Haile Gebrselassie and Gete Wami swept the top positions at today's 33rd edition of the real,- Berlin Marathon, the first time athletes from Ethiopia have ever won this flat and fast marathon in the German capital.
Gebrselassie, the two-time Olympic gold medalist at 10,000m, won the second marathon of his career in 2:05:56, an Ethiopian record and the second-fastest winning time ever at Berlin. It was also the fastest marathon run in the world this year. Wami, a three-time Olympic medalist, crossed the finish line in 2:21:32, also setting an Ethiopian record.
Sammy Korir of Kenya, the second-fastest marathoner of all-time and the man who was to give Gebrselassie his biggest challenge, was unable to finish the race, dropping out at 26 km, according to German press reports. Gebrselassie ended up running a solo time trial, finishing more than five minutes ahead of second place Gudisa Shentema, also of Ethiopia (2:10:43). There was another big gap back to third place Kurao Umeki of Japan (2:13:43).
Wami's chief rival, Salina Kosgei of Kenya, finished second in 2:23:22, a personal best. Monica Drybulska of Poland was a distant third in 2:30:12.
Runners had to deal with unusually warm conditions today, according to a report at IAAF.org. Temperatures were well over 20° (about 68°F).
After today's race, both Gebrselassie and Wami share a three-way tie at the top of the World Marathon Majors leader board with 25 points each. The Flora London Marathon champions, Felix Limo of Kenya and Deena Kastor of the United States, and the BAA Boston Marathon champions, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot and Rita Jeptoo of Kenya, are the other co-leaders. The two-year series culminates in a USD 1 million jackpot to be split evenly between the top scoring male and female athletes after the 2007 ING New York City Marathon. The next race in the series is the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in Oct. 22.
|
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
