A record turnout at the Xiamen Marathon on Saturday. © Xiamen Marathon
One of the first marathons in 2009, the Xiamen Marathon in Southeastern China, was held on Saturday. The Xiamen Marathon is a prestigious race. It has been awarded the Gold Label for road races by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It is also highly popular; a record number of participants (33,000) turned out for it.
In past years, the women’s results have often overshadowed those of the men due to the strength and depth of the Chinese women’s distance team. But this year it was different. Samuel Muturi, a Kenyan, ran 2:08:51 hours—good for a course record in the men’s race. His time bettered the record set by Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia six years ago by 12 seconds.
Up until the 35-kilometer mark, the Ethiopian, Negari Terfa, looked like the race’s winner after last year’s winner, Kiprotich Kenei of Kenya dropped out of the lead due to cramping. Terfa had a five second lead at that point. But then the unexpected happened: the Kenyan closed the gap in the final two kilometers. At the finish, Muturi, just 22 years old, had a 10-second advantage over Terfa—an incredible display of a late-race kick. Muturi’s time of 2:08:51 was nearly a three minute improvement over his previous personal best (2:11:08) that was set last year.
Terfa finished second in 2:09:01. The Moroccan, Rachid Kisri, took third place with 2:10:33, while Sammy Kurgat of Kenya was fourth in 2:11:00.
Not surprisingly, the women’s race was dominated by the Chinese. The outcome produced a surprise, however. A young, relatively unknown runner, Chen Rong (20 years old) won in 2:29:52. Rong ran mostly alone in the race. Finishing three minutes behind her (2:32:57) was the current owner of the course record, Zhang Yingying. Wang Jiali took third in 2:33:58.The Olympic bronze medalist from Beijing, Chunxiu Zhou, was supposed to have run but did not start. Zhou is scheduled to be part of the elite field in the London Marathon on April 26.
Win for James Kwambai in Sao Paulo
James Kwambai triumphs in Sao Paulo. © www.photorun.net
Nearly 20,000 runners showed up to run the “Granddaddy of all New Year’s Eve races” in Sao Paulo, Brazil Wednesday night: the 84th annual of the “Sao Silvestre International Road Race.”
The Africans were there; and they dominated the high-quality field. Marathon specialist James Kwambai of Kenya and Ethiopian, Ayalew Yimmer were the winners in the 15-kilometer race that winded through Sao Paulo’s streets.
The early stages of the men’s race turned out to be a duel between fellow friends and training partners James Kwambai and Evans Cheruiyot. (Both runners train under the world-famous Italian coach Dr. Gabriele Rosa.) Earlier this fall, both runners produced world-class marathon performances—performances like Kwambai matching Haile Gebrselassie stride-for-stride in Berlin where he finished second in 2:05:36 hours and Cheruiyot winning the Chicago Marathon in 2:06:25. The decisive move in their duel came after 10K when Kwambai broke away. Cheruiyot was unable to close the gap and dropped further back.
Kwambai crossed the finish line in 44:22 minutes; Cheruiyot came home in 45:16. Kiprono Chemwolo Mutai completed the Kenyan trifecta with third place in 45:28. Marco Joseph (Tanzania/45:37) and William Naranjo (Colombia/45:47) finished fourth and fifth respectively.
“It was an excellent race for me but I had to give everything I had to win,” James Kwambai told the International Association of Athletics Federation’s Web site after the race.
One of Brazil’s most celebrated marathoners, Vanderlei de Lima, brought his career to an end amidst much applause. The 39-year-old took it relatively easy in the race and finished 102nd in 52:12. Vanderlei de Lima achieved worldwide recognition in the 2004 Olympic Marathon when he was pushed off the road by a spectator while in the lead and had to stop running for a few seconds. Despite that mid-race setback, he still went on to win the bronze medal in Athens. Among his previous marathons, de Lima won Tokyo in 1996 and Hamburg in 2004.
In the women’s race, the Ethiopian Ayalew Yimer prevented a Brazilian triumph. The 21-year-old took the lead at around 8K. She broke the tape in 51:37, well clear of the Brazilians Fabiana Cristine da Silva (52:28) and Marily dos Santos (52:48). In November, Yimer won the Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa. She has also run well in Germany. In 2006, she won the Würzburg Residenz 10K in 31:30. Yimer’s win was the second Ethiopian victory in Sao Paulo since Derartu Tulu in 1994.
Soi and Galkina Win Top-Class Races in Bolzano
Edwin Soi wins in Bolzano, Italy. © BOclassic / live-style.it
The BOclassic in Bolzano, Italy is considered by many to be one of Europe’s most competitive New Year’s Eve races. This was proved true Wednesday when two Olympic medalists from Beijing were the victors. In the men’s event, the Kenyan Edwin Soi repeated his success of the previous year while Russia’s Olympic steeplechase champion and world record-holder, Gulnara Galkina, won the women’s race. Approximately 500 runners took part in this small but high-quality New Year’s Eve race in southern Tyrol. Around 15,000 spectators lined the streets for the 34th edition of the race.
Africans have won the men’s 10K race all but one time since the first race in 1990. Last year was no different. After the Ethiopian, Betona Warga, had made sure of winning the halfway prize at 5K, the defending champion Edwin Soi surged. The 22-year-old Kenyan, who took third place in the Olympic 5,000 meters, took the lead from the European Cross Country champion, Sergiy Lebid of Ukraine. Behind them was one of the world’s top marathon runners, Jaouad Gharib (Morocco). Around 50m behind Gharib was Italy’s 2004 Olympic Marathon champion, Stefano Baldini. With a lap to go, Lebid trailed the strong-looking Edwin Soi by around 20m. The Kenyan finished in 28:55—four seconds ahead of Lebid. Warga took third in 29:13, followed by the marathon specialists Gharib (29:22) and Baldini (29:33).
The Olympic 3,000m steeplechase champion, Gulnara Galkina took the lead in the women’s 5K race from the start. Two weeks ago at the European Cross-Country Championships, she finished 12th on the tough course. At the BOclassic, she dictated tactics right from the start. Even in the early stages, the 30-year-old Russian, who became the first woman to run under nine minutes for the steeplechase in Beijing, was well ahead of her rivals. Only the Hungarian, Aniko Kalovics, the 2006 BOclassic winner, was able to keep up with Galkina initially. But Kalovics could keep up in the last of the four laps. Galkina went on to win in 15:59, achieving a clear margin over the Hungarian (16:07) who finished two seconds ahead of last year’s women’s champion, Sylvia Kibet (Kenya).
Weidlinger Ensures Exciting Times in Peuerbach
Yet again Günther Weidlinger recorded another victory at the Austrian Silvesterlauf Road Race which drew around 700 runners to the starting line in Peuerbach, Austria. The 30-year-old notched up his seventh win on home turf and in so doing, defeated Carsten Eich’s record for total victories. Eich, a German runner who recently announced his retirement, achieved six wins in the race.
Weidlinger ensured there was plenty of excitement in the race. Coming from behind, he won the 6.8-kilometer race in 19:18—a very impressive 2:50 per kilometer! Around the halfway mark, the Ethiopian, Shumye-Tafere Alemayehu, and Moroccan, El-Quady Najim, shared the lead. They were five seconds ahead of Weidlinger. But cheered on by his compatriots, the Austrian made up the deficit. Although he did drop back slightly, he produced the fastest last lap of the entire field. A former steeplechaser, Weidlinger is preparing for his marathon debut in Vienna on April 26. Shumye-Tafere Alemayehu was second in19:23 and El-Qady Najim took third place. The Norwegian, Bua Urige, was fourth in 19:25.
The elite women’s race over 5.1K produced an equally close finish. The 19-year-old Ethiopian, Mare Dibaba-Hurssa, controlled the race from the beginning. She finished in 16:15 minutes—three seconds ahead of Krisztina Papp (Hungary). Sonja Stolic (Serbia) took third place in 16:22, followed by Julia Viellehner (LG Passau/16:23) and Andrea Mayr (16:33). The Austrian is also preparing for the Vienna Marathon.
Africans Dominate Trier’s “Sao Paulo” while the Germans Win Running Backwards
The Africans were too strong for the German athletes in Trier’s Silvesterlauf Road Race on New Year’s Eve. The favorite, Micah Kogo of Kenya, and Mimi Belete of Ethiopia were the winners. Around 2,000 runners from 25 countries took part in the 19th edition of the race. Some 15,000 enthusiastic spectators lined the loop course in the city center.
Thomas Dold, well known as a mountain runner and stair climber who has been a winner of the “Empire State Building Run-Up” in New York City on several occasions, set an unofficial world best for running backwards. The athlete from the SV Steinach club covered 1 kilometer in 3:20 minutes.
Running forwards didn’t go quite as well for the German athletes in Trier. An important factor in the subpar German performance was the withdrawals because of illness and injury respectively of Irina Mikitenko and Sabrina Mockenhaupt. That left the Africans to sort out the podium places between themselves. In the men’s race, the 22-year-old Micah Kogo dominated as expected. The Kenyan, who was his country’s leading finisher in the Olympic 10,000m in Beijing when he won the bronze medal, stamped his authority on the 8K race, winning by a clear margin in 23:08. He defeated fellow countrymen Shadrack Lagat (23:21) and Hosea Tuei (23:23). Two years ago, Kogo made headlines when, as a relatively unknown runner, he won a top-quality 10,000m race in Brussels in what was the sixth-fastest performance of all time (26:35.63).
The best German male runner in Trier was a middle-distance specialist: Carsten Schlangen. He placed fourth in 23:29—ahead of Arne Gabius (Asics Tübingen/23:35). Germans also finished fourth and fifth in the women’s race. The 3,000m steeplechase runner Antje Möldner ran 16:21 for the 5K, while the marathon specialist, Susanne Hahn, finished fifth in 16:34.
Mimi Belete won the 5K race in 16:07. The 30-year-old finished eight seconds ahead of her younger sister, Almesh. Another Ethiopian, Abebu Gelan, took third place (16:20).
Ethiopians Win in Madrid and Amadora
There were two Ethiopian wins in the best known New Year’s Eve races in Spain and Portugal. On a fast course in the Spanish capital, Tadesse Tola won in 27:53 minutes. The 21-year-old, who won the New York City Half-Marathon in the summer, came out on top against a former countryman: Alemayehu Bezabeh. Ironically, Bezabeh now runs for Spain and placed second in 28:06. The fastest woman in Madrid was the 2007 European Cross-Country champion, Marta Dominguez (Spain/33:05).
The 10K race in Amadora (Portugal) turned into a thrilling contest. Victory went to the Ethiopian, Imane Merga, after a strong finishing burst in 29:27. This burst allowed Merga to defeat the Russian, Sergey Ivanov (29:30). Morocco’s Yousef El Kalay (29:31) and Boniface Kiprop (Uganda/29:33) placed third and fourth respectively. Dulce Felix (Portugal) won the women’s race in 32:55.
American Winner in New York City
The famous New York Emerald Nuts Run went off at midnight accompanied by fireworks. In suitably wintry conditions there was an American winner over the 4-mile course. Sean Quigly finished in 18:45, ahead of fellow American, Brian Olinger (18:53). The Ethiopian, Abiyot Endale, finished third in 18:59. The fastest woman was the Ethiopian, Aziza Aliyu, who won in 21:21, defeating Emily Brown by a close, one-second margin. Buzunesh Deba (Ethiopia/22:05) took third place. Over 5,000 runners toed the starting line in Central Park on Wednesday night.
