Posted: April 25, 2006

Athletics: Dita-Tomescu Replaces Radcliffe As The Top Road Runner In The Latest IAAF World Rankings

Monte-Carlo - Britain's Paula Radcliffe is no longer top ranked in the Women's Marathon - Road Running Event Ranking according to the latest IAAF World Rankings.

The 32-year-old reigning World Marathon champion withdrew injured prior to last weekend's London Marathon and so could not back up her sensational winning time of 2:17:42 (1406 points) from last year. The loss of points meant that Radcliffe slipped back into 7th place in the Event Ranking, and she also lost her 13th position in the Overall Ranking, where she now stands in 77th position.

The new Event leader is the current World Half Marathon champion Constantina Dita-Tomescu of Romania. The 36-year-old, World Championship Marathon bronze medallist from Helsinki last August, maintained her score of 1361 points, enabling her to replace Radcliffe at the top of the Event Ranking. Although Dita-Tomescu finished a disappointing 7th in London with 2:27:51 (1200 points), her best three performances from the past 365 days, including her World title from Edmonton and a second place finish from the Chicago Marathon which were achieved in the space of eight days of each other last autumn, still put her at the top.

The most significant improvement in the Top-10 of the Women's Event Ranking came from the winner of the London Marathon, Deena Drossin-Kastor. The Olympic bronze medallist won the event with 2:19:36 (1381 points) - nearly two minutes ahead of her nearest rival. It was the fourth fastest time ever in the world, as well an Area record - and moved her up two places to 4th in the Event Ranking.

On the men's side, Kenya's Felix Limo won in London with 2:06:39 (1369 points) edging his compatriot Martin Lel at the finish. Lel clocked 2:06:41 (1348 points) but remains in second place in the Event Ranking, only a single point ahead of Limo who moved up from 18th to third, replacing double World Marathon champion Jaouad Gharib. The Moroccan dropped back into 9th after not being able to reproduce his second place finish from last year's London Marathon, where he ran 2:07:49 (1325 points).

Full details of the latest changes in the IAAF World Rankings can be found at: IAAF.org.

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