FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dereje Debele Tulu Breaks Course Record,
Melkam Gizaw Takes Women's Race in Duesseldorf
Ethiopians Dereje Debele Tulu and Melkam Gizaw took the 11th edition of the
METRO GROUP Marathon Duesseldorf on Sunday. In ideal weather conditions 26
year-old Dereje Debele Tulu broke the course record with 2:07:48. It was
the first sub 2:08 time in Duesseldorf. Second placed Pius Ondoro clocked
2:08:17 while Duncan Koech (both Kenya) took third with 2:09:10. For the
first time there were five runners who achieved sub 2:10 times in
Duesseldorf. Ethiopians Shengo Kebede (2:09:53) and Asmare Workneh
(2:09:56) took fourth and fifth places.
Pre-race favourite Melkam Gizaw was the women's winner with a personal best
of 2:26:24. It was the second fastest women's performance in the history of
the race. The course record stands at 2:25:49. Kenyan debutant Rebecca
Chesire ran a fine 2:27:52 for second place. Well behind Agnieszka
Ciolek-Mierzejewska (Poland) was third with 2:33:36.
Adding all events 14,000 runners entered the METRO GROUP Marathon
Duesseldorf. Around 4,250 of them were marathon runners. The METRO GROUP
Marathon Duesseldorf is an IAAF Bronze Label Race.
Men's Race: Dereje Debele Tulu defeats Pius Ondoro
After split times of 64:18 at half way and 1:16:24 for 25k a course record
(2:08:27) did not look likely. The leading group ran a couple of kilometres
in around 3:10 at that stage of the race. And the runner entered with the
fastest PB, Paul Biwott (Kenya/2:06:54), had already lost contact to the
first group. He later dropped out.
But Dereje Debele Tulu stepped in and surged ahead around the 30 k mark
(1:31:35). The leading group was stretched and it took not long before the
Ethiopian was on his own. However the race for victory was not over yet.
Kenya's Pius Ondoro chose a more conservative approach. Instead of
increasing the pace instantly he gradually closed a gap of around 30
metres. It was at 37 k when he caught Dereje Debele Tulu and passed him.
The Ethiopian had looked back before, so he saw the danger coming. "At that
moment I thought I would win it. But then I was surprised when the
Ethiopian was able to go with me and then overtook me again," said Pius
Ondoro. Dereje Debele Tulu did not wait long with a second surge. This
time, when he went ahead again at 38k, it was game over.
"Originally it was my aim to run 2:07. But I am happy with the victory and
the personal best," said Dereje Debele Tulu, who had come to Duesseldorf
with a PB of 2:09:08. He ran this time in Vienna in 2009. "Dereje lost two
years because of injuries and illnesses. I knew that he trained well, but I
did not expect him to run that fast today," said Gabriele Nicola, who is
the head coach of the Gianni Demadonna management group. "But I only go to
Addis Ababa occasionally. The coaches who work with Dereje are Gemedu
Dedefo and Gebeyehu Berihun. They told me that he is a very serious guy who
never misses a training session," said Gabriele Nicola, who is the coach of
Mary Keitany in Kenya.
Women's Race: Melkam Gizaw, a training partner of Tiki Gelana
The women's winner comes from Addis Ababa as well. 22 year-old Melkam
Gizaw, who was third in the METRO GROUP Marathon Duesseldorf a year ago and
had a personal best of 2:26:52, passed half way in 1:13:11. She was running
together with debutant Rebecca Chesire. The Kenyan held on well and it was
not before 36 k that she lost contact to Melkam Gizaw. But the Ethiopian
was not concerned. "I was always confident. When she ran with me until 36 k
I was never afraid of not winning," said Melkam Gizaw, whose role model is
double Olympic 10,000 m champion Derartu Tulu (1992 and 2000), who also won
the London and New York marathons.
"Originally I hoped to run 2:24 today. But I got a hamstring problem in the
final five kilometres. So I could not run that fast any more," said Melkam
Gizaw, who belongs to the training group of coach Getane Tessema. Among her
training partners are some of the most famous names in road running:
Olympic marathon champion Tiki Gelana, Frankfurt Marathon winner Meselech
Melkamu and the half marathon world champion Meseret Hailu.
"To be able to train in such a strong group really helps me. It motivates
me and I learn a lot," said Melkam Gizaw, who joined the group four years
ago. Within the next two years she hopes to run 2:20.
More information and online entry is available at:
www.metrogroup-marathon.de
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