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Fastest time ever on Kenyan soil by Greatest Race on Earth woman
29 October 2006, Nairobi - Standard Chartered's Greatest Race on Earth
(GROE) athlete Irene Jerotich today recorded the fastest time ever on
Kenyan soil to win the Women's Nairobi Marathon. The victory puts her team
Cyclone into the lead of the GROE Women's Challenge after the first of four
marathons. In a tough contest, Kenyan Jerotich recorded a time of 2:32:46
beating the existing record by over three minutes.
Another GROE runner, China Team's 19 year-old Zhang Xin, came second with
a time of 2:37:34 in her first ever Nairobi Marathon, and elevates her
prospects as an emerging talent for China in the 2008 Olympics. Beatrice
Omwanza, of the Run for Peace team, came third with a time of 2:39:15.
Kenyan Christopher Cheboiboch was the highest-placed male athlete in this
first leg of GROE, the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon, with a time of
2:14:59, taking fifth place in the overall marathon. This takes his Run
for Fun team into the lead of the GROE Main Team Challenge.
Close behind in second place was Erastus Thumbi running for Posso Nyahururu
in 2:15:24, with only one second separating him from Lisoreng Philmon of
Kericho team.
The 2006/07 Standard Chartered GROE, which has a total prize pool of US$1.5
million, is a team relay of four challenging marathons in Nairobi,
Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong. The field of elite athletes and emerging
talent sped away from the start-line at 7.45am along the Mombasa Road, all
battling the 1,600m altitude.
The new series sees participation from over 30 countries. The GROE Nations
Challenge saw Uganda shine, as Moses Cherop stormed through the course to
finish with a time of 2:18:26, a creditable 4 minutes 16 seconds ahead of
current holders Kenya who are third.
Uganda now lead also the Africa regional competition with Kenya second and
Zimbabwe third, finishing with a time of 2:23.39. The six regional
competitions within the Nations Challenge look set to be very exciting in
this year's series. Vietnam leads Indonesia by 12 minutes 40 seconds with
Indonesia running a 2:35.19 race in the South East Asia category. Amnuay
Tongmit from Thailand was third with a time of 2:43:07.
In the North East Asia region, Taiwan are leading with a time of 2:45:40,
whilst the South Korea team are in second place over 11 minutes behind and
Hong Kong are in third place.
India leads the South Asia region with national representative Lyngkhoi
Bining completing the course in 2:25:24. Close rivals Sri Lanka are second
with 2:26:18 and Pakistan are third with a time of 2:41:30.
The Oceania and Europe region is lead by Ireland. Cathal O'Connell ran
2:37:53, 3 minutes 49 seconds ahead of Australia with 2:42:42 and Denmark
who are placed third.
In the Americas, a new addition to GROE this series, Argentina lead with a
time of 2:34:07, almost ten minutes ahead of Mexico.
In an increase on last year's Nairobi marathon attendance of 12,000, it was
estimated that nearly 16,000 runners participated. The consistent growth in
the popularity of the Nairobi Marathon since its inception in 2003 was
mirrored by the thousands of spectators that lined the new route, and is
strong testament to the passion and popularity of long distance running in
Kenya.
Greatest Race on Earth Results (provisional) – Leg 1: Nairobi Marathon
Main Team Challenge (open to all teams)
Position Name Team Name Time
(hrs:min:sec)
1. Christopher Cheboiboch Run for Fun 02:14:59
2. Erastus Maina Thumbi Posso Nyahururu 02:15:24
3. Lisoreng Yarasia Philmon Kericho 02:15:25
4. Jonstone Kemboi Chebii Kensky Athletics Intyl1 02:16:19
5. Francis Kipketer Chesumei Pace Sports Management 02:16:26
Women's Challenge
Position Name Team Name Time
(hrs:min:sec)
1. Irene Jerotich Cyclone 02:32:46
2. Zhang Xin China Team 02:37:34
3. Beatrice Omwanza Run for Peace 02:39:15
Nations Challenge (Open to National Associations only)
Position Name Team Name Time
(hrs:min:sec)
1. Moses Cherop Uganda 02:18:26
2. Nguyen Chi Dong Vietnam 02:22:39
3. Sammy Karanja Karuku Kenya 02:22:42
Nations Challenge – Regions
Position Name Team Name Time
(hrs:min:sec)
Africa
1. Moses Cherop Uganda 02:18:26
2. Sammy Karanja Karuku Kenya 02:22:42
3. Abel Chimukoko Zimbabwe 02:23:39
North East Asia
1. Chien-Hsin Chiu Taiwan 02:45:40
2. Se Jeong, Oh South Korea 02:56:49
3. Tsui Theeradej Winter Hong Kong 03:07:56
Oceania & Europe
1. Cathal O'Connell Ireland 02:37:53
2. Martin Considine Australia 02:41:42
3. Kenneth Munk Denmark 02:45:08
South East Asia
1. Nguyen Chi Dong Vietnam 02:22:39
2. I Gusti Gede Karangasem Indonesia 02:35:19
3. Amnuay Tongmit Thailand 02:43:07
South Asia
1. Lyngkhoi Bining India 02:25:24
2. Ishan Kumara Wijethilaka Sri Lanka 02:26:18
3. Muhammad Aslam Pakistan 02:41:30
Americas
1. Alejandro Gimenez Argentina 02:34:07
2. Alejandro Jimenez Cara Mexico 02:44:04
Visit www.thegreatestrace.com for comprehensive media materials such as
runner profiles, features, fact file, photo gallery and results.
The Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth
The Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) was created in 2004 – the first-ever
virtual relay race across four marathons. The Main Team Challenge category
is open to men and women over 18 years of age, of any nationality, with no
restriction on the level of competence. Each team member will run in one
marathon. Teams must nominate who will run in each full marathon before the
start of the series, and the winning team will be the one whose athletes
record the lowest aggregate time across the four marathons.
In 2005/06 the quality of the runners was world-class, with 24 male and 30
female GROE runners placing in the top 10 of each of the four marathons.
Building on the success of the first two series, Standard Chartered
presents GROE for the third time. There are over 80 teams and 300
participants taking part. The race covers marathons in Nairobi, Singapore,
Mumbai and Hong Kong, representing some of the most challenging
environments in the world:
* The highest race at over 1,600 metres in Nairobi – 29 October 2006
* The island race around Singapore – 3 December 2006
* The historic race through Mumbai – 21 January 2007
* The harbour race across Hong Kong – 4 March 2007
The marathons characterise the values and attitude that Standard Chartered
believes in, and lives by every day. Partnership, teamwork, trust, courage,
willpower, the determination to “go the distance” and a “can-do” attitude,
all of which are Standard Chartered core values, will be key factors in
determining the winners.
3 overall categories
Main Team Challenge
Prize pool of US$845,000; fastest combined time of four runners across all
four marathons (one runner per team per race); top prize of US$400,000;
prizes to 5th place. Includes a bonus prize pool of US$200,000 for top five
women teams.
The Nations Challenge
Prize pool of US$400,000 – fastest National Athletics Association team time
of four runners across all four marathons (one runner per team per race);
top overall prize of US$50,000. Teams are also divided into 6 regions –
Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, North East Asia, Europe & Oceania, and
Americas, with prizes for teams who finish in top three in each region.
Performance Awards
Bonus pool of US$55,000 has been set aside for special achievement awards.
These are awarded to national teams that have made a significant
improvement on their previous GROE times, and teams that have demonstrated
commitment, endeavour and determination in competing in and completing the
Greatest Race on Earth.
Standard Chartered – leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East
Standard Chartered PLC is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the
Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and is consistently ranked in the top 25 among
FTSE-100 companies by market capitalisation.
Standard Chartered has a history of over 150 years in banking and is in
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network of over 1,200 branches (including subsidiaries, associates and
joint ventures) in over 50 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South
Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom and the Americas.
As one of the world's most international banks, Standard Chartered employs
almost 50,000 people, representing over 90 nationalities, worldwide. This
diversity lies at the heart of the Bank's values and supports the Bank's
growth as the world increasingly becomes one market.
With strong organic growth supported by strategic alliances and
acquisitions and driven by its strengths in the balance and diversity of
its business, products, geography and people, Standard Chartered is well
positioned in the emerging trade corridors of Asia, Africa and the Middle
East.
Standard Chartered uniquely derives over 90 per cent of profits from Asia,
Africa and the Middle East. Serving both Consumer and Wholesale Banking
customers worldwide, the Bank combines deep local knowledge with global
capability to offer a wide range of innovative products and services as
well as award-winning solutions.
Trusted across its network for its standard of governance and corporate
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