Press Release - Vienna City Marathon - 2/16/10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

               Luke Kibet Plus Austrian Record Holders 
         Günther Weidlinger and Andrea Mayr Return To Vienna

One world champion and the two national record holders will run the Vienna 
City Marathon on 18th April. After winning the race in 2007 and then taking 
the marathon gold medal at global stage in Osaka a couple of months later, 
Kenya's Luke Kibet will now come back to Austria's biggest and best quality 
running event. With Günther Weidlinger and Andrea Mayr the two Austrian 
record holders have also confirmed their participation. Organisers of the 
27th edition of the Vienna City Marathon expect a field of up to 30,000 
runners on 18th April. This will include races at shorter distances. Online 
entry for all events is available at: www.vienna-marathon.com

Luke Kibet had staged a sensational breakthrough in 2007. First the Kenyan 
took the Vienna City Marathon, clocking 2:10:07 despite very warm weather 
in the final part of the race. At that time this had been his biggest 
success so far, but then Luke Kibet went on to even more glory: The Vienna 
Champion surprisingly dominated a field packed with world-class runners at 
the World Championships in Osaka. In brutally hot and humid conditions the 
Kenyan ran away from his rivals in the final 10 k. Crossing the line in 
2:15:59 he had an advantage of well over a minute to second placed Mubarak 
Shami (Qatar). 

After this triumph Luke Kibet sadly experienced a time of set-backs due to 
injuries. Despite this he won the Singapore Marathon twice, in 2008 and 
2009. It was especially his recent race in December that showed that Luke 
Kibet is well on the way back to his best form. In warm weather the 26 
year-old broke the Singapore course record, clocking 2:11:25. 

A year after his debut race at the Vienna City Marathon Günther Weidlinger 
returns to Austria's most prestigious running event. Hampered by an injury 
he had finished ninth with 2:12:39 in 2009, but then Weidlinger clearly 
improved in Frankfurt in October. Clocking 2:10:47 he smashed the 23 
year-old Austrian record and established himself as one of Europe's most 
promising marathon runners. Weidlinger, whose current training in Chiclana 
(Spain) goes very well, intends to go with the leading group in Vienna and 
could well break the 2:10 barrier.

There is also a prestigious mark to break for Andrea Mayr at the Vienna 
City Marathon. The defending champion had improved the national record to 
2:30:43 at her debut in 2009. Andrea Mayr, who is one of the strongest 
mountain runners worldwide and also the national steeplechase champion, is 
now looking for a sub 2:30 at her second marathon race.

Athens' marathon flame at the Vienna City Marathon

This year marks a unique jubilee for marathon running. It is 2,500 years 
ago that the marathon was born, when the Battle of Marathon took place in 
Greece 490 BC. To announce the Greek victory against the Persians the 
messenger Pheidippidis is said to have run the distance from the 
battlefield to Athens. After doing so he collapsed and died. To mark the 
birth of the marathon a flame is lighted annually at a tomb on the former 
battlefield. This happens on the day before the Athens Marathon in autumn. 
After the big flame was lighted in November 2009 representatives of the 
Vienna City Marathon proudly received a smaller flame in a lantern. They 
brought it back to Vienna. The original marathon flame will feature during 
the Vienna City Marathon on 18th April. Runners will for example pass it in 
the finish area at the Wiener Hofburg.

More information and online entry for the Vienna City Marathon is available 
at: www.vienna-marathon.com

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