March 2016
6 MAR | 12 MAR | 13 MAR | 18 MAR | 20 MAR | 26 MAR
6 MARCH 2016: ASTA 10km INT'L DE CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
MEN: 1 Hassan EL ABBASSI BRN 27:26 2 Morris Munene GACHAGA KEN 27:27 3 Mohamed ZIANI MAR 27:28 4 Amos Kiprono KAPTICH KEN 27:28 5 Fathi ABDENASIR MAR 27:35 6 Ahmed TAMRI MAR 27:54 7 Zakaria BOUDAD MAR 28:03 8 Hassan TORISS MAR 28:18 9 Abdelilah CHERKAOUI MAR 28:22 10 Hailemariyam AMARE ETH 28:26 WOMEN: 1 Paskalia KIPKOECH KEN 31:14 2 Buzunesh GUDETA ETH 31:21 3 Merah BAHTA SWE 31:26 4 Hajiba EL HASSNAOUI MAR 31:27 5 Souad AIT SALEM ALG 31:53 6 Keltoum BOUASRIYA MAR 32:07 7 Soud KANBOUCHIA MAR 32:14 8 Soltana AIT HAMOU MAR 33:11 9 Laila FILA MAR 33:22 10 Salima CHARKI MAR 33:23
6 MARCH 2016: LAKE BIWA MAINICHI INT'L MARATHON, JAPAN
MEN (ONLY): 1 Lucas ROTICH KEN 2:09:11 2 Hisanori KITAJIMA JPN 2:09:16 3 Alphonce Felix SIMBU TAN 2:09:19 4 Suehiro ISHIKAWA JPN 2:09:25 5 Takuya FUKATSU JPN 2:09:31 6 Fumihiro MARUYAMA JPN 2:09:39 7 Yuki KAWAUCHI JPN 2:11:53 8 Kentaro NAKAMOTO JPN 2:12:06 9 Hiroto INOUE JPN 2:12:56 10 Soji IKEDA JPN 2:13:27
6 MARCH 2016: LAKE MAGGIORE MARATHON, ITALY
MEN: 1 Abeyneh Degu TSEHAY ETH 1:01:43 2 Emmanuel Kibet KICHWEN KEN 1:02:28 3 Nicolas Mulinge MAKAU KEN 1:02:29 4 Evans Kiprotich KOSKEI KEN 1:02:57 5 Feyera Gemeda DADI ETH 1:03:51 6 Patrick KIPNGENO KEN 1:04:05 7 Tolossa CHENGERE ETH 1:04:32 8 Nigussie Abebe TESFAW ETH 1:05:12 9 Vasyl MATVIYCHUK UKR 1:06:17 10 Rolando PIANA ITA 1:09:30 WOMEN: 1 Hellen Nzembi MUSYOKA KEN 1:13:04 2 Helen Bekele TOLA ETH 1:15:37 3 Alice GAGGI ITA 1:15:54 4 Divina JEPKOSGEI KEN 1:18:00 5 Joanna BOURKE MARTIGNONI ITA 1:22:53 6 Francesca MARIN ITA 1:24:00 7 Melissa RAGONESI ITA 1:25:21 8 Lorenza DI GREGORIO ITA 1:25:38 9 Paola DORO ITA 1:30:42 10 Rosy RULLO ITA 1:31:37
6 MARCH 2016: LALA MARATHON, MEXICO
Photos: Inge Johnson / Canada Running Series
It was hot, dry, and dusty in the high desert of La Lagunera for the 28th edition writes Alan Brookes. It was already 18°C when the elite women started at 06:40. The men followed 10 minutes later, then another 5000 runners (a record 28% women) from every state in Mexico and across Latin America. This year's race sold out within a month — the cap being determined by the number of hotel rooms in Torreón, Gomez Palacio and Lerdo — the three small industrial cities at the hub of "La Lagunera".
Hillary Kimaiyo, who in 2011 ran 2:08:17 on the course to establish Lala as the fastest marathon in all of Latin America, sped through the first kilometre in a hasty 2:51. After a toilet stop at 20k (64:11) the eight-strong chase group consumed him. They passed halfway in 67:40 and 30km in 1:36:41. Julius Keter then began to push the pace and Peru's Miguel Mallma was the only one brave enough to go with him. Behind them it looked like a battle for third until Mallma dropped out and Colombia's Andres Ruiz, who was racing for Colombia's Rio standard of 2:19:00, started to chase. Then a relatively unknown Mexican Javier Vega began to passed what remained of the pack, plus Ruiz, and just fell short of catching Keter before the finish line under "Grito de Triumfo" — a spectacular archway created by architect Mario Talamas Murra in 2013 for the 25th anniversary..
In the women's race 42 year-old Dulce Maria Rodriguez battled heavy pre-race favourite Ogla Kimaiyo (KEN) for 28km before settling for 2nd. Dulce Maria was Lala champion in 2005 when she set the course record of 2:29:00. Kimaiyo had a comfortable victory but there was still great celebration at the Mexican's performance and Master's victory.
Maraton Lala is renowned for its marvellous support and engagement of the local community, that is at the heart of "La Fiesta Lagunera". Last October the race received a "Social Award" from AIMS for its contributions to the community through its "Corre con Causa" programme.
MEN: 1 Julius KETER KEN 2:17:19 2 Javier VEGA MEX 2:17:23 3 Andres RUIZ COL 2:17:41 4 Sergio PEDRAZA MEX 2:18:05 5 Daniel VARGAS MEX 2:18:20 WOMEN: 1 Ogla KIMAIYO KEN 2:36:59 2 Dulce Maria RODRIGUEZ MEX 2:42:05 3 Anabel MARTINEZ MEX 2:44:42 4 Patricia Mojica GONZALEZ COL 2:48:39 5 Angelica SANCHEZ MEX 2:49:13
6 MARCH 2016: NAFPLIO MARATHON, GREECE
MEN: 1 Konstantinos PAPANASTASIOU GRE 2:43:18 2 Georgios CHATZIGIANNIS GRE 2:44:44 3 Dimitrios VOGIATZIS GRE 2:47:35 4 Georgios VLACHOS GRE 2:50:48 5 Dimitrios KOUTSOUMPIDIS GRE 2:55:30 6 Konstantinos THEODORAKOPOULOS GRE 2:57:22 7 Marios MICHOPOULOS GRE 2:57:23 8 Panagiotis GIAMEOS GRE 2:58:13 9 Nikolao MPOURAS GRE 3:01:21 10 Georgios GKORNAROS GRE 3:02:24 WOMEN: 1 Eugenia MPOULMETI GRE 3:27:13 2 Maria KANAKI GRE 3:37:14 3 Stavroula MPAKA GRE 3:41:35 4 Mata KLISARI GRE 3:50:34 5 Karen HILL-MERCURIADI GBR 3:56:34 6 Anni KOURASI GRE 3:56:58 7 Eleni EXERTZOGLOU GRE 3:57:24 8 Ioanna STAI GRE 4:01:09 9 Maria TSIROU GRE 4:04:29 10 Konstantina GRIGORIOU GRE 4:04:49 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Konstantinos GKELAOUZOS GRE 1:08:01 2 Lampros MALTEZOS GRE 1:10:33 3 Alexios PASPATIS GRE 1:14:42 WOMEN: 1 Ntenez DIMAKI GRE 1:23:29 2 Ioulia-Eleni PANAGIOTOPOULOU GRE 1:30:38 3 Eleni SARIDAKI GRE 1:31:07
6 MARCH 2016: RUNTOLYA MARATHON, TURKEY
MEN: 1 Ercan ARSLAN TUR 2:27:08 2 Mehmet AYDINGÖR TUR 2:40:02 3 Ahmet BAYRAM TUR 2:40:15 4 Getaye GELAW ETH 2:40:28 5 Murat KAYA TUR 2:44:59 6 Muharrem YILMAZ GER 2:46:05 7 Mahmut YAVUZ TUR 2:49:34 8 Ibrahim KIRMAÇ TUR 2:53:10 9 Fatih BUZGAN TUR 2:53:18 10 Salih DURSUN TUR 2:56:56 WOMEN: 1 Svetlana SHEPELEVA MLD 3:06:18 2 Natalia GYURTEN RUS 3:16:31 3 Asli SERTÇELIK TUR 3:25:15 4 Ümran DEMIR GER 3:32:28 5 Sirin Mine KILIÇ TUR 3:53:15 6 Aylin ÇELIK TUR 3:52:28 7 Eva Maria FIRAT AUS 3:10:19 8 Seyhan CIVANLAR TUR 4:15:00 9 Sema BULDANLIOGLU TUR 4:15:55 10 Meral YASA TUR 4:20:31 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Fetene Alemu REGASA ETH 1:06:38 2 Üzeyir SÖYLEMEZ TUR 1:08:26 3 Kefyalew Deja BURISE ETY 1:09:49 WOMEN: 1 Nursel YILDIZ TUR 1:23:23 2 Nevin SAHIN TUR 1:32:43 3 Özlem ALHAN TUR 1:39:07
6 MARCH 2016: SIHANOUKVILLE INT'L HAKLF MARATHON, CAMBODIA
MEN: 1 Viro MA CAM 1:17:45 2 Brendon THOMAS USA 1:24:26 3 Josiah KANGAS USA 1:35:38 4 Hiroshi AKE JPN 1:37:37 5 Yuki HAMADA JPN 1:41:08 6 Chiv Cheng SHEN TPE 1:41:26 7 Juanjo MORENTE ESP 1:44:01 8 Kotaro KAZAMI JPN 1:44:16 9 Philip COURTNAGE GBR 1:44:32 10 Jonathan VENET FRA 1:45:48 WOMEN: 1 Veronique MESSINA FRA 1:38:50 2 Hillary SNYDER USA 1:47:35 3 Sara BAWDEN USA 1:47:38 4 Toshinori SATO JPN 1:54:59 5 Charline LAPOINTE CAN 2:04:16 6 Vanessa BYWATER NZL 2:04:38 7 Rebcca WATTS AUS 2:08:20 8 Emma ROBERTSON AUS 2:12:16 9 Saki SAITO JPN 2:12:18 10 Ayu SEKIOKA JPN 2:16:05
6 MARCH 2016: TREVISO MARATHON, ITALY
MEN: 1 Semereab GEBREKIDAN ERI 2:17:32 2 Samuel GOITOM HADGU ERI 2:17:32 3 Mohamed HAJJY MAR 2:17:46 4 Giovanni GUALDI ITA 2:20:39 5 Raoul JANKOWSKI GER 2:38:52 6 Stefan MAIR ITA 2:38:54 7 Alberto FIERAMOSCA ITA 2:39:00 8 Francesco PALATELLA ITA 2:40:14 9 Davide SCARABELLI ITA 2:40:47 10 Leonardo DE TONI ITA 2:43:27 WOMEN: 1 Marija VRAJIC CRO 2:40:41 2 Simona STAICU HUN 2:43:06 3 Jasmina ILIJAS CRO 2:51:25 4 Anna ZILIO ITA 2:58:14 5 Federica POESINI ITA 3:02:33 6 Alessia BRAGATO ITA 3:12:14 7 Wainer FERRARI ITA 3:16:10 8 Elisa MARTINATO ITA 3:16:51 9 DALLA TORRE ITA 3:18:46 10 Manuela REBUZZI ITA 3:20:29
12–13 MARCH 2016: 17th ANTARCTICA MARATHON
The sold-out field of 183 participants from 22 countries tackled the brutally hilly courses that transverse the rudimentary gravel roads and connect three research bases on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. The races are held over two consecutive days to abide by an Antarctic environmental restriction of allowing a maximum 100 visitors on shore in any single landing area. Each day's results are combined to determine the overall and age group winners.
Volatile conditions prevailed on both days. Winds were mild to the start and the temperature around 0°C but conditions worsened with 50km/hour winds dropping the wind chill down below -15°C. On the second day there was intermittent snow at the start and winds climbed to 80km/hour. For the safety of runners and crew, the maximum finish time was limited to under 5½ hours. Running in the first wave, Maxime Bondue won by three minutes from marathon debutant Reid Noch. Despite the difficult conditions on the second day Sharon Ryder dominated the women's field to finish sixth overall and set an unofficial course record.
MEN: 1 Maxime BONDUE FRA 3:15:24 2 Reid NOCH USA 3:18:16 3 Barry MURPHY IRL 3:32:30 4 Cowan MOORE USA 3:35:32 5 Boris SERKIS ISR 3:36:58 6 Cedric CLEMERSON GBR 3:38:26 7 Piotr SMOLENSKI POL 3:46:06 8 Kevin HANNA USA 3:57:09 9 Rory MADDEN IRL 4:05:19 10 Jan CHMURA POL 4:06:42 WOMEN: 1 Sharon RYDER AUS 3:38:03 2 Lynda COYE USA 4:27:41 3 Julie REDDAN USA 4:31:11 4 Alyssa YELL USA 4:35:12 5 Martha DUNN-MCCUE USA 4:39:49 6 Stephanie JURIVICH GBR 4:43:22 7 Donna BOOTS USA 4:44:55 8 Lucy CROFT USA 4:51:35 9 Leonie STANDER RSA 4:58:07 10 Sonja VIJOEN RSA 4:58:07 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Robert BOYD RSA 2:15:03 2 Pierre DE MEERLEER BEL 2:28:26 3 Gren SLOANE CAN 2:34:18 WOMEN: 1 Suzanne MCKEEN AUS 1:53:57 2 Eleanor CUMISKEY CAN 2:11:51 3 Judy MARCELLO USA 2:17:22
12 MARCH 2016: ROCK N ROLL DC MARATHON, UNITED STATES
MEN: 1 Alfredo AREVALO REYES 2:30:04 2 Steve CHU 2:34:09 3 Dirian BONILLA 2:37:25 4 Raul LOPEZ 2:42:14 5 Travis HAWKINS 2:43:23 6 Chris JETTON 2:44:38 7 Amos DESJARDINS 2:45:22 8 Aaron SCHWARTZBARD 2:45:34 9 Daven OSKVIG 2:46:35 10 Tyler BURKE 2:51:56 WOMEN: 1 Martha NELSON 2:58:02 2 Lori NEDESCU 2:59:55 3 Katie MORAN 3:04:33 4 Tami CHRISTENSEN 3:04:59 5 Kara LIGHTOWLER 3:08:54 6 Angela HARTMAN 3:09:13 7 Darcy MCDONALD 3:10:40 8 Lisa WONNEBERG 3:14:25 9 Kathryn FANNING 3:15:19 10 Julianna MILLER 3:15:53 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Mizael CARRERA 1:06:16 2 Andrew BRODEUR 1:07:52 3 Carlos JAMIESON 1:07:53 WOMEN: 1 Bethany SACHTLEBEN 1:19:43 2 Kerry ALLEN 1:20:07 3 Hannah ECKSTEIN 1:19:24
13 MARCH 2016: ZURICH MARATO DE BARCELONA, SPAIN
Valerie Aiyabei produced a solo run almost from the gun to set a Spanish women's all-comers' best writes Emeterio Valiente. She covered the first half in 1:13:01 and then steadily increased her pace over the next 13km, passing 35km in 2:00:05 before crossing the line almost five minutes faster than she had ever run and over five minutes ahead. Pre-race favourite and 2015 winner Aynalem Kassahun never challenged and had to settle for a distant second.
Hampered by strong headwind the men's race started more slowly than expected. There were no fewer than eight pacemakers with the group which reached halfway in 1:04:20. Shortly after 30km Dino Sefir and Albert Korir moved ahead and Sefir made his winning break with about 4km to go, easily pulling away from Korir. 16,899 runners completed the marathon.
MEN:
1 Dino SEFIR ETH 2:09:31
2 Albert KORIR KEN 2:10:08
3 Jafred Chirchir KIPCHUMBA KEN 2:10:23
4 Eliud TARUS KEN 2:11:19
5 Abdi FUFA ETH 2:11:22
6 Dominic KANGOR KEN 2:11:43
7 Andrew KIMTAI KEN 2:12:21
8 Elicky Kipchoge MASE KEN 2:12:25
9 Pius KIROP KEN 2:12:58
10 Moses TOO KEN 2:14:13
WOMEN:
1 Valary Jemeli AIYABEI KEN 2:25:26
2 Aynalem KASSAHUN ETH 2:30:51
3 Moyu MEGERSA ETH 2:32:07
4 Marisa Casanueva CABRERO ESP 2:34:57
5 Esther Wanjiru MACHARIA KEN 2:37:36
6 Nyakisi ADERO UGA 2:42:58
7 Lone BALLING DEN 2:45:22
8 Yolanda CASTILLEJO ESP 2:51:14
9 Åsa LUNDIN SWE 2:51:29
10 Sofia MATTIASSON SWE 2:51:59
18 MARCH 2016: JERUSALEM MARATHON, ISRAEL
MEN:
1 Shadrack KIPKOGEI KEN 2:16:33
2 Ronald Kimeli KURGAT KEN 2:16:35
3 Mourice Mutinda MUSYOKI KEN 2:21:10
4 Gideon Kipkurui KIPSANG KEN 2:21:38
5 William BIAMA KEN 2:23:50
6 Giorgio CALCATERRA ITA 2:42:20
WOMEN:
1 Joan Jepchirchir KIGEN KEN 2:38:24
2 Alemtsehay Mesfin DEMSE ETH 2:44:44
3 Sarah Kerubo KEBASO KEN 2:50:30
HALF MARATHON
MEN:
1 Paul KIRAGU KEN 1:07:39
2 Gaspar CSERE HUN 1:08:50
3 Solomon MENGISTU ETH 1:11:53
WOMEN:
1 Margaret NJUNGA KEN 1:18:00
2 Wilkister OMBAGI KEN 1:20:21
We've been informed that the marathon was approximately 450m short and the Half Marathon was 350m short
20 MARCH 2016: PZU GDINYA HALF MARATHON, POLAND
MEN: 1 Hillary KIMAIYO KEN 1:02:41 2 Gabriel Gerald GEAY TAN 1:02:52 3 Abel KIRUI KEN 1:02:56 4 Wycliffe Kipkorir BIWOT KEN 1:03:51 5 Taye Damte KUASHU ETH 1:05:23 6 Blazej BRZEZINSKI POL 1:05:30 7 Valdas DOPOLSKAS LTU 1:07:26 8 Kamil JASTRZEBSKI POL 1:07:49 9 Daniel FORMELA POL 1:08:35 10 Lukasz GURFINKIEL POL 1:09:35 WOMEN: 1 Agnes CHEBET KEN 1:13:16 2 Christine Moran OIGO KEN 1:13:38 3 Vaida ZUSINAITE LTU 1:16:25 4 Svitlana STANKO UKR 1:16:29 5 Aleksandra LISOWSKA POL 1:17:03 6 Monika KACZMAREK POL 1:18:58 7 Monika ROLBIECKA POL 1:22:25 8 Andzelika DZIEGIEL POL 1:24:36 9 Aleksandra JEDRZEJEWSKA POL 1:25:14 10 Gosiumia PAZDA-POZORSKA POL 1:25:47
20 MARCH 2016: EDP LISBON HALF MARATHON, PORTUGAL
Sammy Kitwara won in a world leading time after John Maina paced the group through 10km in 28:10. Leonard Komon was clear from the others but in the final kilometres he slowed dramatically to finish fifth.
The women's race was really challenging, with the first five women running together for the first half before Sara Moreira dropped back. Eunice Chumba also became outpaced but Ethiopia's Ruti Aga and Wude Ayalew along with Linet Masai all went through 20km in 1:05:50. Aga proved strongest but Ayalew's performance was something of a return to form.
In the wheelchair races David Weir (GBR) recorded a world record 42:23 minutes over a minute clear of the rest while Rochelle Woods did likewise (49:49) but was pushed to the line by Jade Jones.
MEN: 1 Sammy KITWARA KEN 59:47 2 Keneth Kiprop KIPKEMOI KEN 1:00:05 3 Paul Lonyangata KEN 1:00:11 4 Emmanuel KIPSANG KEN 1:00:14 5 Leonard KOMON KEN 1:01:30 6 Moses KIBET UGA 1:01:37 7 Stephen ARITA KEN 1:01:48 8 Emmanuel BETT KEN 1:02:37 9 Goitomn KIFLE ERI 1:02:39 10 Ayele BETESFA ETH 1:02:48 WOMEN: 1 Ruti AGA ETH 1:09:16 2 Wude AYALEW ETH 1:09:23 3 Linet MASAI KEN 1:09:33 4 Eunice CHUMBA BRN 1:09:55 5 Sara MOREIRA POR 1:10:17 6 Clemence CALVIN FRA 1:11:17 7 Jelena PROKOPCUKA LTU 1:11:44 8 Dominika NAPIERAJ POL 1:12:07 9 Beata NAIGAMBO NAM 1:12:44 10 Fatna MARAOUI ITA 1:13:52
20 MARCH 2016: SEOUL INT'L MARATHON, KOREA
Kenya's Wilson Loyanae delivered on his promise to improve his own course record at the 87th Seoul International Marathon and take his third victory in the race. He surged with 10km to go and was never headed. Former world record holder Patrick Makau dropped out of the race at around 10km.
MEN:
1 Wilson LOYANAE KEN 2:05:13
2 Evans CHEBET KEN 2:05:33
3 Mike Kigen KEN 2:06:10
4 Tadesse ABRAHAM SUI 2:06:40
WOMEN:
1 Rose CHELIMO KEN 2:24:14
2 Melkaw GIZAW ETH 2:24:28
3 Agnes JERUTO KEN 2:24:59
20 MARCH 2016: NEW TAIPEI CITY WAN JIN SHI MARATHON, CHINESE TAIPEI
MEN: 1 William Chebon CHEBOR KEN 2:13:05 2 Yuki KAWAUCHI JPN 2:14:12 3 Julius Ndiritu KARINGA KEN 2:14:52 4 Belay Mamo ABADOYO ETH 2:14:55 5 Getu Nigussie DEMIE ETH 2:18:35 6 Olexandr BABARYKA UKR 2:18:36 7 Ahmed NASEF ITA 2:22:14 8 Youssef SBAAI MAR 2:22:40 9 Samuel Kalya KIPNGETICH KEN 2:23:37 10 James Maregu MUNYI KEN 2:24:34 WOMEN: 1 Olha KOTOVSKA UKR 2:36:38 2 Bentu Shiferaw WODAJO ETH 2:38:11 3 Meseret Godana AGAMA ETH 2:38:14 4 Abiyot ESHETU DEME ETH 2:39:26 5 Hellen Wanjiku MUGO KEN 2:40:14 6 Olha KALENDAROVA-OCHAL POL 2:45:36 7 Monica Watetu NDIRITU KEN 2:47:52 8 Dorcas Jebotip TARUS KEN 2:58:02 9 Chihiro TANAKA JPN 2:58:53 10 Jane FARDELL AUS 2:59:23
26 MARCH 2016: OLD MUTUAL TWO OCEANS MARATHON 56km, SOUTH AFRICA
Mike Fokoroni raced to a comfortable finish, outpacing fellow countryman and club mate Collen Makaza with defending champion Motlokoa Nkhabutlane third. "I was just holding back" said Fokoroni "[but] at 45km I saw victory could be mine if I tried." Defending champion Carol Wostman maintained a comfortable distance from race leader Tanith Maxwell but took the lead in the final kilometres of the race.
Fokoroni's OMTOM finish was the slowest in 22 years. Wöstmann noted that the absence of the Russian athletes (still banned from international participation) contributed to a slower race overall.
SA-born Colleen de Reuck travelled from the USA to make her Ultra Marathon debut and finished 5th in 3:53:07 which smashed the 50-60 year age group record by over 20 minutes. She also recorded a new word record for her age group by reaching 50km in 3:27:28. The previous 50km record in the 50-54 age category was 3:41:57, set in 1994.
Mokaedi Dilotsotlhe, Chief Marketing Officer at Old Mutual paid tribute to Chet Sainsbury who passed away a few weeks ago: "If it was not for him, Old Mutual would not have been a part of this outstanding event. We salute you Chet."
MEN: 1 Mike FOKORONI ZIM 3:13:33 2 Collen MAKAZA ZIM 3:14:45 3 Motlokoa Nkhabutlane LES 3:16:22 WOMEN: 1 Caroline WOSTMANN RSA 3:44:44 2 Tanith MAXWELL RSA 3:45:55 3 Amelework FIKADU ETH 3:47:40 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Namakoe NKHASI RSA 1:03:38 2 Elroy GELANT RSA 1:03:40 3 David MANJA RSA 1:03:45 WOMEN: 1 Irvette VAN ZYL RSA 1:13:14 2 Onneile DINTWE BOT 1:17:15 3 Alina ARMAS NAM 1:18:05
26 MARCH 2016: CARDIFF UNIVERSITY WORLD HALF MARAHTON CHAMPIONSHIP, GREAT BRITAIN
Kenya repeated their 2014 medal sweep in the women's race and the same two Ethiopians who trailed the Kenyans then — Netsanet Gudeta and Genet Yalew — again finished behind them in Cardiff writes John Mulkeen.
All five Kenyans — Pascalia Kipkoech, Cynthia Limo, Mary Wacera, Peres Jepchirchir and Gladys Chesire — were part of a large lead group of 14 athletes to go through 5km in 16:31. By 10km, reached in 32:34, the lead group had been halved as Gudeta and Yalew were the only athletes keeping the Kenyan quintet company.
The third 5km section, covered in 15:40, was the quickest of the race but Kipkoech was the only athlete to drop away from the leading pack. The group began to disintegrate soon after as Chesir drifted back, followed by Yalew. Gudeta had the sole responsibility of disrupting a potential Kenyan sweep, but the Ethiopian had to surrender after an hour of running as she too lost contact with the leaders.
Wacera began to fade at about 20km, leaving Limo and Jepchirchir to battle it out. Limo opened up a few metres on her compatriot with just a couple of minutes left to run. But Jepchirchir closed the gap and then kicked for home as she negotiated the last turn with the finish gantry in sight.
Limo, the world leader, had to settle for second. Kenyan and Ethiopian women filled the top eight places while Peru's Gladys Tejeda set a South American record of 1:10:14 in ninth place.
For the sixth time in the past eight editions, Kenya took team gold. Ethiopia, team winners in the past two Olympic years, was second this time round. And for the ninth successive edition, Japan took team bronze.
Geoffrey Kamworor's title defence began before he had even crossed the start-line writes Stephen Mills. Starting in a fairly narrow funnel which had become slick in the rain Kamworor lost his footing and hit the floor but despite scraping his knees got up and gave chase.
Led by Bedan Karoki the group passed through 5km in 14:10. Karoki's pace dropped home favourite Mo Farah, who was making his debut at these championships, shortly before 10km (27:59).
Kamworor and Karoki ran the second half side-by-side. As Farah slipped 120m behind the two leaders. Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola — the last remaining challenger — was dropped as the Kenyan pair covered the next 5km in 13:41.
Already poor conditions — blustery wind and occasional rain — suddenly worsened in the final few kilometres with a strong wind and horizontal rain buffeting the runners.
Kamworor defied the elements and with 2km remaining made a long run for home to open up a gap of eight seconds on Karoki through 20km in 56:05. He came through to retain his title only two seconds slower than the time he had run in considerably more favourable circumstance in Copenhagen. "It was really tough after that fall to catch up but I fought hard," said Kamworor.
There was an almighty scrap for the bronze medal. Farah moved into contention but still had early leader Abayneh Ayele on his tail with the finish line in view.
Kenyan regained the team title ahead of Ethiopia. A weakened Eritrean team took third place with Great Britain less than a minute behind them.
MEN: 1 Geoffrey Kipsang KAMWOROR KEN 59:10 2 Bedan Karoki MUCHIRI KEN 59:36 3 Mohamed FARAH GBR 59:59 4 Abayneh AYELE ETH 59:59 5 Tamirat TOLA ETH 1:00:06 6 Simon CHEPROT KEN 1:00:12 7 Abrar OSMAN ERI 1:00:58 8 Mule WASIHUN ETH 1:01:11 9 Edwin Kiprop KIPTOO KEN 1:01:21 10 Stephen MOKOKA RSA 1:01:27 TEAMS: 1 Kenya 2:58:58 2 Ethiopia 3:01:16 3 Eritrea 3:06:18 4 Great Britain & N.I. 3:07:00 5 Japan 3:12:11 WOMEN: 1 Peres JECHIRCHIR KEN 1:07:31 2 Cynthia Jerotich LIMO KEN 1:07:34 3 Mary Wacera NGUGI KEN 1:07:54 4 Netsanet GUDETA ETH 1:08:01 5 Genet YALEW ETH 1:08:15 6 Gladys Chesir KIPTAGELAI KEN 1:08:46 7 Pascalia Chepkorir KIPKOECH KEN 1:09:44 8 Dehininet DEMSEW ETH 1:10:13 9 Gladys TEJEDA PER 1:10:14 10 Yuka ANDO JPN 1:10:34 TEAMS: 1 Kenya 3:22:59 2 Ethiopia 3:26:29 3 Japan 3:32:25 4 Australia 3:32:48 5 United States 3:34:26
March 2016
