FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mainova Frankfurt Marathon On Sunday:
Kelkile Gezahegn triumphs, Meskerem Assefa breaks women's Course Record
in windy Frankfurt
Runner-up last year, this time the number one: the Ethiopian Kelkile
Gezahegn won the 37th edition of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon in cool and
at times extremely windy conditions in 2:06:37. After a thrilling duel he
broke away from Martin Kosgey of Kenya who finished in 2:06:41. Fellow
Kenyan Alex Kibet finished third on his marathon debut in 2:07:09.
A World Record for Masters or Veteran Runners was broken when Mark Kiptoo
finished sixth in 2:07:50, improving the men's Over-40 record by 48
seconds. Arne Gabius showed strong form to finish ninth in a high-quality
field when the 37-year-old crossed the line in 2:11:45, the fastest time by
a German this year.
The top result of the day was achieved by the women's winner as the
33-year-old Ethiopian Meskerem Assefa broke the course record with 2:20:36.
That was 25 seconds faster than her compatriot Meselech Melkamu had run
here in 2012.
In a women's field which produced high-quality performances in depth,
Haftamnesh Tesfay of Ethiopia ran 2:20:47 for second place, also faster
than Melkamu's former course record of 2:21:01. Ethiopia achieved a clean
sweep of the women's podium when Bedatu Hirpa crossed the line for third in
the Festhalle in 2:21:32. The leading German finisher among the women was
Katharina Heinig who finished impressively in 14th place, just inside 2:30.
Her time of 2:29:55 was the second fastest by a German woman this year.
13,934 runners from 102 countries took part in this year's Mainova
Frankfurt Marathon and, taking into account participants in the various
parallel events, 26,826 were running in total. The Mainova Frankfurt
Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label race, the highest category in international
road running.
Men's Race
"We were delighted with the results, the fantastic atmosphere in the city
and the number of participants," said the race organiser Jo Schindler as he
looked back on the day. The elite race director Christoph Kopp summed up
the performances of the elite athletes: "We've shown the marathon world
once again that you can run very fast here. I am delighted that the women's
course record has been broken."
A big group of 12 men went through halfway in a speedy 62:27. The wind from
the north-east favoured a fast early pace so that thoughts were soon
turning to a time of 2:05 or even faster. As expected, the headwind from 27
kilometres onwards slowed the pace. Ethiopia's Kelkile Gezahegn and the
Kenyan Martin Kosgey, the runners-up in 2017 and 2016 respectively,
launched an attack which broke up the leading group. Kenya's Alex Kibet,
making his marathon debut, then regained contact with this duo at 36
kilometres.
Three kilometres from the finish, Martin Kosgey went into the lead and
Kibet dropped off the pace. Gezahegn remained and tracked Kosgey in what
become a tactical finish, culminating in a sprint 500 metres from the line.
Gezahegn attacked just before the entrance of the Festhalle, celebrating
victory in 2:06:37 by four seconds ahead of Kosgey. Alex Kibet made an
impressive marathon debut for third place in 2:07:09.
The 22-year-old Gezahegn had been hoping for a faster time but adjusted his
plans to concentrate on victory: "I had said beforehand that I wanted to
run 2:04 but then I realised it was getting tough for everyone. We weren't
going to run a super-fast time so I gave everything I had to win and it
paid off. If I want to run in the Olympic Marathon, I still have a lot of
work to do." Martin Kosgey set a personal best with 2:06:41, finishing
runner-up in Frankfurt for the second time after 2016. "I was very
confident from the start. I thought I could beat Kelkile but this was still
a better performance than two years ago."
Women's Race
When a big leading group of twelve runners passed the half way point in
69:55 it was obvious that something special was possible. The group was on
course for sub 2:20 and although weather conditions were far from ideal the
women kept their pace until late in the race. At 30 k their 1:39:30 split
time still pointed to just below 2:20. It was only after this point when
the group slowed slightly and some lost contact running into a headwind for
several kilometres.
At 35 k there were still five runners in the leading group: Ethiopians
Haftamnesh Tesfay, Bedatu Hirpa, Meskerem Assefa and Dera Dida as well as
Betsy Saina. The Paris marathon champion from Kenya then struggled and
finally finished eighth. Hirpa and Dida also dropped back while Tesfay and
Assefa were now battling for victory. It was in the final kilometre when
Assefa, who finished third in Frankfurt a year ago and had the advantage of
knowing the course, moved ahead and build a decisive lead. "I did not
really feel the wind," said Assefa after winning in 2:20:36. "I prepared
for Frankfurt for five months because I wanted to run 2:22 and win the
race. Now I had to run a little bit quicker for first place." Second placed
Tesfay clocked 2:20:47 and also was inside the previous course record of
2:21:01. Without the wind the leading duo might well have broken 2:20
today.
With her winning time, which is also a personal best, Meskerem Assefa moved
up to 13th in the world this year. Besides her four more athletes of the
top ten ran personal records in Frankfurt. Seven runners finished inside
2:23 in Frankfurt's women's race, which is a record for a German marathon.
This year only in Dubai there were seven women with sub 2:23 times.
Results,
Men:
1. Kelkile Gezahegn ETH 2:06:37
2. Martin Kosgey KEN 2:06:41
3. Alex Kibet KEN 2:07:09
4. Amos Mitei KEN 2:07:28
5. Kenneth Keter KEN 2:07:34
6. Mark Kiptoo KEN 2:07:50
7. Asefa Tefera ETH 2:08:34
8. Tsedat Ayana ETH 2:09:39
9. Arne Gabius GER 2:11:45
10. Vincent Yator KEN 2:12:03
Women:
1. Meskerem Assefa ETH 2:20:36
2. Haftamnesh Tesfay ETH 2:20:47
3. Bedatu Hirpa ETH 2:21:32
4. Belaynesh Oljira ETH 2:21:53
5. Dera Dida ETH 2:22:39
6. Sintayehu Hailemichael ETH 2:22:45
7. Nancy Kiprop KEN 2:22:46
8. Betsy Saina KEN 2:24:35
9. Stellah Barsosio KEN 2:25:00
10. Abebech Afework ETH 2:25:17
11. Mare Dibaba ETH 2:25:24
More information is available at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com
###
|
