Press Release - Zurich Marathon - 4/3/07

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                       New Swiss record: 2:08.20

The 5th Zurich Marathon was held during rather cool, but clear weather 
conditions and recognized a new record time: Swiss runner Viktor Röthlin 
beat the previous record by 1 minute and 36 seconds and crossed the finish 
line with a final time of 2:08.20. Approximately 40'000-50'000 spectators 
cheered on the nearly 5'000 runners and created an enthusiastic atmosphere. 

Viktor Röthlin ran the first part of the course in 64:08 and the second 
part in 64:09, and it took him only 31 minutes and 54 seconds to complete 
the last and most difficult quarter of the race. His average time per 
kilometer was 3 minutes, 2 seconds. Four pacemakers helped to set the pace. 
Kenyan runner Sammy Kurgat was the runner-up with a time of 2:11.35, 
moments before his fellow-countryman Paul Lomol Lopio, who crossed the 
finish line at 2:13.16. Six runners finished the race in under 2:15. The 
two Russian runners Nina Podnebesnova (2:37.0) and Elena Tikhonova 
(2:38.13), the winner of the previous year, dominated the women's category. 
The best Swiss woman runner was Maja Neuenschwander in fourth place 
(2:44.48).

The beautiful spring weather gave the Zurich marathon the feel of a public 
festival. Thousands enjoyed the sun and relaxed after the race in the 
finish area at Landiwiese by the lake. The day started off rather cool with 
just 2° C at 8.30 am, but the sun soon helped to warm up the athletes as 
they ran along the lake. Several music bands on the major plazas 
entertained the masses, and Nike, the official supplier of the Zurich 
Marathon, sponsored a celebration with music and great entertainment at 
kilometer 35 to motivate the runners to keep going until the end. Thousands 
of spectators cheered on Viktor Röthlin, who was the runner-up at the 
European marathon championships in Goteborg and set a new Swiss record this 
past Sunday. The new course route through downtown Zurich and the minimal 
change in altitude of approx. 60 meters were certainly helpful in achieving 
a new record time.
 
4'646 of a total of 4'860 runners reached the finish line within the 5 hour 
time limit. The 95.4 % of runners who finished the Zurich Marathon 
represents a very high number even when compared to large international 
races. The runners represented 49 countries. The largest group of 
international runners came from Germany (with 565 runners), followed by 
Great Britain (63), Austria (58), Italy (37), France (36) and the USA (34). 
Due to the excellent conditions there were no major incidences. A total of 
13 doctors, 22 paramedics, 3 nurse anesthetists as well as 15 emergency 
medics on motorcycles were on call to care for the athletes. The next 
Zurich Marathon will take place on April 20th, 2008. Registration is now 
open at www.zurichmarathon.ch. There will be a 20% discount for 
registrations received by April 30th, 2007.
 

                            ###