 1:59:45.”
Behind him, two other Ethiopian runners improved their personal bests by a huge margin. Tekeste Kebede, with a previous PB of 2:09:49 recorded in Boston earlier this year, was second with 2:07:52. Tsegaye Kebede’s training partner, Dereje Tesfaye, improved his personal best from 2:11:42, recorded in Dubai this year, to 2:08:26 when he finished fourth. Tekeste Kebede ran more than a dozen marathons before he cracked the 2:10 barrier for the first time in Boston.
“Previously, I was training in a group with a coach but I am now self-coached,” Tekeste Kebede, 28, said. “I think it gave me an opportunity to think about the right training for me and that I think is the reason why I was able to improve the personal best by a huge margin.”
In between the Ethiopian pair, Ukraine’s Dmytro Baranovsky was third with 2:08:19. Not only was it his first sub-2:10 marathon since 2006, it was also his second fastest. Rounding out the top five was Evans Cheruiyot of Kenya who clocked 2:09:46.
Mekubo Mogusu, whose marathon debut was attracting a lot of attention, lost contact with the leaders at 26Km. By 30Km, he was essentially reduced to a walk. He stopped several times and stretched his leg muscles and made a valiant attempt to continue. However, he was finally forced to drop out at 31.4Km.
How the race unfolded -
With Yu Mitsuya, a designated pace setter, taking the lead immediately after the start, the race began with a three minutes per Km pace, a 2:06:35 pace, slightly slower than the 2:06:10 course record. After 5Km (15:02), pace setters Samson Ramadhani and John Kales took over the lead with the favorite Tsegaye Kedebe just behind them. Then just before 7Km, as Ramadhani and Kales picked up the pace, the lead pack was split into two. The front group consisted of two pace makers plus six runners, which include all major contenders like Tsegaye Kebede and Mogusu, who passed 10Km marker in 29:53 (14:51 second 5Km). The second group led by Mitsuya stayed on three minutes per Km pace and reached 10Km in 30:02. The wind was strong in the morning causing some concern but fortunately began to die down just in time for the 12:10 start. “The wind was a bit of a problem, but it was not a major problem,” Tsegaye Kebede said.
After 11Km, debutante Mogusu, who was attracting a lot of television attention, seemed to have fallen behind, only to catch up to the lead pack again. The race stayed fast, passing 15Km in 44:42 (14:49). Toshihiko Seko, a four-time Fukuoka champion, who was providing television commentary, pointed out that Mogusu’s form is now more efficient compared to the days when he was running college ekiden races.
The lead group passed the 20Km check point in 59:44 (15:02), while the second group lead by Mitsuya was 30 seconds behind. Cheruiyot who arrived Friday was trailing the first group. The half marathon split was 1:03:05, right on course record pace. The second group passed the half marathon in 1:03:35, at which point Mitsuya was released from pace making duty. Eight runners in the lead pack were still together at 25Km (1:14:57), clocking 15:13 for the 5Km split between Kms 20 and 25.
The first major contender to fall off the lead pack was Mogusu, just before 26Km. A half kilometre later John Kales, one of the pace setter dropped out. Tsegaye Kebede started to run slightly ahead of Ramadhani, the pace maker. Soon Tsegaye started to push the pace and Baranovsky, the 2005 champion, and the pace maker Ramadhani fell behind.
Tsegaye Kebede lead three other runners (Tsefaye, Cheruiyot and Tekeste Kebede) at 30Km with 1:29:47, while Mogusu was struggling as he was apparently having trouble with his left hamstrings. “If you don’t try to finish the race, you won’t really find out what the marathon really is. If his leg does not hurt, he needs to finish it,” Seko said. Mogusu dropped out at 31.4Km, however.
Meanwhile Tsegaye Kebede was breaking away from Cheruiyot and Tekeste Kebede. The big surprise was that Tefaye was the only runner able to stay with Tsegaye. However, by 33Km Tesfaye also lost contact and Tsegaye Kebede was running alone. He passed 35Km in 1:44:24 (14:37),the fastest ever split at 35Km in Fukuoka. Meanwhile, at 38.6Km Tekeste Kebede caught Tesfaye who struggled to stay with him, but by 40Km, Tesfaye fell behind by 13 seconds.
Tsegaye Kebede passed 40Km in 1:59:01, 44 seconds faster than his split time at 40Km from last year. He was also 1:54 seconds ahead of the second placed Tekeste Kebede. Tsegaye Kebede also covered the 35 to 40Km in 14:37, the fastest ever for this segment, before reaching the finish.
Ken Nakamura for the IAAF
Weather: cloudy; temperature: 10C; humidity: 42%; wind: 4m/s NNW
Leading Results:
1. Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) 2:05:18
2. Tekeste Kebede (ETH) 2:07:52
3. Dmytro Baranovskyy (UKR) 2:08:19
4. Dereje Tesfaye (ETH) 2:08:36
5. Evans Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:09:46
6. Luis Feiteira (POR) 2:13:07
7. Oleg Kulkov (RUS) 2:13:49
8. Harun Njoroge (KEN) 2:14:17
9. Tadashi Shitamori (JPN) 2:14:42
10. Vitaliy Shafar (UKR) 2:15:07
Splits
5Km - 15:02 - Yu Mitsuya
10Km - 29:53 (14:51) - Samson Ramadhani
15Km - 44:42 (14:49) - John Kales
20Km - 59:44 (15:02) - Samson Ramadhani
Half - 1:03:05 - John Kales
25Km - 1:14:57 (15:13) - Samson Ramadhani
30Km - 1:29:47 (14:50) - Tsegaye Kebede
35Km - 1:44:24 (14:37) - Tsegaye Kebede
40Km - 1:59:01 (14:37) - Tsegaye Kebede
Finish - 2:05:18 (6:17) - Tsegaye Kebede
Monday, November 30, 2009
Race records tumble at Nyeri Half-Marathon!
Monday 30/11/2009
Weidlinger upstages Wanjiru in Melbourne
The W’s dominated the lead-up to the Great Australian Run. Sammy Wanjiru, Olympic marathon champion, World Marathon Majors champion, World record holder in the Half Marathon and Benita Willis, Australia’s only World Cross Country champion, hogged the publicity.
Surprisingly, a third ‘W’ came through on the day, Austria’s Gunther Weidlinger upstaging Wanjiru, Australia’s Collis Birmingham and the likes of Athens Olympic 2004 marathon champion Stefano Baldini and Spain’s former European 10,000 metres champion Jose Manuel Martinez to take the men’s race win.
Even more of a surprise, on reputation, if not form, was Nikki Chapple’s victory over Willis in the women’s race. Along with Birmingham, who finished second to Weidlinger, she became the Australian road champion.
For the second weekend in a row, Melbourne was hit by late-spring rain, the runners splashing their way through puddles to the finish on the Albert Park F1 Grand Prix circuit. Fortunately, the downpour was neither as heavy nor as prolonged as the one which disrupted the finish of the men’s 50km Race Walk championship a week earlier.
MEN
Mere rain could not have wiped the smile off Weidlinger’s face. A man of records, the versatile Austrian holds every national record from the 1500 metres to the marathon, he is not accustomed to beating Olympic marathon champions, much less two of them at a time.
“It’s probably one of my biggest victories because I have beaten two Olympic champions and I have beaten the European champion,” Weidlinger said.
“(Wanjiru) showed already from the start that somebody should lead with him and after 1.5km I thought ‘I feel good and I am in the race and in the rhythm’, so I tried to push a bit and split up the lead group.”
The win came just five weeks after Weidlinger’s national marathon record in Frankfurt and he revealed he psyched himself into believing he had an edge over Birmingham, with whom he has been training at Falls Creek on the Victorian High Plains.
“We were doing 1km reps at Falls Creek last week,” Weidlinger said. “Birmingham stopped after eight, I did two more. So I told myself I was two better than him. It didn’t mean anything, of course, but it can give you some confidence, it doesn’t matter.”
Weidlinger sprinted to the line in 43:01, 21 seconds slower than Haile Gebrselassie last year. Birmingham followed 18 seconds behind with a national title and a personal best: Martin Dent, Australia’s leading finisher in the world championships marathon, also passed Wanjiru for third.
Wanjiru arrived less than 36 hours before the race as his daughter, Allie, fell ill in Kenya. Today was not my day,” he said.
“I can come here to try again (next year), maybe to break the course record or World record for 15km” (which he shares at 41:29 with Felix Limo and Deriba Merga).
WOMEN
After the late withdrawal of Irina Mikitenko (illness) and Deena Kastor (family reasons), it was widely assumed the women’s Great Australian Run would be a further winning step along Benita Willis’s rehabilitation. The 2004 World Cross Country champion has struggled through injuries, the death of her father, and a marriage break-up in the past 18 months.
This sentiment ignored the recent form of Chapple, a 28-year-old who showed immense promise as a junior before losing her way. Two months ago, both she and Willis ran the Great North Run, with Chapple fourth in 70:03 and Willis almost two minutes back in 71:57.
The women’s field set off 15 minutes before the men and Chapple, Willis and 1996 Olympic 10,000 metres champion Fernanda Ribeiro of Portugal led. Chapple took control in the middle stages around Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens.
Chapple won in 50:18, rating it her biggest win (she thought the Great North Run a better performance). Willis, an isolated fourth at 10k, surged back over the final stages to take second in 51:15, ahead of Britain’s Helen Clitheroe (51:17) and Ribeiro (51:41).
A fourth Olympic champion took part, Great Australian Run ambassador Cathy Freeman going around the course with the masses. So, too, did Australian 5000 metres record holder Craig Mottram and triple Olympic marathoner Lee Troop.
Len Johnson for the IAAF
Race records tumble at Nyeri Half-Marathon
Nyeri, Kenya - Race records fell in the 13th Safaricom Nyeri Half Marathon today despite the course being tougher than in previous editions.
Thirty-four days since winning the Standard Chartered Nairobi Half Marathon, Ernest Kebenei continued with his winning ways by taking the 13th edition of the Safaricom Nyeri Half Marathon in Nyeri town, 160km north of Nairobi on Sunday (29).
Tesco Prague Grand Prix 10km champion Gladys Kerubo was winner in the women's category in yet another course record.
Kebenei won in style after clocking a new record time of 1:01:31 after trailing early leader Enock Mitei who ran 1:01:45 before shooting into the lead in the closing stages.
“The course was very hilly and I realised I was strong with five kilometres left and that is when I started charging up the field,” said Kebenei who has also won the Little Rock and Garry Bjorklund races in the United States this year.
Joel Maina took third in 1:01:58 ahead of fourth placed former World junior champion Gordon Mugi (1:02:05) in the race that attracted 197 runners. Last year’s winner, Peter Muriuki held the previous course record of 1:01:52.
In the women’s event, another course record performance was staged by Kerubo who breasted the tape in 1:11:44 to fend off recovering Margaret Mukunzi (1:11:47) in a close finish.
Kerubo who had never run the 21km race in her career moved to the front at the 11km mark and at the end, did enough to hold off Mukunzi who grew stronger at the latter stages of the event.
“I’m very pleased with this victory that I was not expecting being my first time to run the half marathon. I’m preparing for road races in Europe next year,” Kerubo who also won the 5km race at Masai Mara Marathon, said.
Mukunzi, a runner-up from Great North Run in the UK last year who was competing in only her third race after almost an entire season in the sidelines due to injury expressed satisfaction with her performance.
“I’m just recovering and though I did not win, I’m happy that my body was in great shape and I look forward to competing well again,” Mukunzi stated.
Event patron and two-time World Marathon champion Catherine Ndereba congratulated the winners for their good performance.
“I pay tribute to the runners who have put their best effort on a difficult course that even though I have never run on it, I know it takes a lot. Something needs to be done next year to ensure we do not have many road races so close together.
“The number of participants fell this year because there was the Nairobi Cross Country (Saturday) and Mara Marathon (a week ago) among others and runners cannot recover in good time for Nyeri,” Ndereba said.
Peter Njenga for the IAAF
MEN -
1. Ernest Kebenei 1:01:39
2. Dennis Musau 1:01:45
3. Enock Mitei 1:01:51
4. Joel Maina 1:01:58
5. Gordon Mugi 1:02:05
6. Ezekiel Cherop 1:02:28
7. Samson Mungai 1:02:32
8. Geoffrey Ngugi 1:02:42
9. Samson Kibet 1:02:55
10. Joseph Kamau 1:03:04
WOMEN -
1. Gladys Kerubo 1:11:44
2. Magdalene Mukunzi 1:11:47
3. Monica Wangari 1:12:51
4. Ann Wanjiru 1:13:06
5. Jane Nyambura 1:13:29
6. Joscah Obare 1:13:51
7. Lucy Njeri 1:14:03
8. Lydia Njeri 1:14:40
9. Antoninah Ruto 1:14:41
10. Jackline Musyawa 1:14:23
Wednesday 02/12/2009
Wanjiru and Mikitenko to defend their London titles
Reigning champions Sammy Wanjiru and Irina Mikitenko will return to defend their London Marathon titles next April against two of the strongest fields ever assembled in the 29-year-old history of the race.
Wanjiru smashed the course record last April when he added the London crown to his Beijing Olympic gold, while Mikitenko will be chasing a rare triple after she retained her title in superb style in 2009. The German is aiming to become only the second woman ever to win three London marathons in a row following fellow-German Katrin Dorre’s trio of victories from 1992 to 1994.
Yet both champions face stern tests if they are to repeat their triumphs on Sunday 25 April next year.
MEN’s race
Despite his brilliant win in a personal best of 2:05:10 seconds this year, Wanjiru will be only the third quickest in the 2010 men’s field.
The line-up includes no fewer than six men who have run faster than 2:05:30, including reigning World champion Abel Kirui and three-times London winner Martin Lel, both of Kenya, plus World and Olympic bronze medallist Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia, who was second in London last year, and former double World champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco, who was third.
Quickest of the lot, however, is Kenyan record holder Duncan Kibet, the second fastest marathon runner of all time thanks to his 2:04:27 victory in Rotterdam this year. Like Kirui, Kibet will be making his London Marathon debut.
“I am delighted to be returning to London again,” said Wanjiru, the 23-year-old Kenyan who was crowned World Marathon Majors champion in November. “I will be doing my best to defend my title after I worked so hard to win it last year. London always has the world’s best athletes but with opponents such as Duncan, Abel and Martin it will be even tougher this time.”
There are many other likely challengers among the 16-strong elite field, including sub-2:07 World silver medallist Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya, plus two-times New York Marathon champion Marilson Dos Santos of Brazil.
Two Eritreans – Yonas Kifle, and the triple World Half Marathon champion Zersenay Tadese – will also be in the hunt for medals, while the Asian challenge comes from a trio of Japanese runners – the Matsumiya twins, Yuko and Takayuki, and Yusei Nakao.
Britain’s hopes of a decent showing rest with Dan Robinson, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist, and Andrew Lemoncello, a former steeplchaser making his debut over 26 miles 385 yards.
WOMEN’s race
Competition in the women’s race will be equally fierce. While Mikitenko heads the field with her German record of 2:19:19, the World Marathon Majors champion faces stiff opposition from Romania’s Olympic title holder Constantina Dita, all three medallists from the Berlin World Championships, and Britain’s Mara Yamauchi who produced a brilliant performance in 2009 to finish second just a minute behind the German in a personal best of 2:23:12.
“My goal is to win a third London Marathon and equal Katrin’s record,” said the 37-year-old Mikitenko. “I love running in London and I am determined to be fit and ready for the challenge, although I know it will be difficult against such strong opponents.”
In all, six athletes in the 19-strong field have broken 2:22 while 12 have run faster than 2:25. Athens Olympic medallist Deena Kastor is the second fastest in the field, and the American will be keen to repeat her 2006 London victory when she set a US record of 2:19:36.
New York silver medallist Lyudmila Petrova has the third quickest time. She is one of five strong Russians, including fellow veteran Svetlana Zakharova, three-times a silver medallist in London, Liliya Shobukhova, the 2009 Chicago champion and third here last year, and Inga Abitova, winner of the recent Yokohama marathon.
There’s also a phalanx of fast Ethiopians, including the Berlin champion, Atsede Habtamu, the 2009 Dubai champion, Bezunesh Bekele, the World Championships bronze medallist, Mergia Aselefech, and former Paris champion Magarsa Assale Tafa.
World champion Bai Xue of China leads the Asian threat, along with World silver medallist Yoshimi Ozaki and her Japanese teammate Yukiko Akaba. Two New Zealanders, Kim Smith and Fiona Docherty, and South African Tanith Maxwell make up the field.
Virgin London Marathon race director David Bedford said: “We are delighted to welcome our two champions back to head such high quality races. These elite fields are as good as any we’ve had in the previous 29 London Marathons, and I am sure they will produce two superb contests for the London crowds.”
Natasha Grainger (organisers) for the IAAF
The full elite fields and their best times
Men
Samuel Wanjiru KEN 2:05:10
Duncan Kibet KEN 2:04:27
Abel Kirui KEN 2:05:04
Martin Lel KEN 2:05:15
Tsegaye Kebede ETH 2:05:20
Jaouad Gharib MAR 2:05:27
Emmanuel Mutai KEN 2:06:15
Yonas Kifle ERI 2:07:34
Marilson Dos Santos BRA 2:08:37
Abdi Abdirahman USA 2.08.56
Yuko Matsumiya JPN 2:09:18
Takayuki Matsumiya JPN 2:10:04
Dan Robinson GBR 2:12:14
Yusei Nakao JPN 2:14:23
Zersenay Tadese ERI DNF (London 09)
Andrew Lemoncello GBR debut
Women
Irina Mikitenko GER 2:19:19
Deena Kastor USA 2:19:36
Lyudmila Petrova RUS 2:21:29
Constantina Dita ROU 2:21:30
Svetlana Zakharova RUS 2:21:31
Magarsa Assale Tafa ETH 2:21:31
Bezunesh Bekele ETH 2:23:09
Mara Yamauchi GBR 2:23:12
Bai Xue CHN 2:23:27
Yoshimi Ozaki JPN 2:23:30
Liliya Shobukhova RUS 2:24:24
Atsede Habtamu ETH 2:24:47
Mergia Aselefech ETH 2:25:02
Yukiko Akaba JPN 2:25:40
Inga Abitova RUS 2:25:55
Tanith Maxwell RSA 2:36:38
Fiona Docherty NZL 2:40:18
Kim Smith NZL DNF (New York 08)
Maria Konovalova RUS debut
Haile Gebrselassie invited by FIFA for 2010 World Cup draw
Ethiopia’s running legend, Haile Gebrselassie has been invited by the football world governing body, FIFA to the 2010 World Cup draw, scheduled to be held this week in Cape Town , South Africa.
It is the first time an African athlete is chosen to grace the World Cup draw.
Gebrselassie is one of Africa’s best athlete acclaimed for winning two Olympic gold medals, four world championship 10,000m titles and multiple world records.
He is currently the holder of world marathon record.
Other African officials and football players will join the athlete at the draw.
According to the scheduled program, Gebresilassie will join Secretary General Jérôme Valcke on this important night for the 32 countries competing at the football World Cup next year.
Gebrselassie was busy training for January’s Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon where he is scheduled to make another world record attempt.
The Final Draw will be beamed live to an estimated audience of more than 350 million people in more than 200 territories.
Weidlinger upstages Wanjiru in Melbourne
The W’s dominated the lead-up to the Great Australian Run. Sammy Wanjiru, Olympic marathon champion, World Marathon Majors champion, World record holder in the Half Marathon and Benita Willis, Australia’s only World Cross Country champion, hogged the publicity.
Surprisingly, a third ‘W’ came through on the day, Austria’s Gunther Weidlinger upstaging Wanjiru, Australia’s Collis Birmingham and the likes of Athens Olympic 2004 marathon champion Stefano Baldini and Spain’s former European 10,000 metres champion Jose Manuel Martinez to take the men’s race win.
Even more of a surprise, on reputation, if not form, was Nikki Chapple’s victory over Willis in the women’s race. Along with Birmingham, who finished second to Weidlinger, she became the Australian road champion.
For the second weekend in a row, Melbourne was hit by late-spring rain, the runners splashing their way through puddles to the finish on the Albert Park F1 Grand Prix circuit. Fortunately, the downpour was neither as heavy nor as prolonged as the one which disrupted the finish of the men’s 50km Race Walk championship a week earlier.
MEN
Mere rain could not have wiped the smile off Weidlinger’s face. A man of records, the versatile Austrian holds every national record from the 1500 metres to the marathon, he is not accustomed to beating Olympic marathon champions, much less two of them at a time.
“It’s probably one of my biggest victories because I have beaten two Olympic champions and I have beaten the European champion,” Weidlinger said.
“(Wanjiru) showed already from the start that somebody should lead with him and after 1.5km I thought ‘I feel good and I am in the race and in the rhythm’, so I tried to push a bit and split up the lead group.”
The win came just five weeks after Weidlinger’s national marathon record in Frankfurt and he revealed he psyched himself into believing he had an edge over Birmingham, with whom he has been training at Falls Creek on the Victorian High Plains.
“We were doing 1km reps at Falls Creek last week,” Weidlinger said. “Birmingham stopped after eight, I did two more. So I told myself I was two better than him. It didn’t mean anything, of course, but it can give you some confidence, it doesn’t matter.”
Weidlinger sprinted to the line in 43:01, 21 seconds slower than Haile Gebrselassie last year. Birmingham followed 18 seconds behind with a national title and a personal best: Martin Dent, Australia’s leading finisher in the world championships marathon, also passed Wanjiru for third.
Wanjiru arrived less than 36 hours before the race as his daughter, Allie, fell ill in Kenya. Today was not my day,” he said.
“I can come here to try again (next year), maybe to break the course record or World record for 15km” (which he shares at 41:29 with Felix Limo and Deriba Merga).
WOMEN
After the late withdrawal of Irina Mikitenko (illness) and Deena Kastor (family reasons), it was widely assumed the women’s Great Australian Run would be a further winning step along Benita Willis’s rehabilitation. The 2004 World Cross Country champion has struggled through injuries, the death of her father, and a marriage break-up in the past 18 months.
This sentiment ignored the recent form of Chapple, a 28-year-old who showed immense promise as a junior before losing her way. Two months ago, both she and Willis ran the Great North Run, with Chapple fourth in 70:03 and Willis almost two minutes back in 71:57.
The women’s field set off 15 minutes before the men and Chapple, Willis and 1996 Olympic 10,000 metres champion Fernanda Ribeiro of Portugal led. Chapple took control in the middle stages around Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens.
Chapple won in 50:18, rating it her biggest win (she thought the Great North Run a better performance). Willis, an isolated fourth at 10k, surged back over the final stages to take second in 51:15, ahead of Britain’s Helen Clitheroe (51:17) and Ribeiro (51:41).
A fourth Olympic champion took part, Great Australian Run ambassador Cathy Freeman going around the course with the masses. So, too, did Australian 5000 metres record holder Craig Mottram and triple Olympic marathoner Lee Troop.
Len Johnson for the IAAF
Race records tumble at Nyeri Half-Marathon
Nyeri, Kenya - Race records fell in the 13th Safaricom Nyeri Half Marathon today despite the course being tougher than in previous editions.Thirty-four days since winning the Standard Chartered Nairobi Half Marathon, Ernest Kebenei continued with his winning ways by taking the 13th edition of the Safaricom Nyeri Half Marathon in Nyeri town, 160km north of Nairobi on Sunday (29).
Tesco Prague Grand Prix 10km champion Gladys Kerubo was winner in the women's category in yet another course record.
Kebenei won in style after clocking a new record time of 1:01:31 after trailing early leader Enock Mitei who ran 1:01:45 before shooting into the lead in the closing stages.
“The course was very hilly and I realised I was strong with five kilometres left and that is when I started charging up the field,” said Kebenei who has also won the Little Rock and Garry Bjorklund races in the United States this year.
Joel Maina took third in 1:01:58 ahead of fourth placed former World junior champion Gordon Mugi (1:02:05) in the race that attracted 197 runners. Last year’s winner, Peter Muriuki held the previous course record of 1:01:52.
In the women’s event, another course record performance was staged by Kerubo who breasted the tape in 1:11:44 to fend off recovering Margaret Mukunzi (1:11:47) in a close finish.
Kerubo who had never run the 21km race in her career moved to the front at the 11km mark and at the end, did enough to hold off Mukunzi who grew stronger at the latter stages of the event.
“I’m very pleased with this victory that I was not expecting being my first time to run the half marathon. I’m preparing for road races in Europe next year,” Kerubo who also won the 5km race at Masai Mara Marathon, said.
Mukunzi, a runner-up from Great North Run in the UK last year who was competing in only her third race after almost an entire season in the sidelines due to injury expressed satisfaction with her performance.
“I’m just recovering and though I did not win, I’m happy that my body was in great shape and I look forward to competing well again,” Mukunzi stated.
Event patron and two-time World Marathon champion Catherine Ndereba congratulated the winners for their good performance.
“I pay tribute to the runners who have put their best effort on a difficult course that even though I have never run on it, I know it takes a lot. Something needs to be done next year to ensure we do not have many road races so close together.
“The number of participants fell this year because there was the Nairobi Cross Country (Saturday) and Mara Marathon (a week ago) among others and runners cannot recover in good time for Nyeri,” Ndereba said.
Peter Njenga for the IAAF
MEN -
1. Ernest Kebenei 1:01:39
2. Dennis Musau 1:01:45
3. Enock Mitei 1:01:51
4. Joel Maina 1:01:58
5. Gordon Mugi 1:02:05
6. Ezekiel Cherop 1:02:28
7. Samson Mungai 1:02:32
8. Geoffrey Ngugi 1:02:42
9. Samson Kibet 1:02:55
10. Joseph Kamau 1:03:04
WOMEN -
1. Gladys Kerubo 1:11:44
2. Magdalene Mukunzi 1:11:47
3. Monica Wangari 1:12:51
4. Ann Wanjiru 1:13:06
5. Jane Nyambura 1:13:29
6. Joscah Obare 1:13:51
7. Lucy Njeri 1:14:03
8. Lydia Njeri 1:14:40
9. Antoninah Ruto 1:14:41
10. Jackline Musyawa 1:14:23
Wednesday 02/12/2009
Wanjiru and Mikitenko to defend their London titles
Reigning champions Sammy Wanjiru and Irina Mikitenko will return to defend their London Marathon titles next April against two of the strongest fields ever assembled in the 29-year-old history of the race.Wanjiru smashed the course record last April when he added the London crown to his Beijing Olympic gold, while Mikitenko will be chasing a rare triple after she retained her title in superb style in 2009. The German is aiming to become only the second woman ever to win three London marathons in a row following fellow-German Katrin Dorre’s trio of victories from 1992 to 1994.
Yet both champions face stern tests if they are to repeat their triumphs on Sunday 25 April next year.
MEN’s race
Despite his brilliant win in a personal best of 2:05:10 seconds this year, Wanjiru will be only the third quickest in the 2010 men’s field.
The line-up includes no fewer than six men who have run faster than 2:05:30, including reigning World champion Abel Kirui and three-times London winner Martin Lel, both of Kenya, plus World and Olympic bronze medallist Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia, who was second in London last year, and former double World champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco, who was third.
Quickest of the lot, however, is Kenyan record holder Duncan Kibet, the second fastest marathon runner of all time thanks to his 2:04:27 victory in Rotterdam this year. Like Kirui, Kibet will be making his London Marathon debut.
“I am delighted to be returning to London again,” said Wanjiru, the 23-year-old Kenyan who was crowned World Marathon Majors champion in November. “I will be doing my best to defend my title after I worked so hard to win it last year. London always has the world’s best athletes but with opponents such as Duncan, Abel and Martin it will be even tougher this time.”
There are many other likely challengers among the 16-strong elite field, including sub-2:07 World silver medallist Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya, plus two-times New York Marathon champion Marilson Dos Santos of Brazil.
Two Eritreans – Yonas Kifle, and the triple World Half Marathon champion Zersenay Tadese – will also be in the hunt for medals, while the Asian challenge comes from a trio of Japanese runners – the Matsumiya twins, Yuko and Takayuki, and Yusei Nakao.
Britain’s hopes of a decent showing rest with Dan Robinson, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist, and Andrew Lemoncello, a former steeplchaser making his debut over 26 miles 385 yards.
WOMEN’s race
Competition in the women’s race will be equally fierce. While Mikitenko heads the field with her German record of 2:19:19, the World Marathon Majors champion faces stiff opposition from Romania’s Olympic title holder Constantina Dita, all three medallists from the Berlin World Championships, and Britain’s Mara Yamauchi who produced a brilliant performance in 2009 to finish second just a minute behind the German in a personal best of 2:23:12.
“My goal is to win a third London Marathon and equal Katrin’s record,” said the 37-year-old Mikitenko. “I love running in London and I am determined to be fit and ready for the challenge, although I know it will be difficult against such strong opponents.”
In all, six athletes in the 19-strong field have broken 2:22 while 12 have run faster than 2:25. Athens Olympic medallist Deena Kastor is the second fastest in the field, and the American will be keen to repeat her 2006 London victory when she set a US record of 2:19:36.
New York silver medallist Lyudmila Petrova has the third quickest time. She is one of five strong Russians, including fellow veteran Svetlana Zakharova, three-times a silver medallist in London, Liliya Shobukhova, the 2009 Chicago champion and third here last year, and Inga Abitova, winner of the recent Yokohama marathon.
There’s also a phalanx of fast Ethiopians, including the Berlin champion, Atsede Habtamu, the 2009 Dubai champion, Bezunesh Bekele, the World Championships bronze medallist, Mergia Aselefech, and former Paris champion Magarsa Assale Tafa.
World champion Bai Xue of China leads the Asian threat, along with World silver medallist Yoshimi Ozaki and her Japanese teammate Yukiko Akaba. Two New Zealanders, Kim Smith and Fiona Docherty, and South African Tanith Maxwell make up the field.
Virgin London Marathon race director David Bedford said: “We are delighted to welcome our two champions back to head such high quality races. These elite fields are as good as any we’ve had in the previous 29 London Marathons, and I am sure they will produce two superb contests for the London crowds.”
Natasha Grainger (organisers) for the IAAF
The full elite fields and their best times
Men
Samuel Wanjiru KEN 2:05:10
Duncan Kibet KEN 2:04:27
Abel Kirui KEN 2:05:04
Martin Lel KEN 2:05:15
Tsegaye Kebede ETH 2:05:20
Jaouad Gharib MAR 2:05:27
Emmanuel Mutai KEN 2:06:15
Yonas Kifle ERI 2:07:34
Marilson Dos Santos BRA 2:08:37
Abdi Abdirahman USA 2.08.56
Yuko Matsumiya JPN 2:09:18
Takayuki Matsumiya JPN 2:10:04
Dan Robinson GBR 2:12:14
Yusei Nakao JPN 2:14:23
Zersenay Tadese ERI DNF (London 09)
Andrew Lemoncello GBR debut
Women
Irina Mikitenko GER 2:19:19
Deena Kastor USA 2:19:36
Lyudmila Petrova RUS 2:21:29
Constantina Dita ROU 2:21:30
Svetlana Zakharova RUS 2:21:31
Magarsa Assale Tafa ETH 2:21:31
Bezunesh Bekele ETH 2:23:09
Mara Yamauchi GBR 2:23:12
Bai Xue CHN 2:23:27
Yoshimi Ozaki JPN 2:23:30
Liliya Shobukhova RUS 2:24:24
Atsede Habtamu ETH 2:24:47
Mergia Aselefech ETH 2:25:02
Yukiko Akaba JPN 2:25:40
Inga Abitova RUS 2:25:55
Tanith Maxwell RSA 2:36:38
Fiona Docherty NZL 2:40:18
Kim Smith NZL DNF (New York 08)
Maria Konovalova RUS debut
Haile Gebrselassie invited by FIFA for 2010 World Cup draw
Ethiopia’s running legend, Haile Gebrselassie has been invited by the football world governing body, FIFA to the 2010 World Cup draw, scheduled to be held this week in Cape Town , South Africa.It is the first time an African athlete is chosen to grace the World Cup draw.
Gebrselassie is one of Africa’s best athlete acclaimed for winning two Olympic gold medals, four world championship 10,000m titles and multiple world records.
He is currently the holder of world marathon record.
Other African officials and football players will join the athlete at the draw.
According to the scheduled program, Gebresilassie will join Secretary General Jérôme Valcke on this important night for the 32 countries competing at the football World Cup next year.
Gebrselassie was busy training for January’s Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon where he is scheduled to make another world record attempt.
The Final Draw will be beamed live to an estimated audience of more than 350 million people in more than 200 territories.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Bolt and Richards are World Athletes of the Year – 2009 World Athletics Gala!
Monday 23/11/2009
Was great doing the Winelands 21km. Slowly starting to get my mojo back :-)
Juan van Deventer clocks personal best
Beijing Olympic 1 500m finalist Juan van Deventer continued with his build-up for the international track season with his third victory in the RAC Tough One 32km, clocking his fastest time to date of one hour, 43 minutes and 33 seconds.
In near perfect weather conditions the 22-year-old UJ B.Comm graduate ran almost uncontested for much of the tough loop around Johannesburg's northern suburbs.
"I was hoping to go a little faster but nobody wanted to race today. I don't know what's going on, we have got to push harder if we want good times. Only Lucky (Mohale) stayed with me until ten kilometres to go and even he dropped off the pace.
"My first race in 2007 was a 1:47, then last year I did a 1:45 so running a PB again gives me lots of hope for the World Indoor Champs in Doha (March) and the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi (October). I recon I could run under 1:40 at the coast but the last five kilometres of today's race was tough going," said the winner.
He was followed home by Mohale (1:44:55), Charles Tjiane (1:46:04) and Aaron Gabonewe (1:48:08).
The women's field was loaded with talent, but in a repeat of the men's run nobody was prepared to go full-out this late in the season. In the end it was Pretoria's Marelise Retief (Nedbank) who did enough to win in 2:03:33.
Elizabeth Mtombeni (Matlakeng) is struggling to shake off the 'bridesmaid' tag after again finishing second, ahead of Adinda Kruger (2:13:39) and her Nedbank teammate Irvette van Blerk who is struggling back to form (2:16:11).
Bolt and Richards are World Athletes of the Year – 2009 World Athletics Gala
Monte-Carlo – During the celebrations of the World Athletics Gala hosted by International Athletic Foundation (IAF) Honorary President HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and IAF & IAAF President Lamine Diack in the Salle des Etoiles of the Sporting Club d’Eté, Monte Carlo, on Sunday 22 November, 23-year-old Jamaican Usain Bolt and USA’s 24-year-old Sanya Richards were crowned as the Male and Female World Athletes of the Year 2009.
Bolt, who again captivated the attention of the sporting world with his World 100m and 200m gold medals, earned the honour for the second consecutive year.
“It’s been an amazing season, but also a trying season,” said Bolt, who broke his own World records with stunning 9.58 and 19.19 performances at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. “To be named athlete of the year is such a great honour, it shows that all the work we put in pays off.”
Like Bolt in the shorter sprints, Richards dominated the women’s 400m, producing seven of the year’s 10 fastest performances and finally won her first World title.
“I was asked if this feeling would be the same as being World champion and it really is,” said Richards, who had previously been named World Athlete of the Year in 2006. “Considering the other athletes I was up against this year, I know this must have been a really tough decision.”
2009 World Athletics Gala Awards
Male World Athlete of the Year
Usain Bolt (JAM)
Female World Athlete of the Year
Sanya Richards (USA)
Coach of the Year
Clyde Hart (USA)
Inaugural IAAF World Journalist Award
Gustav Schwenk (GER)
IAAF
ASA board raises eyebrows
Johannesburg – A number of South African athletes are up in arms over the make-up of the interim board of Athletics South Africa (ASA).
It is believed that two supporters of suspended athletics boss Leonard Chuene have made it onto the body.
Some of the athletes that camped outside the offices of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympics Committee (SASCOC) in Johannesburg on Saturday, to hear who will serve on the new board, were unhappy after hearing that Alex Skhosana (KwaZulu-Natal) and James Moloi (Central Gauteng) had been elected.
Hezekiel Sepeng, who has just been elected interim deputy president of Athletics Central North West, is also upset because his province could not participate in the elections.
“I cannot support the new board. I will first have to speak to our athletes and hear what we have to do,” he said.
Other athletes were satisfied with the election.
“Of course we would have liked 50% representation on the board, but we only got 40%,” said Hendrick Ramaala, who is one of South Africa’s leading marathon runners and a new board member.
“It’s the first time that athletes have been so well represented. I believe that if we lobby on the board, we will be able to ensure that athletes’ interests are looked after.”
The other athletes on the board are Geraldine Pillay, a former Olympic and Commonwealth Games athlete, and Blanche Moila, the first black woman to have won Springbok colours in 1984.
A fourth athlete will be co-opted from the South African Athletics Committee onto the board.
It will in all probability be Olympic athlete Ruben Ramolefi.
Ray Mali, chairperson of ASA’s interim board, described the election as an historic day for South African athletes and the start of a new era.
He said that the new board would run athletics until all the investigations into alleged irregularities had run their course.
If everything goes according to plan, the election of the permanent board will happen by the end of May.
“I have good news for the athletes and it is that numerous sponsors are once again interested in getting involved.”
As far as unhappiness about Moloi and Skhosana are concerned, Mali said that Central Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were free to put in motions of no confidence. He will take the matter further if that happens.
Central North West’s problems arose because of Adam Motlagale refusing to accept that he had been suspended at a special meeting last week. He and Dr Paul van der Merwe, who is serving as interim chairperson, both pitched at Saturday’s meeting.
Kaya Majeke of SASCOC told them that not one of the two may attend the meeting until they have sorted out the matter.
Van der Merwe spent about four hours trying to explain to Motlagale that his suspension had been carried out in line with Central North West’s constitution. This happened in front of the media.
Motlagale refused to accept this and eventually threatened to break away and establish his own athletics province.
A few athletes from Central Gauteng threatened to boycott next year’s events unless a solution can be found regarding Moloi.
The other members of the interim board are: James Evans (WP), James Mokoka (Gauteng North), Pieter Lourens (Boland) and Daan Louw (Border).
Teen shatters great Ethiopian Run record
Youngster Tilahun Regassa on Sunday broke the course record for the men's Great Ethiopian Run, upsetting favourites in the annual 10 kilometre road race.
The 19-year-old shaved 30 seconds off the previous record by clocking 28 minutes 36 seconds to outrun 33 000 participants and clinch a surprise victory.
"I've run the marathon and half-marathon before but this is my first win in a ten kilometre race," he said.
"I hope I'll raise the Ethiopian flag in other tournaments like my fellow athletes soon," he added.
Track and long distance legend Haile Gebrselasie, who kickstarted the race with Britain's star athlete Paula Radcliffe, said the win highlighted Ethiopia's reputation as an "athletics factory".
"It's just amazing. There is so much excitement among youngsters here," the 35-year-old two-time Olympic champion said.
"There is no dispute that Ethiopia is an athletics factory. You will see more and more like me in the future," Gebrselasie added.
Favourite Deriba Merga, who took fourth in the Beijing Olympics' marathon, was not even able to conclude the race, while last year's winner Chala Dechassa fell well short of a podium finish this time around.
In the women's race, 23-year-old Koreni Jelila also broke the course record with 33 minutes and three seconds, more than 40 seconds faster than the previous record set in 2007.
The Great Ethiopian Run has revealed some of the world's greatest long-distance runners.
The annual race, regarded as a key stepping stone for Ethiopian athletes, has been held since 2001. Past winners include Gebrselassie and the women's current Olympic 5 000m and 10 000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba.
Last year's edition however, was marred by reported terrorist threats in the capital which prompted the US and Dutch governments to advise their citizens against taking part.
Was great doing the Winelands 21km. Slowly starting to get my mojo back :-)
Juan van Deventer clocks personal best
Beijing Olympic 1 500m finalist Juan van Deventer continued with his build-up for the international track season with his third victory in the RAC Tough One 32km, clocking his fastest time to date of one hour, 43 minutes and 33 seconds.In near perfect weather conditions the 22-year-old UJ B.Comm graduate ran almost uncontested for much of the tough loop around Johannesburg's northern suburbs.
"I was hoping to go a little faster but nobody wanted to race today. I don't know what's going on, we have got to push harder if we want good times. Only Lucky (Mohale) stayed with me until ten kilometres to go and even he dropped off the pace.
"My first race in 2007 was a 1:47, then last year I did a 1:45 so running a PB again gives me lots of hope for the World Indoor Champs in Doha (March) and the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi (October). I recon I could run under 1:40 at the coast but the last five kilometres of today's race was tough going," said the winner.
He was followed home by Mohale (1:44:55), Charles Tjiane (1:46:04) and Aaron Gabonewe (1:48:08).
The women's field was loaded with talent, but in a repeat of the men's run nobody was prepared to go full-out this late in the season. In the end it was Pretoria's Marelise Retief (Nedbank) who did enough to win in 2:03:33.
Elizabeth Mtombeni (Matlakeng) is struggling to shake off the 'bridesmaid' tag after again finishing second, ahead of Adinda Kruger (2:13:39) and her Nedbank teammate Irvette van Blerk who is struggling back to form (2:16:11).
Bolt and Richards are World Athletes of the Year – 2009 World Athletics Gala
Monte-Carlo – During the celebrations of the World Athletics Gala hosted by International Athletic Foundation (IAF) Honorary President HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and IAF & IAAF President Lamine Diack in the Salle des Etoiles of the Sporting Club d’Eté, Monte Carlo, on Sunday 22 November, 23-year-old Jamaican Usain Bolt and USA’s 24-year-old Sanya Richards were crowned as the Male and Female World Athletes of the Year 2009.Bolt, who again captivated the attention of the sporting world with his World 100m and 200m gold medals, earned the honour for the second consecutive year.
“It’s been an amazing season, but also a trying season,” said Bolt, who broke his own World records with stunning 9.58 and 19.19 performances at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. “To be named athlete of the year is such a great honour, it shows that all the work we put in pays off.”
Like Bolt in the shorter sprints, Richards dominated the women’s 400m, producing seven of the year’s 10 fastest performances and finally won her first World title.
“I was asked if this feeling would be the same as being World champion and it really is,” said Richards, who had previously been named World Athlete of the Year in 2006. “Considering the other athletes I was up against this year, I know this must have been a really tough decision.”
2009 World Athletics Gala Awards
Male World Athlete of the Year
Usain Bolt (JAM)
Female World Athlete of the Year
Sanya Richards (USA)
Coach of the Year
Clyde Hart (USA)
Inaugural IAAF World Journalist Award
Gustav Schwenk (GER)
IAAF
ASA board raises eyebrows
Johannesburg – A number of South African athletes are up in arms over the make-up of the interim board of Athletics South Africa (ASA).It is believed that two supporters of suspended athletics boss Leonard Chuene have made it onto the body.
Some of the athletes that camped outside the offices of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympics Committee (SASCOC) in Johannesburg on Saturday, to hear who will serve on the new board, were unhappy after hearing that Alex Skhosana (KwaZulu-Natal) and James Moloi (Central Gauteng) had been elected.
Hezekiel Sepeng, who has just been elected interim deputy president of Athletics Central North West, is also upset because his province could not participate in the elections.
“I cannot support the new board. I will first have to speak to our athletes and hear what we have to do,” he said.
Other athletes were satisfied with the election.
“Of course we would have liked 50% representation on the board, but we only got 40%,” said Hendrick Ramaala, who is one of South Africa’s leading marathon runners and a new board member.
“It’s the first time that athletes have been so well represented. I believe that if we lobby on the board, we will be able to ensure that athletes’ interests are looked after.”
The other athletes on the board are Geraldine Pillay, a former Olympic and Commonwealth Games athlete, and Blanche Moila, the first black woman to have won Springbok colours in 1984.
A fourth athlete will be co-opted from the South African Athletics Committee onto the board.
It will in all probability be Olympic athlete Ruben Ramolefi.
Ray Mali, chairperson of ASA’s interim board, described the election as an historic day for South African athletes and the start of a new era.
He said that the new board would run athletics until all the investigations into alleged irregularities had run their course.
If everything goes according to plan, the election of the permanent board will happen by the end of May.
“I have good news for the athletes and it is that numerous sponsors are once again interested in getting involved.”
As far as unhappiness about Moloi and Skhosana are concerned, Mali said that Central Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were free to put in motions of no confidence. He will take the matter further if that happens.
Central North West’s problems arose because of Adam Motlagale refusing to accept that he had been suspended at a special meeting last week. He and Dr Paul van der Merwe, who is serving as interim chairperson, both pitched at Saturday’s meeting.
Kaya Majeke of SASCOC told them that not one of the two may attend the meeting until they have sorted out the matter.
Van der Merwe spent about four hours trying to explain to Motlagale that his suspension had been carried out in line with Central North West’s constitution. This happened in front of the media.
Motlagale refused to accept this and eventually threatened to break away and establish his own athletics province.
A few athletes from Central Gauteng threatened to boycott next year’s events unless a solution can be found regarding Moloi.
The other members of the interim board are: James Evans (WP), James Mokoka (Gauteng North), Pieter Lourens (Boland) and Daan Louw (Border).
Teen shatters great Ethiopian Run record
Youngster Tilahun Regassa on Sunday broke the course record for the men's Great Ethiopian Run, upsetting favourites in the annual 10 kilometre road race.
The 19-year-old shaved 30 seconds off the previous record by clocking 28 minutes 36 seconds to outrun 33 000 participants and clinch a surprise victory.
"I've run the marathon and half-marathon before but this is my first win in a ten kilometre race," he said.
"I hope I'll raise the Ethiopian flag in other tournaments like my fellow athletes soon," he added.
Track and long distance legend Haile Gebrselasie, who kickstarted the race with Britain's star athlete Paula Radcliffe, said the win highlighted Ethiopia's reputation as an "athletics factory".
"It's just amazing. There is so much excitement among youngsters here," the 35-year-old two-time Olympic champion said.
"There is no dispute that Ethiopia is an athletics factory. You will see more and more like me in the future," Gebrselasie added.
Favourite Deriba Merga, who took fourth in the Beijing Olympics' marathon, was not even able to conclude the race, while last year's winner Chala Dechassa fell well short of a podium finish this time around.
In the women's race, 23-year-old Koreni Jelila also broke the course record with 33 minutes and three seconds, more than 40 seconds faster than the previous record set in 2007.
The Great Ethiopian Run has revealed some of the world's greatest long-distance runners.
The annual race, regarded as a key stepping stone for Ethiopian athletes, has been held since 2001. Past winners include Gebrselassie and the women's current Olympic 5 000m and 10 000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba.
Last year's edition however, was marred by reported terrorist threats in the capital which prompted the US and Dutch governments to advise their citizens against taking part.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Another Green Point stadium site visit!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Dibaba shatters 15Km World record in Nijmegen!
Monday 16/11/2009
I wonder how much sick leave I have left, lol. Can you believe I was out this week with a fever, cold shivers & shakes, persistant sneezing and running nose? And missed my appointment for more tests, eish!
Athletics federation faces restructuring
South Africa's Olympic body on Saturday said Sascoc board member Ray Mali would take over Athletics South Africa's administration on Monday morning as suspended ASA president Leonard Chuene faces the boot from his office in Houghton.
After a meeting on Saturday, Sascoc said in a statement that Mali would form an interim board to govern and regulate athletics in South Africa as the sport's embattled federation, which is reported to be heavily in debt, faces an entire restructuring and possible extinction.
Sascoc added that the suspended ASA board and members of senior management would face disciplinary hearings. The Olympic body said Deputy Minister of Sport Gert Oosthuizen had informed the meeting that "Sascoc is the lawful authority to authorise the suspension" after the suspended ASA figures had threatened to fight the ruling in court.
The decision to place Mali in charge follows an intense commission of enquiry following ASA's bumbling of the Caster Semenya gender controversy.
Sascoc president Gideon Sam admitted they had kept a low profile during the commission of enquiry, although a senior athletics official who was questioned told Sapa it was "a no-nonsense investigation" with four lawyers on the panel.
"It is not in anyone's interest to rough up a national federation in public," said Sam, who added that Mali, a former president of Cricket South Africa, would invite all relevant stakeholders in the sport of athletics to elect an interim board.
Oosthuizen said the Ministry of Sport backed Sascoc's suspension of the embattled federation after the board and senior management had lied and attempted to cover up gender tests conducted on world 800-metres champion Semenya.
"In terms of the humiliation of Caster Semenya, the Ministry has declared our support for Sascoc who have the powers to act," Oosthuizen said. "People must be held accountable."
ASA had broken ties with world athletics governing body the IAAF after Chuene resigned from his seat on the council "in support of Semenya" following a media leak that revealed gender tests had been conducted on the athlete by the IAAF on the eve of August's World Championships in Berlin.
But Sascoc said on Saturday it would attempt to mend the relationship and had already asked the IAAF to recognise the interim body in order for South Africa to compete internationally.
There are major global championships early in the new year - with the World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar, and the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland both scheduled for March 2010, and the Olympic body said it was of the utmost importance that athletes in South Africa were not affected by the administration's problems.
Earlier on Saturday, Athletics Gauteng North became the , provincial athletics association to denounce ASA, the entire board stepping down, while Central Gauteng Athletics are set to meet on Thursday.
Dibaba shatters 15Km World record in Nijmegen!
Tirunesh Dibaba broke the World record* for 15 kilometres at the 26th edition of the Zevenheuvelenloop 15Km in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, today.
In her first road race since 2005, the 24-year-old Ethiopian, who is the reigning 5000m and 10,000m Olympic champion, clocked 46:28* to shatter the previous mark of 46:55 set by Kayoko Fukushi of Japan in 2006.
The Zevenheuvelenloop, or Seven Hills Run, is an IAAF Label Road Race. It can now boast both the men’s and women’s World records. Kenyan Felix Limo clocked 41:29 eight years ago on the undulating course in this eastern Dutch city.
It was a double victory for Dibaba as her husband Sileshi Sihine, the two-time Olympic silver medallist in the 10,000m won the men's race in 42:14. He outsprinted Ugandan Nicholas Kiprono who was credited with the same time to win here for the third time.
Dibaba ran impressively especially in the final part of the race. At the 10 kilometre marker she was even with the World record split (31:23) but from that point on she simply accelerated and won by nearly half a minute. Already before the five kilometre point (15:58) her nearest opponent, compatriot Bezunesh Bekele, was 13 seconds back and would later reach the finish line 80 seconds adrift.
Dibaba began carefully. "Although I trained a lot together with my husband for this race, a roadrace is something different," she said. "I did not know what I could expect. Therefore I was not that fast in the beginning."
Dibaba’s last race on the roads was in April of 2005, when she clocked 14:51 at the Carlsbad 5000 in Carlsbad, Calif., still one of the fastest performances ever in a road race.
"I loved the course and I was feeling fine. After 10 kilometres I pressed the pace and in the final three kilometres it felt like flying. It feels good as you hear after the finish that your husband also has won."
Asked if she will run more often on the roads, Dibaba said, "I now can say I like the road but the track will still be my first goal."
Sihine agreed with his wife. "It feels fine as you win as a couple. We have trained a lot together for this race. It was nice to do."
The men's race was in the first five kilometres a four-man affair between Sihine, Kiprono, Abraham Rotich and Ayele Abshiro. After five kilometres with Sihine pressing the pace, only Kiprono managed to follow. The pair ran together until the final metres where Sihine out-sprinted his opponent.
* pending the usual ratification procedures
Wim van Hemert for the IAAF
26th Fortis Zevenheuvelenloop 15 kms in Nijmegen (The Netherlands) Sunday, 15 November
Temp. 10-12 degrees C,light wind, partly sunny.
MEN -
1. Sileshi Sihine, ETH 42:14
2. Nicholas Kiprono, UGA 42:14 correct
3. Abraham Rotich, KEN 43:04
4. Ayele Abshiro, ETH 43:10
5. Stephen Kiprotich, UGA 44:07
6. Sibusiso Nzima, RSA 44:15
7. Jamal Baligha, MAR 45:26
8. Vitaliy Rybak, UKR 45:27
9. Saji Abdelkabir, MAR 45:41
10. Mario Krockert, GER 45:46
11. Patrick Stitzinger, NED 45:51
12. Ruben Scheurwater, NED 45:59
WOMEN -
1. Tirunesh Dibaba, ETH 46:28 World record*, previous 46:55, Kayoko Fukushi (JPN), 05-Feb 2006, Marugame (JPN)
(splits: 15:58-31:23)
2. Bezunesh Bekele, ETH 47:48
3. Tetyana Holovchenko, UKR 50:33
4. Ilse Pol, NED 51:14
5. Merel de Knegt, NED 51:54
6. Agnes Kiprotich, KEN 52:09
7. Corine Spaans, NED 52:57
8. Petra Kaminkova, CZE 53:08
9. Loise Kangogo, KEN 53:46
10. Lindsay van Marrewijk, NED 54:12
11. Nadja Wijenberg, NED 54:33
12. Heleen Plaatzer, NED 55:07
Police called in to keep ASA chief out
The police were called and locks at the head office of Athletics South Africa (ASA) changed when the chief executive of the athletics body refused to vacate office on Monday.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) had suspended Molatelo Malehopo together with ASA president Leonard Chuene and four senior managers earlier this month, but by Monday afternoon Malehopo still refused to accept the suspension. Chuene was not at the office on Monday.
Ray Mali, who will administer ASA at the decree of Sascoc, arrived at 10.50am at the offices in Houghton and met with staff. Malehopo first wanted to prevent Mali from speaking to ASA’s financial managers, but later left the offices. However, he locked his office and Mali called a locksmith to open it.
According to Mali, Malehopo pitched at the offices hours later and tried to get in by the back door.
“He (Malehopo) said that his legal advisers had advised him not to accept the suspension. He said that he worked for ASA and that Sascoc could not suspend him,” said Mali.
Mali called the police and they led Malehopo from the offices. Mali then changed the locks at the offices.
A special notice was sent to ASA personnel not to remove any documents from the offices. This also applies to CDs, DVDs, laptops and any other property. Mali confirmed the notice.
He said that disciplinary steps would be completed as soon as possible. No suspended person will be allowed at the offices during this time.
It is believed that Chuene is also struggling to accept Mali taking over.
He apparently wants to get a court order that will bar Mali from entering ASA’s offices.
Sascoc will oppose such an interdict application.
Prior to Mali taking over, Chuene had already prepared the agenda for the special members’ meeting at Kempton Park this weekend. He wanted Sascoc’s interference in the management of ASA, as well as the leadership of ASA, to be discussed. It is unclear whether Chuene will now be allowed at the meeting.
Mali emphasised on Monday that he had taken over the duties of Chuene and Malehopo.
Chris Britz and Hendrick Mokganyetsi of ASA’s executive council have also resigned. This means that Chuene and the remaining members of the council effectively no longer have a quorum.
Ziggy Mutungwa, chairperson of the South African Schools Athletics Society, was also suspended on Monday by his council and will have to appear at a disciplinary hearing.
Koos Engelbrecht, chairperson of the South African Federation for Disabled Sport, came out in support of Sascoc.
Mali hopes to restore confidence between ASA, sponsors, athletes and the International Associate of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
“I will ensure that athletes are protected from administrators at all costs,” said Mali.
Malehopo and Chuene did not respond to queries from Beeld.
Mali wants to meet with Chuene next week, but believes they “don’t have much to discuss”.
Meanwhile, the IAAF will not inform Caster Semenya of the results of her gender tests this weekend. It will apparently only be done later.
I wonder how much sick leave I have left, lol. Can you believe I was out this week with a fever, cold shivers & shakes, persistant sneezing and running nose? And missed my appointment for more tests, eish!
Athletics federation faces restructuring
South Africa's Olympic body on Saturday said Sascoc board member Ray Mali would take over Athletics South Africa's administration on Monday morning as suspended ASA president Leonard Chuene faces the boot from his office in Houghton.
After a meeting on Saturday, Sascoc said in a statement that Mali would form an interim board to govern and regulate athletics in South Africa as the sport's embattled federation, which is reported to be heavily in debt, faces an entire restructuring and possible extinction.
Sascoc added that the suspended ASA board and members of senior management would face disciplinary hearings. The Olympic body said Deputy Minister of Sport Gert Oosthuizen had informed the meeting that "Sascoc is the lawful authority to authorise the suspension" after the suspended ASA figures had threatened to fight the ruling in court.
The decision to place Mali in charge follows an intense commission of enquiry following ASA's bumbling of the Caster Semenya gender controversy.
Sascoc president Gideon Sam admitted they had kept a low profile during the commission of enquiry, although a senior athletics official who was questioned told Sapa it was "a no-nonsense investigation" with four lawyers on the panel.
"It is not in anyone's interest to rough up a national federation in public," said Sam, who added that Mali, a former president of Cricket South Africa, would invite all relevant stakeholders in the sport of athletics to elect an interim board.
Oosthuizen said the Ministry of Sport backed Sascoc's suspension of the embattled federation after the board and senior management had lied and attempted to cover up gender tests conducted on world 800-metres champion Semenya.
"In terms of the humiliation of Caster Semenya, the Ministry has declared our support for Sascoc who have the powers to act," Oosthuizen said. "People must be held accountable."
ASA had broken ties with world athletics governing body the IAAF after Chuene resigned from his seat on the council "in support of Semenya" following a media leak that revealed gender tests had been conducted on the athlete by the IAAF on the eve of August's World Championships in Berlin.
But Sascoc said on Saturday it would attempt to mend the relationship and had already asked the IAAF to recognise the interim body in order for South Africa to compete internationally.
There are major global championships early in the new year - with the World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar, and the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland both scheduled for March 2010, and the Olympic body said it was of the utmost importance that athletes in South Africa were not affected by the administration's problems.
Earlier on Saturday, Athletics Gauteng North became the , provincial athletics association to denounce ASA, the entire board stepping down, while Central Gauteng Athletics are set to meet on Thursday.
Dibaba shatters 15Km World record in Nijmegen!
Tirunesh Dibaba broke the World record* for 15 kilometres at the 26th edition of the Zevenheuvelenloop 15Km in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, today.In her first road race since 2005, the 24-year-old Ethiopian, who is the reigning 5000m and 10,000m Olympic champion, clocked 46:28* to shatter the previous mark of 46:55 set by Kayoko Fukushi of Japan in 2006.
The Zevenheuvelenloop, or Seven Hills Run, is an IAAF Label Road Race. It can now boast both the men’s and women’s World records. Kenyan Felix Limo clocked 41:29 eight years ago on the undulating course in this eastern Dutch city.
It was a double victory for Dibaba as her husband Sileshi Sihine, the two-time Olympic silver medallist in the 10,000m won the men's race in 42:14. He outsprinted Ugandan Nicholas Kiprono who was credited with the same time to win here for the third time.
Dibaba ran impressively especially in the final part of the race. At the 10 kilometre marker she was even with the World record split (31:23) but from that point on she simply accelerated and won by nearly half a minute. Already before the five kilometre point (15:58) her nearest opponent, compatriot Bezunesh Bekele, was 13 seconds back and would later reach the finish line 80 seconds adrift.
Dibaba began carefully. "Although I trained a lot together with my husband for this race, a roadrace is something different," she said. "I did not know what I could expect. Therefore I was not that fast in the beginning."
Dibaba’s last race on the roads was in April of 2005, when she clocked 14:51 at the Carlsbad 5000 in Carlsbad, Calif., still one of the fastest performances ever in a road race.
"I loved the course and I was feeling fine. After 10 kilometres I pressed the pace and in the final three kilometres it felt like flying. It feels good as you hear after the finish that your husband also has won."
Asked if she will run more often on the roads, Dibaba said, "I now can say I like the road but the track will still be my first goal."
Sihine agreed with his wife. "It feels fine as you win as a couple. We have trained a lot together for this race. It was nice to do."
The men's race was in the first five kilometres a four-man affair between Sihine, Kiprono, Abraham Rotich and Ayele Abshiro. After five kilometres with Sihine pressing the pace, only Kiprono managed to follow. The pair ran together until the final metres where Sihine out-sprinted his opponent.
* pending the usual ratification procedures
Wim van Hemert for the IAAF
26th Fortis Zevenheuvelenloop 15 kms in Nijmegen (The Netherlands) Sunday, 15 November
Temp. 10-12 degrees C,light wind, partly sunny.
MEN -
1. Sileshi Sihine, ETH 42:14
2. Nicholas Kiprono, UGA 42:14 correct
3. Abraham Rotich, KEN 43:04
4. Ayele Abshiro, ETH 43:10
5. Stephen Kiprotich, UGA 44:07
6. Sibusiso Nzima, RSA 44:15
7. Jamal Baligha, MAR 45:26
8. Vitaliy Rybak, UKR 45:27
9. Saji Abdelkabir, MAR 45:41
10. Mario Krockert, GER 45:46
11. Patrick Stitzinger, NED 45:51
12. Ruben Scheurwater, NED 45:59
WOMEN -
1. Tirunesh Dibaba, ETH 46:28 World record*, previous 46:55, Kayoko Fukushi (JPN), 05-Feb 2006, Marugame (JPN)
(splits: 15:58-31:23)
2. Bezunesh Bekele, ETH 47:48
3. Tetyana Holovchenko, UKR 50:33
4. Ilse Pol, NED 51:14
5. Merel de Knegt, NED 51:54
6. Agnes Kiprotich, KEN 52:09
7. Corine Spaans, NED 52:57
8. Petra Kaminkova, CZE 53:08
9. Loise Kangogo, KEN 53:46
10. Lindsay van Marrewijk, NED 54:12
11. Nadja Wijenberg, NED 54:33
12. Heleen Plaatzer, NED 55:07
Police called in to keep ASA chief out
The police were called and locks at the head office of Athletics South Africa (ASA) changed when the chief executive of the athletics body refused to vacate office on Monday.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) had suspended Molatelo Malehopo together with ASA president Leonard Chuene and four senior managers earlier this month, but by Monday afternoon Malehopo still refused to accept the suspension. Chuene was not at the office on Monday.
Ray Mali, who will administer ASA at the decree of Sascoc, arrived at 10.50am at the offices in Houghton and met with staff. Malehopo first wanted to prevent Mali from speaking to ASA’s financial managers, but later left the offices. However, he locked his office and Mali called a locksmith to open it.
According to Mali, Malehopo pitched at the offices hours later and tried to get in by the back door.
“He (Malehopo) said that his legal advisers had advised him not to accept the suspension. He said that he worked for ASA and that Sascoc could not suspend him,” said Mali.
Mali called the police and they led Malehopo from the offices. Mali then changed the locks at the offices.
A special notice was sent to ASA personnel not to remove any documents from the offices. This also applies to CDs, DVDs, laptops and any other property. Mali confirmed the notice.
He said that disciplinary steps would be completed as soon as possible. No suspended person will be allowed at the offices during this time.
It is believed that Chuene is also struggling to accept Mali taking over.
He apparently wants to get a court order that will bar Mali from entering ASA’s offices.
Sascoc will oppose such an interdict application.
Prior to Mali taking over, Chuene had already prepared the agenda for the special members’ meeting at Kempton Park this weekend. He wanted Sascoc’s interference in the management of ASA, as well as the leadership of ASA, to be discussed. It is unclear whether Chuene will now be allowed at the meeting.
Mali emphasised on Monday that he had taken over the duties of Chuene and Malehopo.
Chris Britz and Hendrick Mokganyetsi of ASA’s executive council have also resigned. This means that Chuene and the remaining members of the council effectively no longer have a quorum.
Ziggy Mutungwa, chairperson of the South African Schools Athletics Society, was also suspended on Monday by his council and will have to appear at a disciplinary hearing.
Koos Engelbrecht, chairperson of the South African Federation for Disabled Sport, came out in support of Sascoc.
Mali hopes to restore confidence between ASA, sponsors, athletes and the International Associate of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
“I will ensure that athletes are protected from administrators at all costs,” said Mali.
Malehopo and Chuene did not respond to queries from Beeld.
Mali wants to meet with Chuene next week, but believes they “don’t have much to discuss”.
Meanwhile, the IAAF will not inform Caster Semenya of the results of her gender tests this weekend. It will apparently only be done later.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Big Walk 2009!
Big Walk entrants brave the cold
By Caryn Dolley
Despite the persistent rainfall and chilling temperature, 80 percent of this year's 34 015 Discovery Cape Times Big Walk entrants braved the elements and took to the wet streets on Sunday.
And aside from a few minor falls and some participants suffering from mild hypothermia, the event was hailed a major success.
First held in 1905, the Discovery Cape Times Big Walk is the world's biggest timed walk, South Africa's oldest mass participation sporting event and globally is the second oldest event to the Tour de France.
On Sunday, wearing waterproof items ranging from ponchos and raincoats to black bags, the majority of this year's entrants arrived for the walk undeterred by the constant downpours and drizzle.
By Caryn DolleyDespite the persistent rainfall and chilling temperature, 80 percent of this year's 34 015 Discovery Cape Times Big Walk entrants braved the elements and took to the wet streets on Sunday.
And aside from a few minor falls and some participants suffering from mild hypothermia, the event was hailed a major success.
First held in 1905, the Discovery Cape Times Big Walk is the world's biggest timed walk, South Africa's oldest mass participation sporting event and globally is the second oldest event to the Tour de France.
On Sunday, wearing waterproof items ranging from ponchos and raincoats to black bags, the majority of this year's entrants arrived for the walk undeterred by the constant downpours and drizzle.
Event spokesperson, Eddy Cassar, said organisers were "overwhelmed" at the turnout.
Continues Below ↓
"We're over the moon. We never expected so many to turn up. Cape Town has responded to this event with a big heart," he said.
Cassar said the response to a 13km Gugulethu walk, new to the event's nine routes walked on Sunday, had also been "thrilling".
More than 800 of the route's 1 000 participants had shown up and walked from Klipfontein Road in Gugulethu to the St George's Grammar School finish line in Mowbray.
Cassar thanked those at the school who had allowed the fields to be used in the event.
This year a record number of people, about 7 000 more than last year, entered the big walk.
Sunday's oldest participant was 80 years old.
Continues Below ↓
"We're over the moon. We never expected so many to turn up. Cape Town has responded to this event with a big heart," he said.
Cassar said the response to a 13km Gugulethu walk, new to the event's nine routes walked on Sunday, had also been "thrilling".
More than 800 of the route's 1 000 participants had shown up and walked from Klipfontein Road in Gugulethu to the St George's Grammar School finish line in Mowbray.
Cassar thanked those at the school who had allowed the fields to be used in the event.
This year a record number of people, about 7 000 more than last year, entered the big walk.
Sunday's oldest participant was 80 years old.
Ross MacDonald crossed the 80km finish line in a time of nine hours, 21 minutes and 48 seconds.
Established by the Spartan Harriers Athletic Club, the big walk raises funds for many charities run by the Rotary Club of Claremont and in particular for the South African Breast Cancer Association, the Steenberg Foundation and Nazareth House.
Cassar said about R1-million was raised for charities last year and it was expected more than that amount had been raised this year.
Cassar said about R1-million was raised for charities last year and it was expected more than that amount had been raised this year.
Despite the rain, Capetonians took to the streets for the Discovery Cape Times Big Walk on Sunday.
I snapped some pics of the intrepid walkers coming through Kalk Bay..
Well done to all who walked the talk and raised money for some very worthy causes!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Athletes and coach hit out at ASA!
Monday 09/11/2009
Still struggling to shake my illness bugs. Shortly after the Old Mutual 10km I was out a week with the stomach flu. This week I have a bad cold. Bumped into a clubmate who said I looked tired and that he noticed I've being struggling at races. I haven't being well and am very aware that it's not going to be my year!
Athletes and coach hit out at ASA
Elite South African athletes and a national coach have stood up against Athletics South Africa (ASA) for alleged incompetence.
Much of the criticism in a joint statement revolved around the team managers at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in August, including ASA president Leonard Chuene's personal assistant, Humile Bogatsu, and ASA events manager Phiwe Mlangeni-Tsholetsane.
Chuene, Bogatsu and Tsholetsane were all suspended, along with other ASA employees and board members including general manager Molatelo Malehopo, by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) on Thursday for their handling of the Caster Semenya gender debacle.
And some of the athletes who competed in Berlin, including former world junior 200m champion Paul Gorries, Magda Botha, the team's sprint coach and former Olympic walker Nicolene Cronje, have hit out at them with claims of mismanagement and racism.
"They were besotted with power - constantly trying to show the athletes who is boss," said Gorries, who ran the 4X400m relay in Berlin.
"Phiwe knows nothing about athletics. Her comments showed this clearly! Hendrick (Mokganyetsi, team manager) was aggressive towards everybody and made numerous wrong decisions.
"Humile is nothing more than a secretary - she knows nothing about managing a team. She was also flown back and forth between Germany and SA, at ASA's cost (to write exams).
"They (Tsholetsane and Bogatsu) were constantly shopping and not giving attention to what they were there for - managing the team. Or they were flitting around My Chuene.
"We were castigated because we did not, according to them, support Caster, but not one of them was at Khotso's (Mokoena) or Mbulaeni's (Mulaudzi) medal ceremonies."
An anonymous athlete who competed in Berlin, as well as the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, said the 2009 World Championships "was the worst ever".
The unnamed athlete, who referred to the global showpiece as "bootcamp", said there was "no communication" from management.
Botha said the team managers had "no experience", adding that Tsholetsane "knows nothing of athletics" and Bogatsu "made no contribution to the team at all".
She added that the tests conducted on world 800m champion Semenya had been handled "completely wrongly" and that Chuene, who later admitted to lying about the tests, had tried to force the team to cover up the mess management had created.
"In the last meeting before our return, Leonard tried to convince us this was the best team management ever in the history of SA athletics and that, if we had a problem, we had to remember we are a family and a family does not speak out.
"It was clear what he was trying to say - that nothing from Berlin should be discussed with anyone on our return."
Cronje, who has not competed since she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 2007, said she had been physically assaulted by Malehopo at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, when she was 19 years old.
"Molatelo Malehopo called me aside together with Snowy Matthews and Magda Botha and he lost his temper," she recalled.
"He smacked me several times in the face, to the extent that Snowy had to come between us and stop him.
"The next day Leonard Chuene called me in and asked me what happened. I told him, and his words to me were: "My child, should this get out to the press or your family, your athletics career is over. Let's pretend it never happened".
Cronje said she hoped to compete again but was worried about the state of the sport.
"There is so much more that is happening in SA athletics and I am not sure if we will ever get to the bottom of it," she said.
"Sponsors withdrawing, cheap clothing being issued to athletes, money disappearing, athletes being mistreated, bad accommodation and food for athletes... and so the list goes on."
Still struggling to shake my illness bugs. Shortly after the Old Mutual 10km I was out a week with the stomach flu. This week I have a bad cold. Bumped into a clubmate who said I looked tired and that he noticed I've being struggling at races. I haven't being well and am very aware that it's not going to be my year!
Athletes and coach hit out at ASA
Elite South African athletes and a national coach have stood up against Athletics South Africa (ASA) for alleged incompetence.
Much of the criticism in a joint statement revolved around the team managers at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin in August, including ASA president Leonard Chuene's personal assistant, Humile Bogatsu, and ASA events manager Phiwe Mlangeni-Tsholetsane.
Chuene, Bogatsu and Tsholetsane were all suspended, along with other ASA employees and board members including general manager Molatelo Malehopo, by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) on Thursday for their handling of the Caster Semenya gender debacle.
And some of the athletes who competed in Berlin, including former world junior 200m champion Paul Gorries, Magda Botha, the team's sprint coach and former Olympic walker Nicolene Cronje, have hit out at them with claims of mismanagement and racism.
"They were besotted with power - constantly trying to show the athletes who is boss," said Gorries, who ran the 4X400m relay in Berlin.
"Phiwe knows nothing about athletics. Her comments showed this clearly! Hendrick (Mokganyetsi, team manager) was aggressive towards everybody and made numerous wrong decisions.
"Humile is nothing more than a secretary - she knows nothing about managing a team. She was also flown back and forth between Germany and SA, at ASA's cost (to write exams).
"They (Tsholetsane and Bogatsu) were constantly shopping and not giving attention to what they were there for - managing the team. Or they were flitting around My Chuene.
"We were castigated because we did not, according to them, support Caster, but not one of them was at Khotso's (Mokoena) or Mbulaeni's (Mulaudzi) medal ceremonies."
An anonymous athlete who competed in Berlin, as well as the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, said the 2009 World Championships "was the worst ever".
The unnamed athlete, who referred to the global showpiece as "bootcamp", said there was "no communication" from management.
Botha said the team managers had "no experience", adding that Tsholetsane "knows nothing of athletics" and Bogatsu "made no contribution to the team at all".
She added that the tests conducted on world 800m champion Semenya had been handled "completely wrongly" and that Chuene, who later admitted to lying about the tests, had tried to force the team to cover up the mess management had created.
"In the last meeting before our return, Leonard tried to convince us this was the best team management ever in the history of SA athletics and that, if we had a problem, we had to remember we are a family and a family does not speak out.
"It was clear what he was trying to say - that nothing from Berlin should be discussed with anyone on our return."
Cronje, who has not competed since she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 2007, said she had been physically assaulted by Malehopo at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, when she was 19 years old.
"Molatelo Malehopo called me aside together with Snowy Matthews and Magda Botha and he lost his temper," she recalled.
"He smacked me several times in the face, to the extent that Snowy had to come between us and stop him.
"The next day Leonard Chuene called me in and asked me what happened. I told him, and his words to me were: "My child, should this get out to the press or your family, your athletics career is over. Let's pretend it never happened".
Cronje said she hoped to compete again but was worried about the state of the sport.
"There is so much more that is happening in SA athletics and I am not sure if we will ever get to the bottom of it," she said.
"Sponsors withdrawing, cheap clothing being issued to athletes, money disappearing, athletes being mistreated, bad accommodation and food for athletes... and so the list goes on."
Monday, November 2, 2009
Keflezighi and Tulu triumph in New York
Monday 02/11/2009
Soweto Marathon ends season on a high
This year's Nedbank Soweto Marathon ended the traditional running season on a high note on Sunday when two South African runners finally claimed the leading places in both men and ladies categories.
Tshidiso Bosiu and Rene Kalmer became the latest winners - walking away with R100 000 respectively. Both runners also pocketed an additional R10 000 for various time incentives and Kalmer also beat the 2001 race record of 2:45:37.
Kalmer broke the tape in 2:44:06 while Bosiu clocked in 2:18:10 to win the men's category.
Kalmer was followed by Poppy Mlambo who recently participated in the 16th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham. Besides her prize money of R 80 000, Mlambo received an additional R 6 000 time incentive cash.
Mlambo was in turn followed by four-times winner Mamoroallo Tjoka, whom many expected to take the golf for a record fifth time. She finished in 2:53:13.
Bosiu, who has only been racing for the past two years, took the men's lead after the half way mark.
The 27-year old was followed by two-times winner, Mabuthile Lebopo who had his suspension lifted by Lesotho Amateur Athletics Association (LAAA) on Friday.
Tsotang Maine, who has regularly contested the top places in the men's race since 2004, came third with a time of 2:19:49.
A record of 4923 runners completed the 19th Nedbank Soweto Marathon with another 6300 participants in the 10km walk and run events.
Keflezighi and Tulu triumph in New York
Mebrahtom Keflezighi, 2004 Olympic silver medallist and 10,000m American Record holder, became the first American champion of the ING New York City Marathon since 1982 when he finished in 2:09:15 this morning. Derartu Tulu was the women's champion in 2:28:52.
The ING New York City Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.
Patience pays off for Keflezighi
Keflezighi, previously second in 2004 and third in 2005 in this race, ran a canny race to finally deliver on a decade-long effort to bring American champions back to New York.
Running strong with the pack through the early miles, Keflezighi ignored a strength-wasting move led by Hendrick Ramaala on First Avenue. When a pack of ten regrouped for the Bronx section of the race, Keflezighi was in place to cover the move made by James Kwambai which pared the pack down to four.
Heading south into Manhattan, first Gharib and then Kwambai fell off the pace, with Kwambai's training partner, four-time Boston Marathon champion Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, the last remaining rival. Kwambai would eventually drop out, struggling with dehydration issues.
Keflezighi took the lead for the first time when he broke away from Cheruiyot as the pair entered Central Park from 5th Avenue at 90th Street.
"I beat [Cheruiyot] in 2005 here [in New York]," said Keflezighi. With 2 miles to go, I gave a push, and he let me go. I just kept expanding the lead."
Cheruiyot cross the line in 2:09:56 with Moroccan Jaouad Gharib third in 2:10:25.
Victory caps notable comeback
Keflezighi's victory also represented the U.S. marathon championship, as that race was run concurrently with the ING New York City Marathon. It was Keflezighi's first ever marathon victory, and capped a comeback year in which the Athens medallist won national championships at the half-marathon and 7-mile distances on the road, as well as the national cross country championships.
Keflezghi ran a PB 2:09:21 at the London Marathon in April, then chipped another six seconds off that PB here today in New York.
Keflezghi lost most of his 2008 season struggling with injuries which had also kept him off the U.S. Olympic team in the marathon, denying him the ability to defend his Olympic silver medal.
As in 2007, when the U.S. Olympic Trials - Men's Marathon finished in the same spot in Central Park, Keflezeghi wept after crossing the finish line. In 2007, it was grief when he learned of the death of his training partner Ryan Shay earlier in the race. Today, Keflezighi said, "I had dreamed of winning both [races]. The memory of Ryan Shay was what I cried for. It was one [win] for him and one for me."
"To be able to win this race is very, very special to me."
Keflezighi was the first American winner in New York since Alberto Salazar in 1982. Starting in 2001, when the race also hosted the USA championships, and continuing through the Trials in 2007, the host New York Road Runners have been part of a movement to develop American marathoners capable of challenging for the win here. Keflezighi was followed in fourth place by Ryan Hall (2:10:36) as six American men finished in the top 10.
Tulu another comeback
Derartu Tulu was the younger in a duel of experienced veterans through Central Park, as 2000 champion Ludmila Petrova of Russia, 41, made the move which dropped first three-time New York champion Paula Radcliffe, then newcomer Christelle Daunay of France. The apparently ageless Petrova set a world best for masters (2:25:43) in finishing second here in 2008.
Tulu broke away from Petrova as the pair turned on to Central Park South, and opened a gap which expanded to eight seconds at the finish line (2:28:52 to 2:29:00).
This was Tulu's first marathon victory since 2001, when she won the Flora London Marathon. She had previously finished third here in 2005.
Radcliffe's bluff called
Tulu's finish time in 2005 was nearly three and a half minutes faster, highlighting the way today's race shaped up for the women. Radcliffe was expected to set the early pace, after announcing that she considered the 2:22:31 course record to be possible. Instead, Radcliffe led the women through 15km in a pedestrian 52:38.
"I wasn't able to run the last two legs because I had a pain in my tendon," explained Radcliffe. "I had a jab [cortisone injection] in it, and I knew [the race] was going to be against my leg. I didn't want to say too much about it, because I didn't want people to know they could run away from me if it started to go."
The pack of potential contenders was thinned still more by an early tumble by 2009 Boston champion Salina Kosgei, which also resulted in a hard fall by Japan's Yuri Kano; Kano's face actually hit the pavement.
Kano was off the lead for the rest of the race, but finished ninth in 2:39:05. Kosgei hung on to the pack through the Bronx, finally finishing fifth in 2:31:53.
Radcliffe was next off the pack, though as the World record holder dropped back on Fifth Avenue Tulu looked back and beckoned her to rejoin the leaders. Radcliffe finished fourth in 2:29:27. The last athlete to be dropped by Tulu and Petrova was the smooth-striding Frenchwoman Christelle Daunay, who had looked like the strongest of the three. Daunay ran 2:29:16 for third.
"I did not come here necessarily expecting to win," said Tulu. "I did expect that I would be a strong competitor, and I'm very happy to have won."
1984 Olympic marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson finished in 2:49:09; Olympic speed skater Dan Jansen ran 3:41:43.
Parker Morse for the IAAF
Results
Men
1. Meb Keflezighi, United States, 2 hours, 9 minutes, 15 seconds.
2. Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Kenya, 2:09:56.
3. Jaouad Gharib, Morocco, 2:10:25.
4. Ryan Hall, United States, 2:10:36.
5. Abderrahime Bouramdane, Morocco, 2:12:14.
6. Hendrick Ramaala, South Africa, 2:12:31.
7. Jorge Torres, United States, 2:13:00.
8. Nick Arciniaga, United States, 2:13:46.
9. Abdi Abdirahman, United States, 2:14:00.
10. Jason Lehmkuhle, United States, 2:14:39.
Women
1. Derartu Tulu, Ethiopia, 2:28:52.
2. Ludmila Petrova, Russia, 2:29:00.
3. Christelle Daunay, France, 2:29:16.
4. Paula Radcliffe, Britain, 2:29:27.
5. Salina Kosgei, Kenya, 2:31:53.
6. Magdalena Lewy Boulet, United States, 2:32:17.
7. Buzunesh Deba, United States, 2:35:54.
8. Serkalem Biset Abrha, United States, 2:37:20.
9. Yuri Kano, Japan, 2:39:05.
10. Desiree Ficker, United States, 2:39:30.
Keitany sub-1:07 again, Merga defends in Delhi Half Marathon
Mary Keitany looked to be cruising towards a World record time through 15km of Sunday’s Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Eventually the Kenyan settled for 1:06:54, falling short of the mark, though she smashed the course record.
The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.
Deriba Merga did not have a Kenyan breathing down his neck as he crossed the finish-line first for the second year in a row in the men’s race. The Ethiopian had his countrymen, Eshetu Wondimu and Tilahun Regassa for company for the better part of the race before breaking away past the 15km mark to coast through to a 59:54 win. Wondimu (1:00:02) came second while Regassa, who set the early pace, faded to fourth behind Kenyan Wilson Kipsang (1:00:04) who was second here last time.
There was no challenge at all to World Half Marathon champion Keitany in the women’s race. Defending champion Aselefech Mergia of Ethiopia (1:10.02) finished ninth, unable to match the early pace set by the front-running Kenyan. Ethiopians Wude Ayelew (1:07.58) and Aberu Kebede (1:07.59) who took the second and third spots, tried to put up a fight, but in the end found Keitany too good.
Though the race started in almost ideal weather conditions, the temperatures rose considerably about half an hour after the start, forcing runners to slow the pace.
On the flat course, the early pace was furious as Merga, a little restless right at the start, turning sideways often to place his team-mates and the position of the Kenyans, kept up his relentless front-running act once they broke away from the crowd of runners. The Ethiopians set such a good pace that by the 5km mark, reached in around 13:51, the Kenyans were left well behind.
The leading bunch of Merga, Regassa and Wondimu was inside the course record pace at the 10km mark in 27:43. But with little challenge from the Kenyans and the heat slowly taking its toll, the Ethiopians had to slacken the pace in the race’s second half.
Merga crossed 15km in 41:55, still inside the course record he set last year (59:15), and as he began running away from his team-mates, it was Regassa who showed signs of fatigue. Wondimu, who had drifted behind slightly midway through only to catch up with his countrymen in the lead, tried his best to keep pace with Merga, but in vain.
From around 100 metres to the finish, Merga kept looking back to find whether someone, especially Kipsang, was making a late charge. Memories of that superb surge by Kipsang last year must have come flooding back. This time, though, there were no worries for the 29-year-old Ethiopian. The US$ 25,000 first prize was his without much ado. He tried to find words to express his joy as television reporters surrounded him, but only ended up saying nothing. The 59:54 was his sixth best time, his last year’s effort in Delhi being still his best.
Wondimu looked set to crack one hour for the first time in his career, but eventually settled for 1:00:02, just one second off his best, clocked in Berlin last year. Regassa, still a junior, clocked his third best at 1:00:37 for his fourth pace, overtaken by Kipsang towards the end and thus being deprived of a podium finish.
Kipsang, who looked steady to start with, could not show his customary pace. “At 15km, I felt pain in my toe and I checked my speed. The gap between me and the leader became more than expected and in the end I wasn’t able to cover the lost ground,” the Kenyan said.
Third sub-1:07 for Keitany
Keitany’s domination was total. The Kenyan never allowed anyone to even think about putting up a challenge. Taking off fast, she ran much of her race in the company of Indian male runners and thus kept a steady pace. She was past the 10km mark in a stunning 30:39, raising murmurs about Delhi witnessing a World record. By the 15km mark, at 46:40, she was still very much ahead of World record pace. But then, after that the pace slackened. The course record of Mergia, 1:08:17, was battered beyond recognition, however.
Keitany, who took the top prize of 25,000 dollars, said that she had Lornah Kiplagat’s 1:06:25 World record in mind when she started. “The course was excellent and the weather was not bad. I hope to come back next year,” she said.
Kiplagat’s 2007 effort survived, just as it had in Birmingham 20 days earlier when Keitany clocked 1:06:36, the leading time in the world this season and the second fastest ever. Her 1:06:54 today was the seventh best on the all-time lists. The Kenyan, who dedicated this victory to her one-year-old son, now holds four of the top-10 timings on the all-time lists. She had timed 1:06.48 behind Kiplagat, a former Kenyan now a Dutch, in Udine in 2007.
Though the Ethiopians were outclassed by Keitany, they took the next three places behind her, Mamitu Daska (1:08:07) coming ahead of Kenyan Peninah Arusei for fourth.
Deepchand Saharan won the race among Indian men in 1:04:00, finishing 17th overall. Sukanya Mall was the best Indian woman, coming overall 22nd in 1:20:11.
Over 29,000 competed in various events including a Great Delhi Run in which celebrities took part. The Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs. Sheila Dikshit, gave away the prizes to the winners of the main event. Merga received a golden mace apart from his winning cheque.
By an IAAF correspondent
Leading Results:
MEN -
1. Deriba Merga, ETH 59:54
2. Eshetu Wondimu, ETH 1:00:02
3. Wilson Kipsang, KEN 1:00:04
4. Tilahun Regassa, ETH 1:00:37
5. Titus Masai, KEN 1:00:43
6. Dieuodone Disi, RWA 1:01:37
7. Kiplimo Kimutai, KEN 1:01:40
8. Juwawo Wirimai, ZIM 1:01:45
9. Stephen Mokoka, RSA 1:01:47
10. Ezekiel Cherop, KEN 1:01:50
WOMEN -
1. Mary Keitany, KEN 1:06:54 (New Course Record, previous 1:08:17)
2. Wude Ayelew, ETH 1:07:58
3. Aberu Kebede, ETH 1:07:59
4. Mamitu Daska, ETH 1:08:07
5. Peninah Arusei, KEN 1:08:30
6. Mara Ibhrahinova, AZE 1:08:45
7. Teyba Erkesso, ETH 1:09:05
8. Amane Gobena, ETH 1:09:32
9. Aselefech Mergia, ETH 1:10:02
10. Pamela Chepchumba, KEN 1:10:04
South Africa runner wins the world 50km Trophy Final in Gibraltar
Lucas Nonyane, of the Nedbank Club in Gauteng, has won the International Association of Ultrarunners' 50km Trophy Final, in a time of 2:58:04. Club mate Lesley Train was third in the women's competition. The race was held on 31 October 2009 in Gibraltar.
The Trophy Final is the culmination of a series of qualifying 50km races around the world, with the best 50km runners in the world being invited to the final race. The Old Mutual Om die Dam was the only South African qualifying race in 2009.
Despite struggling with visa and other logistical obstacles, the small South African contingent, which also included Butiki Jantjies, Steven Molepo and Hermans Mokgadi, performed exceptionally well at their first IAU event.
Nonyane, who also won the Old Mutual Om die Dam 50km race in March this year, where he qualified for the final, ran shoulder to shoulder with Michael Wardian (USA), before breaking away on the last lap. Molepo and Mokgadi were close to the leaders for much of the race.
Train, the runner-up at the Old Mutual Om die Dam, was in second place with 8km to go, but was passed by Monica Carlin (Italy) to finish third. The women's race was won by Kami Semich (USA), in 3:29:47. Semich, like Nonyane, headed the world 50km rankings going into the race
Comrades entries max out at 20 000
Entries for the 2010 Comrades Marathon officially closed on Monday when the 5 000 novice entries up for grabs were snapped up within 27 hours of becoming available.
The 15 000 entries for previous runners closed on 27 October, four days ahead of schedule.
Novice entries were opened on Sunday at 9am, and by midday on Monday the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) declared the field full for the race that is both the 85th running of the world-famous event, and one that has had its profile raised due to its proximity to the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Unique, larger medals will be available to commemorate the anniversary.
“I was confident that we would receive 5 000 novice entries within a four-week period, but never anticipated that we would reach it within 27 hours," said Gary Boshoff, CEO of the CMA.
The CMA will be processing all entries over the next couple of weeks, and a final entry figure will be released upon completion. The total number of entries could well be in excess of 20 000 runners since postal entries sent in on the day of closing will still be accepted and will take approximately ten working days to arrive at the CMA offices.
Tuesday 03/11/2009
In second comeback, Tulu wins one for her fans
New York, USA - Seventeen years after the Barcelona Olympics, seeing Derartu Tulu's name at the head of the results column may seem like a return to the past.
On the day after the 2009 ING New York City Marathon, race director Mary Wittenberg introduced her women's champion, Derartu Tulu, as "A towering figure not only in the world of running, but among women leaders." It may have sounded like an overstatement for any other runner, but Tulu herself provided the evidence when asked about the reception her victory would receive at home.
With a broad smile, Tulu explained, "When I was training, and a lot of Ethiopians back home would see me, they would ask me: ‘Where have you been? We would love to see you back’. I asked them, 'There are so many other runners, what do you expect from me?'"
"They say they long to see me and Haile doing great things again," she went on. "I realized how much they still expect from me. So I started to tell them: 'Wait a little while for me and I may be able to accomplish something.'"
One of the pioneers
Tulu's race in New York came more than 17 years after she first gained the world's attention. In the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, at the age of 20, Tulu became the first Ethiopian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the 10,000m final. She defeated South African Elana Meyer in the first Olympics after South Africa's return from their apartheid-era ban, and when Tulu waited for Meyer beyond the finish line and the pair took their lap of honour together, it created one of the lasting images of Olympic history.
Like Ethiopia's other Olympic champions - Miruts Yifter and Abebe Bikila among them - Tulu's picture went up on the national stadium in Addis Ababa. Tulu recognized that this stature gave her both a unique voice in her country and the responsibility to use it. In the course of the next Olympiad, Tulu agitated for change in the Ethiopian federation and, indirectly, encouraged more Ethiopian girls to run. (One notable girl who grew up in Tulu's reflected glow was her young second cousin Tirunesh Dibaba.) She continued competing and won silver at 10,000m at the 1995 World Championships in Goteborg, Sweden.
Interviewed for an American running magazine in those days, Tulu was paired with another Olympic pioneer, 1984 gold medal marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson, though Tulu's stature in Ethiopia probably outstripped that of Samuelson in the USA. (Samuelson finished some twenty minutes and sixteen places behind Tulu on Sunday.)
Tulu followed Samuelson to the marathon in 1997 on the Boston marathon course which made Samuelson's reputation, but managed only a fifth-place finish in 2:30:28 as her countrywoman Fatuma Roba, a new Ethiopian marathon star with her 1996 Olympic win, began a three-year streak in Boston.
First comeback
After a 1998 maternity break when daughter Tsion was born, Tulu returned to the Olympic track in Sydney, winning another 10,000m gold, and when that was followed by a London marathon win in 2001 and World Championships 10,000m gold in Edmonton it looked like Tulu had returned to dominance. She was dominant on all surfaces, starting her championship run with the 2000 World Cross Country championship.
"It's hard to compare victories," Tulu said on Monday in New York. "Cross country is how I first went out of Ethiopia to compete. Track is where you first saw me. I love all the events in which I've competed."
Tulu continued running marathons while struggling with injuries and inconsistencies in the following years. High points including finishing third in New York City in 2005, after a PB 2:23:30 at the Helsinki World Championships, where she finished fourth. She took bronze at 10,000m in the Athens Olympics. Then, in 2006, she had her second daughter, Ruth.
"In Ethiopia, unlike in the west, we stop running at the beginning of pregnancy," said Tulu on Tuesday. "Because of this, and because of injuries, I have had periods of interrupted training. I do feel that I have lost time. Of the 20 years I have been running, I have run perhaps 10 because of these interruptions." As a result, Tulu has sometimes seemed to disappear from view. The other side of the coin, perhaps, is that Tulu has been able to extend her career years beyond when she might have retired.
Second comeback
Though Tulu certainly put in the work, Sunday's race in New York played directly into her hands. "Even if there had been 10 women in the pack at 40km, I was still confident I could pass them. I know I have that speed from the track, from the high speed and hard work we did."
Tulu's return to fitness after the birth of Ruth came with some adjustments, though.
"There are things you have to change," she said.
"I had to reduce speed work and listen to my body more. But as you grow older, you learn a lot and gain experience. If you are smart, your legs may be fast but your mind is faster."
The open question is how much longer Tulu can extend this second comeback, though she herself has few doubts now after her confidence-building victory in New York. With four previous appearances (including the 2001 victory) at the London marathon, she was asked, would she be in London in April of 2010?
"Oh, I don't know about next year," she replied. "When I said I wanted to run the marathon in London, I meant the Olympics."
A towering figure indeed: Tulu's pioneering influence could then stretch over 20 years of athletics.
Parker Morse for the IAAF
Soweto Marathon ends season on a high
This year's Nedbank Soweto Marathon ended the traditional running season on a high note on Sunday when two South African runners finally claimed the leading places in both men and ladies categories.Tshidiso Bosiu and Rene Kalmer became the latest winners - walking away with R100 000 respectively. Both runners also pocketed an additional R10 000 for various time incentives and Kalmer also beat the 2001 race record of 2:45:37.
Kalmer broke the tape in 2:44:06 while Bosiu clocked in 2:18:10 to win the men's category.
Kalmer was followed by Poppy Mlambo who recently participated in the 16th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham. Besides her prize money of R 80 000, Mlambo received an additional R 6 000 time incentive cash.
Mlambo was in turn followed by four-times winner Mamoroallo Tjoka, whom many expected to take the golf for a record fifth time. She finished in 2:53:13.
Bosiu, who has only been racing for the past two years, took the men's lead after the half way mark.
The 27-year old was followed by two-times winner, Mabuthile Lebopo who had his suspension lifted by Lesotho Amateur Athletics Association (LAAA) on Friday.
Tsotang Maine, who has regularly contested the top places in the men's race since 2004, came third with a time of 2:19:49.
A record of 4923 runners completed the 19th Nedbank Soweto Marathon with another 6300 participants in the 10km walk and run events.
Keflezighi and Tulu triumph in New York
Mebrahtom Keflezighi, 2004 Olympic silver medallist and 10,000m American Record holder, became the first American champion of the ING New York City Marathon since 1982 when he finished in 2:09:15 this morning. Derartu Tulu was the women's champion in 2:28:52.
The ING New York City Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.
Patience pays off for Keflezighi
Keflezighi, previously second in 2004 and third in 2005 in this race, ran a canny race to finally deliver on a decade-long effort to bring American champions back to New York.
Running strong with the pack through the early miles, Keflezighi ignored a strength-wasting move led by Hendrick Ramaala on First Avenue. When a pack of ten regrouped for the Bronx section of the race, Keflezighi was in place to cover the move made by James Kwambai which pared the pack down to four.
Heading south into Manhattan, first Gharib and then Kwambai fell off the pace, with Kwambai's training partner, four-time Boston Marathon champion Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, the last remaining rival. Kwambai would eventually drop out, struggling with dehydration issues.
Keflezighi took the lead for the first time when he broke away from Cheruiyot as the pair entered Central Park from 5th Avenue at 90th Street.
"I beat [Cheruiyot] in 2005 here [in New York]," said Keflezighi. With 2 miles to go, I gave a push, and he let me go. I just kept expanding the lead."
Cheruiyot cross the line in 2:09:56 with Moroccan Jaouad Gharib third in 2:10:25.
Victory caps notable comeback
Keflezighi's victory also represented the U.S. marathon championship, as that race was run concurrently with the ING New York City Marathon. It was Keflezighi's first ever marathon victory, and capped a comeback year in which the Athens medallist won national championships at the half-marathon and 7-mile distances on the road, as well as the national cross country championships.
Keflezghi ran a PB 2:09:21 at the London Marathon in April, then chipped another six seconds off that PB here today in New York.
Keflezghi lost most of his 2008 season struggling with injuries which had also kept him off the U.S. Olympic team in the marathon, denying him the ability to defend his Olympic silver medal.
As in 2007, when the U.S. Olympic Trials - Men's Marathon finished in the same spot in Central Park, Keflezeghi wept after crossing the finish line. In 2007, it was grief when he learned of the death of his training partner Ryan Shay earlier in the race. Today, Keflezighi said, "I had dreamed of winning both [races]. The memory of Ryan Shay was what I cried for. It was one [win] for him and one for me."
"To be able to win this race is very, very special to me."
Keflezighi was the first American winner in New York since Alberto Salazar in 1982. Starting in 2001, when the race also hosted the USA championships, and continuing through the Trials in 2007, the host New York Road Runners have been part of a movement to develop American marathoners capable of challenging for the win here. Keflezighi was followed in fourth place by Ryan Hall (2:10:36) as six American men finished in the top 10.
Tulu another comeback
Derartu Tulu was the younger in a duel of experienced veterans through Central Park, as 2000 champion Ludmila Petrova of Russia, 41, made the move which dropped first three-time New York champion Paula Radcliffe, then newcomer Christelle Daunay of France. The apparently ageless Petrova set a world best for masters (2:25:43) in finishing second here in 2008.
Tulu broke away from Petrova as the pair turned on to Central Park South, and opened a gap which expanded to eight seconds at the finish line (2:28:52 to 2:29:00).
This was Tulu's first marathon victory since 2001, when she won the Flora London Marathon. She had previously finished third here in 2005.
Radcliffe's bluff called
Tulu's finish time in 2005 was nearly three and a half minutes faster, highlighting the way today's race shaped up for the women. Radcliffe was expected to set the early pace, after announcing that she considered the 2:22:31 course record to be possible. Instead, Radcliffe led the women through 15km in a pedestrian 52:38."I wasn't able to run the last two legs because I had a pain in my tendon," explained Radcliffe. "I had a jab [cortisone injection] in it, and I knew [the race] was going to be against my leg. I didn't want to say too much about it, because I didn't want people to know they could run away from me if it started to go."
The pack of potential contenders was thinned still more by an early tumble by 2009 Boston champion Salina Kosgei, which also resulted in a hard fall by Japan's Yuri Kano; Kano's face actually hit the pavement.
Kano was off the lead for the rest of the race, but finished ninth in 2:39:05. Kosgei hung on to the pack through the Bronx, finally finishing fifth in 2:31:53.
Radcliffe was next off the pack, though as the World record holder dropped back on Fifth Avenue Tulu looked back and beckoned her to rejoin the leaders. Radcliffe finished fourth in 2:29:27. The last athlete to be dropped by Tulu and Petrova was the smooth-striding Frenchwoman Christelle Daunay, who had looked like the strongest of the three. Daunay ran 2:29:16 for third.
"I did not come here necessarily expecting to win," said Tulu. "I did expect that I would be a strong competitor, and I'm very happy to have won."
1984 Olympic marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson finished in 2:49:09; Olympic speed skater Dan Jansen ran 3:41:43.
Parker Morse for the IAAF
Results
Men
1. Meb Keflezighi, United States, 2 hours, 9 minutes, 15 seconds.
2. Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Kenya, 2:09:56.
3. Jaouad Gharib, Morocco, 2:10:25.
4. Ryan Hall, United States, 2:10:36.
5. Abderrahime Bouramdane, Morocco, 2:12:14.
6. Hendrick Ramaala, South Africa, 2:12:31.
7. Jorge Torres, United States, 2:13:00.
8. Nick Arciniaga, United States, 2:13:46.
9. Abdi Abdirahman, United States, 2:14:00.
10. Jason Lehmkuhle, United States, 2:14:39.
Women
1. Derartu Tulu, Ethiopia, 2:28:52.
2. Ludmila Petrova, Russia, 2:29:00.
3. Christelle Daunay, France, 2:29:16.
4. Paula Radcliffe, Britain, 2:29:27.
5. Salina Kosgei, Kenya, 2:31:53.
6. Magdalena Lewy Boulet, United States, 2:32:17.
7. Buzunesh Deba, United States, 2:35:54.
8. Serkalem Biset Abrha, United States, 2:37:20.
9. Yuri Kano, Japan, 2:39:05.
10. Desiree Ficker, United States, 2:39:30.
Keitany sub-1:07 again, Merga defends in Delhi Half Marathon
Mary Keitany looked to be cruising towards a World record time through 15km of Sunday’s Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Eventually the Kenyan settled for 1:06:54, falling short of the mark, though she smashed the course record.The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.
Deriba Merga did not have a Kenyan breathing down his neck as he crossed the finish-line first for the second year in a row in the men’s race. The Ethiopian had his countrymen, Eshetu Wondimu and Tilahun Regassa for company for the better part of the race before breaking away past the 15km mark to coast through to a 59:54 win. Wondimu (1:00:02) came second while Regassa, who set the early pace, faded to fourth behind Kenyan Wilson Kipsang (1:00:04) who was second here last time.
There was no challenge at all to World Half Marathon champion Keitany in the women’s race. Defending champion Aselefech Mergia of Ethiopia (1:10.02) finished ninth, unable to match the early pace set by the front-running Kenyan. Ethiopians Wude Ayelew (1:07.58) and Aberu Kebede (1:07.59) who took the second and third spots, tried to put up a fight, but in the end found Keitany too good.
Though the race started in almost ideal weather conditions, the temperatures rose considerably about half an hour after the start, forcing runners to slow the pace.
On the flat course, the early pace was furious as Merga, a little restless right at the start, turning sideways often to place his team-mates and the position of the Kenyans, kept up his relentless front-running act once they broke away from the crowd of runners. The Ethiopians set such a good pace that by the 5km mark, reached in around 13:51, the Kenyans were left well behind.
The leading bunch of Merga, Regassa and Wondimu was inside the course record pace at the 10km mark in 27:43. But with little challenge from the Kenyans and the heat slowly taking its toll, the Ethiopians had to slacken the pace in the race’s second half.
Merga crossed 15km in 41:55, still inside the course record he set last year (59:15), and as he began running away from his team-mates, it was Regassa who showed signs of fatigue. Wondimu, who had drifted behind slightly midway through only to catch up with his countrymen in the lead, tried his best to keep pace with Merga, but in vain.
From around 100 metres to the finish, Merga kept looking back to find whether someone, especially Kipsang, was making a late charge. Memories of that superb surge by Kipsang last year must have come flooding back. This time, though, there were no worries for the 29-year-old Ethiopian. The US$ 25,000 first prize was his without much ado. He tried to find words to express his joy as television reporters surrounded him, but only ended up saying nothing. The 59:54 was his sixth best time, his last year’s effort in Delhi being still his best.
Wondimu looked set to crack one hour for the first time in his career, but eventually settled for 1:00:02, just one second off his best, clocked in Berlin last year. Regassa, still a junior, clocked his third best at 1:00:37 for his fourth pace, overtaken by Kipsang towards the end and thus being deprived of a podium finish.
Kipsang, who looked steady to start with, could not show his customary pace. “At 15km, I felt pain in my toe and I checked my speed. The gap between me and the leader became more than expected and in the end I wasn’t able to cover the lost ground,” the Kenyan said.
Third sub-1:07 for Keitany
Keitany’s domination was total. The Kenyan never allowed anyone to even think about putting up a challenge. Taking off fast, she ran much of her race in the company of Indian male runners and thus kept a steady pace. She was past the 10km mark in a stunning 30:39, raising murmurs about Delhi witnessing a World record. By the 15km mark, at 46:40, she was still very much ahead of World record pace. But then, after that the pace slackened. The course record of Mergia, 1:08:17, was battered beyond recognition, however.
Keitany, who took the top prize of 25,000 dollars, said that she had Lornah Kiplagat’s 1:06:25 World record in mind when she started. “The course was excellent and the weather was not bad. I hope to come back next year,” she said.
Kiplagat’s 2007 effort survived, just as it had in Birmingham 20 days earlier when Keitany clocked 1:06:36, the leading time in the world this season and the second fastest ever. Her 1:06:54 today was the seventh best on the all-time lists. The Kenyan, who dedicated this victory to her one-year-old son, now holds four of the top-10 timings on the all-time lists. She had timed 1:06.48 behind Kiplagat, a former Kenyan now a Dutch, in Udine in 2007.
Though the Ethiopians were outclassed by Keitany, they took the next three places behind her, Mamitu Daska (1:08:07) coming ahead of Kenyan Peninah Arusei for fourth.
Deepchand Saharan won the race among Indian men in 1:04:00, finishing 17th overall. Sukanya Mall was the best Indian woman, coming overall 22nd in 1:20:11.
Over 29,000 competed in various events including a Great Delhi Run in which celebrities took part. The Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs. Sheila Dikshit, gave away the prizes to the winners of the main event. Merga received a golden mace apart from his winning cheque.
By an IAAF correspondent
Leading Results:
MEN -
1. Deriba Merga, ETH 59:54
2. Eshetu Wondimu, ETH 1:00:02
3. Wilson Kipsang, KEN 1:00:04
4. Tilahun Regassa, ETH 1:00:37
5. Titus Masai, KEN 1:00:43
6. Dieuodone Disi, RWA 1:01:37
7. Kiplimo Kimutai, KEN 1:01:40
8. Juwawo Wirimai, ZIM 1:01:45
9. Stephen Mokoka, RSA 1:01:47
10. Ezekiel Cherop, KEN 1:01:50
WOMEN -
1. Mary Keitany, KEN 1:06:54 (New Course Record, previous 1:08:17)
2. Wude Ayelew, ETH 1:07:58
3. Aberu Kebede, ETH 1:07:59
4. Mamitu Daska, ETH 1:08:07
5. Peninah Arusei, KEN 1:08:30
6. Mara Ibhrahinova, AZE 1:08:45
7. Teyba Erkesso, ETH 1:09:05
8. Amane Gobena, ETH 1:09:32
9. Aselefech Mergia, ETH 1:10:02
10. Pamela Chepchumba, KEN 1:10:04
South Africa runner wins the world 50km Trophy Final in Gibraltar
Lucas Nonyane, of the Nedbank Club in Gauteng, has won the International Association of Ultrarunners' 50km Trophy Final, in a time of 2:58:04. Club mate Lesley Train was third in the women's competition. The race was held on 31 October 2009 in Gibraltar.
The Trophy Final is the culmination of a series of qualifying 50km races around the world, with the best 50km runners in the world being invited to the final race. The Old Mutual Om die Dam was the only South African qualifying race in 2009.
Despite struggling with visa and other logistical obstacles, the small South African contingent, which also included Butiki Jantjies, Steven Molepo and Hermans Mokgadi, performed exceptionally well at their first IAU event.
Nonyane, who also won the Old Mutual Om die Dam 50km race in March this year, where he qualified for the final, ran shoulder to shoulder with Michael Wardian (USA), before breaking away on the last lap. Molepo and Mokgadi were close to the leaders for much of the race.
Train, the runner-up at the Old Mutual Om die Dam, was in second place with 8km to go, but was passed by Monica Carlin (Italy) to finish third. The women's race was won by Kami Semich (USA), in 3:29:47. Semich, like Nonyane, headed the world 50km rankings going into the race
Comrades entries max out at 20 000
Entries for the 2010 Comrades Marathon officially closed on Monday when the 5 000 novice entries up for grabs were snapped up within 27 hours of becoming available.
The 15 000 entries for previous runners closed on 27 October, four days ahead of schedule.
Novice entries were opened on Sunday at 9am, and by midday on Monday the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) declared the field full for the race that is both the 85th running of the world-famous event, and one that has had its profile raised due to its proximity to the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Unique, larger medals will be available to commemorate the anniversary.
“I was confident that we would receive 5 000 novice entries within a four-week period, but never anticipated that we would reach it within 27 hours," said Gary Boshoff, CEO of the CMA.
The CMA will be processing all entries over the next couple of weeks, and a final entry figure will be released upon completion. The total number of entries could well be in excess of 20 000 runners since postal entries sent in on the day of closing will still be accepted and will take approximately ten working days to arrive at the CMA offices.
Tuesday 03/11/2009
Gebrselassie set for return to Dubai where another World record assault beckons
If at first you don’t succeed.. you go back to Dubai for another crack at the marathon World record! At least, you do if your name is Haile Gebrselassie.
Although he won both previous Dubai races easily, an overenthusiastic first half ruined his first record attempt, in 2008; and turning into the teeth of a rainstorm at 30k washed out 2009. So Haile Geb goes back for a third attempt at a world record in the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on January 22, 2010.
The most famous man in Ethiopia – and probably the busiest as well, with all his business ventures – took time out in Addis Abeba last week to sign another contract with Dubai co-organisers, Peter Connerton and Ahmad Al Kamali.
“I think it’s still possible for me to break the world record there,” said Gebrselassie, “but everything has to be right, and I’m not going to spoil my chances by predicting it. I still can’t believe I didn’t break the world record in 2008. Everything was perfect except the pace for the first half of the race, which was too fast. Last year the rain was bad and I wasn’t feeling 100%, so to win and prove I could run well in the wet weather was a bonus for me.”
When the race was upgraded two years ago, with an overall prize pot of two million dollars, marathon record holder Gebrselassie was the obvious target for the organisers. “There are few, if any, greater names in athletics history than Haile Gebrselassie,” said race director Connerton. “So once again we are proud and delighted that he has chosen to make his next marathon appearance in Dubai in three months time.”
“It’s only a short flight from Addis (to Dubai),” said Haile,”the weather is usually beautiful, the course itself is very, very good, and the athletes are treated really well. I’m already training hard, and looking forward to running again in Dubai.
“For the three months leading up to Dubai, I start slowly with a number of long runs. I will then do a month of speed training and by December everything has to be ready. I will do a number of speed “tests,” these are very important to gauge how well I am running and what I still need to do to be absolutely ready for a world record attempt."
Now 36, Haile has set 26 World records or world bests in a career stretching back to the early 1990s. He had a hesitant start to his marathon career when he launched it in 2002, with a third place in London behind the World record of Khalid Khannouchi. Three years later, fast wins in Amsterdam, Berlin and Fukuoka were offset by two more poor runs in London, ninth (“the worst race of my career”) and a failure to finish, which was later discovered to be due to pollen allergies.
All that was put behind him later that year, 2007, when he returned to Berlin and ran a World record 2:04:26. He improved that the following year, again in Berlin, with the current World record of 2:03:59, adding the first sub-2:04 to an already illustrious barrier breaking career.
In both previous Dubai races, he has been on course for similar sub-2:04 times, only to be thwarted by his own presumption in 2008, and a thunderstorm earlier his year. Undaunted he is preparing for another tilt at a third marathon world record in his third Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.
“I will do 30-35km maximum road training per day split into morning and afternoon runs. I will also work in the gym – treadmill, cycling, exercising – for around three hours minimum once a week. By the time I start the Dubai Marathon I will weigh 58kg. By the time I finish, I will weigh 54kg.”
Pat Butcher for the IAAF
If at first you don’t succeed.. you go back to Dubai for another crack at the marathon World record! At least, you do if your name is Haile Gebrselassie.Although he won both previous Dubai races easily, an overenthusiastic first half ruined his first record attempt, in 2008; and turning into the teeth of a rainstorm at 30k washed out 2009. So Haile Geb goes back for a third attempt at a world record in the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on January 22, 2010.
The most famous man in Ethiopia – and probably the busiest as well, with all his business ventures – took time out in Addis Abeba last week to sign another contract with Dubai co-organisers, Peter Connerton and Ahmad Al Kamali.
“I think it’s still possible for me to break the world record there,” said Gebrselassie, “but everything has to be right, and I’m not going to spoil my chances by predicting it. I still can’t believe I didn’t break the world record in 2008. Everything was perfect except the pace for the first half of the race, which was too fast. Last year the rain was bad and I wasn’t feeling 100%, so to win and prove I could run well in the wet weather was a bonus for me.”
When the race was upgraded two years ago, with an overall prize pot of two million dollars, marathon record holder Gebrselassie was the obvious target for the organisers. “There are few, if any, greater names in athletics history than Haile Gebrselassie,” said race director Connerton. “So once again we are proud and delighted that he has chosen to make his next marathon appearance in Dubai in three months time.”
“It’s only a short flight from Addis (to Dubai),” said Haile,”the weather is usually beautiful, the course itself is very, very good, and the athletes are treated really well. I’m already training hard, and looking forward to running again in Dubai.
“For the three months leading up to Dubai, I start slowly with a number of long runs. I will then do a month of speed training and by December everything has to be ready. I will do a number of speed “tests,” these are very important to gauge how well I am running and what I still need to do to be absolutely ready for a world record attempt."
Now 36, Haile has set 26 World records or world bests in a career stretching back to the early 1990s. He had a hesitant start to his marathon career when he launched it in 2002, with a third place in London behind the World record of Khalid Khannouchi. Three years later, fast wins in Amsterdam, Berlin and Fukuoka were offset by two more poor runs in London, ninth (“the worst race of my career”) and a failure to finish, which was later discovered to be due to pollen allergies.
All that was put behind him later that year, 2007, when he returned to Berlin and ran a World record 2:04:26. He improved that the following year, again in Berlin, with the current World record of 2:03:59, adding the first sub-2:04 to an already illustrious barrier breaking career.
In both previous Dubai races, he has been on course for similar sub-2:04 times, only to be thwarted by his own presumption in 2008, and a thunderstorm earlier his year. Undaunted he is preparing for another tilt at a third marathon world record in his third Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.
“I will do 30-35km maximum road training per day split into morning and afternoon runs. I will also work in the gym – treadmill, cycling, exercising – for around three hours minimum once a week. By the time I start the Dubai Marathon I will weigh 58kg. By the time I finish, I will weigh 54kg.”
Pat Butcher for the IAAF
In second comeback, Tulu wins one for her fans
New York, USA - Seventeen years after the Barcelona Olympics, seeing Derartu Tulu's name at the head of the results column may seem like a return to the past.On the day after the 2009 ING New York City Marathon, race director Mary Wittenberg introduced her women's champion, Derartu Tulu, as "A towering figure not only in the world of running, but among women leaders." It may have sounded like an overstatement for any other runner, but Tulu herself provided the evidence when asked about the reception her victory would receive at home.
With a broad smile, Tulu explained, "When I was training, and a lot of Ethiopians back home would see me, they would ask me: ‘Where have you been? We would love to see you back’. I asked them, 'There are so many other runners, what do you expect from me?'"
"They say they long to see me and Haile doing great things again," she went on. "I realized how much they still expect from me. So I started to tell them: 'Wait a little while for me and I may be able to accomplish something.'"
One of the pioneers
Tulu's race in New York came more than 17 years after she first gained the world's attention. In the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, at the age of 20, Tulu became the first Ethiopian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the 10,000m final. She defeated South African Elana Meyer in the first Olympics after South Africa's return from their apartheid-era ban, and when Tulu waited for Meyer beyond the finish line and the pair took their lap of honour together, it created one of the lasting images of Olympic history.Like Ethiopia's other Olympic champions - Miruts Yifter and Abebe Bikila among them - Tulu's picture went up on the national stadium in Addis Ababa. Tulu recognized that this stature gave her both a unique voice in her country and the responsibility to use it. In the course of the next Olympiad, Tulu agitated for change in the Ethiopian federation and, indirectly, encouraged more Ethiopian girls to run. (One notable girl who grew up in Tulu's reflected glow was her young second cousin Tirunesh Dibaba.) She continued competing and won silver at 10,000m at the 1995 World Championships in Goteborg, Sweden.
Interviewed for an American running magazine in those days, Tulu was paired with another Olympic pioneer, 1984 gold medal marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson, though Tulu's stature in Ethiopia probably outstripped that of Samuelson in the USA. (Samuelson finished some twenty minutes and sixteen places behind Tulu on Sunday.)
Tulu followed Samuelson to the marathon in 1997 on the Boston marathon course which made Samuelson's reputation, but managed only a fifth-place finish in 2:30:28 as her countrywoman Fatuma Roba, a new Ethiopian marathon star with her 1996 Olympic win, began a three-year streak in Boston.
First comeback
After a 1998 maternity break when daughter Tsion was born, Tulu returned to the Olympic track in Sydney, winning another 10,000m gold, and when that was followed by a London marathon win in 2001 and World Championships 10,000m gold in Edmonton it looked like Tulu had returned to dominance. She was dominant on all surfaces, starting her championship run with the 2000 World Cross Country championship.
"It's hard to compare victories," Tulu said on Monday in New York. "Cross country is how I first went out of Ethiopia to compete. Track is where you first saw me. I love all the events in which I've competed."
Tulu continued running marathons while struggling with injuries and inconsistencies in the following years. High points including finishing third in New York City in 2005, after a PB 2:23:30 at the Helsinki World Championships, where she finished fourth. She took bronze at 10,000m in the Athens Olympics. Then, in 2006, she had her second daughter, Ruth.
"In Ethiopia, unlike in the west, we stop running at the beginning of pregnancy," said Tulu on Tuesday. "Because of this, and because of injuries, I have had periods of interrupted training. I do feel that I have lost time. Of the 20 years I have been running, I have run perhaps 10 because of these interruptions." As a result, Tulu has sometimes seemed to disappear from view. The other side of the coin, perhaps, is that Tulu has been able to extend her career years beyond when she might have retired.
Second comeback
Though Tulu certainly put in the work, Sunday's race in New York played directly into her hands. "Even if there had been 10 women in the pack at 40km, I was still confident I could pass them. I know I have that speed from the track, from the high speed and hard work we did."
Tulu's return to fitness after the birth of Ruth came with some adjustments, though.
"There are things you have to change," she said.
"I had to reduce speed work and listen to my body more. But as you grow older, you learn a lot and gain experience. If you are smart, your legs may be fast but your mind is faster."
The open question is how much longer Tulu can extend this second comeback, though she herself has few doubts now after her confidence-building victory in New York. With four previous appearances (including the 2001 victory) at the London marathon, she was asked, would she be in London in April of 2010?
"Oh, I don't know about next year," she replied. "When I said I wanted to run the marathon in London, I meant the Olympics."
A towering figure indeed: Tulu's pioneering influence could then stretch over 20 years of athletics.
Parker Morse for the IAAF
Monday, October 26, 2009
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