Posted: July 18, 2005

Athletics: Swiss Marathoner Röthlin To Run In New York

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

Taking the lead from Tegla Loroupe in the 21st mile of the 1997 edition of the race, the late Franziska Rochat-Moser became the only Swiss athlete to ever win the ING New York City Marathon, one of the biggest upsets in the history of the race. This year, another Swiss athlete, Viktor Röthlin, hopes to make a similar breakthrough when he runs the famous Five Borough race for the first time on Sunday, November 6.

"While no Swiss man has ever won in New York, Viktor might change all of that this year," said Mary Wittenberg, President and CEO of the New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon. She pointed out that the race has a history of catapulting athletes to international stardom, like past champions Alberto Salazar, Orlando Pizzolato, and German Silva. "This might be Viktor's time," added Wittenberg.

A veteran of nine marathons and a two-time Olympian, Röthlin, 30, is the Swiss record holder for both the marathon (2:09:56) and 20 km (59:47). He's run the Zürich Marathon three times, winning in 2004, when he set his national record, and finishing second in 2003 (2:11:05) and fourth this year (2:11:00). His other career best times are 13:40.28 for 5000m, 28:22.53 for 10,000m, and 1:02:47 for the half-marathon.

Röthlin, from Kerns, will wear bib #10 in New York. He will face off against defending champion, Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa, and Olympic silver medalist, Meb Keflezighi, whose participation has already been announced. It will be the 36th edition of the race, the world's largest marathon with 36,562 finishers in 2004.

NOTE: Race Results Weekly provides elite athlete consulting to the ING New York City Marathon and New York Road Runners --Ed.