Press Release - Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon - 9/29/09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

   Agnes Kiprop and Firehiwot Dado added to best ever women's field

The women's field of the Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon on 25th October has 
considerably grown in strength with more elite runners added. Most 
prominent names among the new entries are Kenya's Agnes Kiprop and 
Ethiopia's Firehiwot Dado, who both won big spring marathons this year. 
While Kiprop took the Turin Marathon Dado won the Rome Marathon.

The Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon, which boosts a new title sponsor, is an 
IAAF Gold Label Road Race. At the 28th edition of Germany's oldest city 
marathon organisiers expect a record entry of up to 13,000 runners. Online 
entry is still  available at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com

Regarding the depth of the elite field assembled so far the women's race 
will have the best quality ever in the history of the event. And it is 
expected that there will be further additions to both the women's and men's 
event soon. 

Agnes Kiprop comes to the Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon unbeaten this 
year. The 29 year-old Kenyan has won her two major races so far this year 
and in each of the two she clocked a personal best as well. Both times she 
competed in Turin. First she took the Turin Marathon in spring with a fine 
2:26:22 and five weeks before her race in Frankfurt she also won the Turin 
Half Marathon. There she ran 69:54 minutes. 

Firehiwot Dado clocked a personal best in the marathon this year as well. 
When she won the Rome Marathon in March she achieved a massive improvement 
from a previous PB of 2:37:34 to a fine 2:27:08. She will as well try to 
further improve her time on the fast Frankfurt course. The 25 year-old has 
not raced since her surprise win in Rome and has fully concentrated on 
preparing well for her autumn marathon.
 
Besides Agnes Kiprop and Firehiwot Dado three more runners have been added 
to the women's field: Irene Limika (Kenya) and Shitaye Debella Gemechu 
(Ethiopia) as well as Germany's Luminita Zaituc. Irene Limika had run her 
marathon debut in Frankfurt in 2008 and had done very well with a fourth 
place in 2:28:31. This still is her personal best. This year she has been 
second at the Nagano Marathon in 2:30:00. Shitaye Debella Gemechu is an 
experienced marathon runner, who has improved her personal best by five 
seconds in 2008, when she placed fourth at the Paris Marathon with 2:26:10. 
This year she was fifth at the Tokyo Marathon. Luminita Zaituc still is the 
fourth fastest German woman marathoner ever. She had clocked 2:26:01 when 
winning the Frankfurt Marathon in 2001.

Kenyans Rose Cheruiyot and Ruth Wanjiru had been signed earlier for the 
Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon. In 2008 the 33 year-old Cheruiyot had 
placed fourth in the Dubai Marathon with a personal best of 2:25:48. Later 
in the year she placed fourth again in Berlin. 27 year-old Wanjiru was 7th 
in Osaka this year and has a personal best of 2:27:38.

For more information and online registration visit: 
www.frankfurt-marathon.com

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