Günther Weidlinger is in top form. © www.photorun.net
Austria’s best distance runner, Günther Weidlinger, came out on top in the land down under. At the Great Australian Run in Melbourne on Sunday, 31-year-old Weidlinger surprised in an incredibly deep field to win the 15-kilometer race in 43:01 minutes. The fastest person in the field was the Olympic gold medalist in the marathon, Sammy Wanjiru. The women’s race also turned out to have its share of surprises in the wet conditions as the Australian Nikki Chapple emerged to win in 50:18.
“I felt good right from the start so I pushed the pace early on,” said Weidlinger afterwards. He, Wanjiru, and Australian Collis Birmingham comprised the lead pack that formed early in the race around the 2K mark.
As the race progressed, Wanjiru dropped off pace first followed by Birmingham. Weidlinger managed to continue to surge—covering the final 5K in 14:16. Collis Birmingham finished second in 43:19. Martin Dent (Australia) placed third in 44:00. Wanjiru, who didn’t arrive in Australia until 36 hours before the race as his daughter fell ill, took fourth in 44:20.
After a difficult first half of the year where he wrestled with a misdiagnosed injury that caused him to lose valuable training time, Günther Weidlinger is having a fantastic autumn. Last month, he set an Austrian record in the Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon, running 2:10:47 hours, which was good for tenth place in a high-quality field. His victory in Melbourne was only four seconds shy of the fastest European 15K this year—a time set by Irish runner Martin Fagan.
In the women’s race, the 28-year-old Nikki Chapple broke away at the halfway mark from Benita Willis of Australia and Fernanda Ribeiro of Portugal. The two women had led the race up to that point. Chapple built up a big lead in the second half of the race to win in 50:18 from Willis who was the pre-race favorite. The 2004 World Cross-Country champion finished in 51:15, just ahead of third-place finisher Helen Clitheroe of Britain (51:17). Ribeiro was fourth in 51:41.
