FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Makau Takes WMM Lead as Kiplagat Moves to Fifth
It was Kenya's day at the BMW Berlin Marathon today as Patrick Makau broke
Haile Gebrselassie's world record to leap to the top of the 2010/11 World
Marathon Majors standings while Florence Kiplagat moved to fifth on the
women's leaderboard as she became only the 11th women to break the 2:20
barrier.
Makau produced a brilliant performance to retain his Berlin title as he
sliced 21 seconds from Gebrselassie's 2008 mark with 2:03:38, adding 25
points to the 15 he picked up when finishing third in London this year.
Makau now has 60 points overall, five more than London Marathon winner
Emmanuel Mutai with Tsegaye Kebede lying third.
After last year's cold and rain, the famous "Berlin Marathon weather"
returned and Makau took full advantage of the perfect conditions to lead
home fellow Kenyans Stephen Kwelio, Edwin Kimaiyo and Felix Limo, who were
rewarded with 15, 10 and five WMM points respectively.
Makau made the decisive move at around 27km when he kicked away from
Gebrselassie, who was suffering with breathing problems, and sped past the
30km mark in a world record time of 1:27:38. Makau went on to win by more
than four minutes while the Ethiopian recovered briefly before eventually
dropping out around 38km.
"This was the greatest day of my running life," said Makau afterwards.
"When I woke up today my body didn't feel very good but as the race went on
I felt better.
"At 25km I felt I could break the world record. It's great to have beaten
Haile, one of my heroes."
If Kwelio, who started as a pacemaker, was one shock name at the finish,
marathon debutant Scott Overall provided another surprise. The Briton
gained a spot on the men's leaderboard when he was fifth in 2:10:55, worth
one point.
In the women's race, Kiplagat gained her first WMM points as she ran away
from world record holder Paula Radcliffe after 15km to take a solo victory
in 2:19:44.
The Kenyan, who dropped out of the Boston Marathon in April, now sits
alongside fellow Kenyan Caroline Kilel plus Ethiopian pair Aberu Kebede and
Teyba Erkesso on 25 points.
Irina Mikitenko overtook Radcliffe before 35km to finish second in 2:22:18,
adding 15 points to the one she earned when fifth in Chicago last year.
Radcliffe finished third in 2:23:46 and moves to equal 15th on the
standings.
Ethiopia's Atsede Habtamu, fourth in 2:24:25, and Russian Tatyana Petrova,
fifth in 2:25:01, also gained WMM points.
Another Russian, Liliya Shobukhova, still leads the women's 2010/11 series
with 65 points, five ahead of New York champion Edna Kiplagat and 30 more
than London winner Mary Keitany.
The following athletes have collected WMM points at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
this Sunday (points counting for 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 series):
Men:
1. Patrick Makau KEN 25 points 2:03:38 WR
2. Stephen Kwelio KEN 15 2:07:55
3. Edwin Kimaiyo KEN 10 2:09:50
4. Felix Limo KEN 5 2:10:38
5. Scott Overall GBR 1 2:10:55
Women:
1. Florence Kiplagat KEN 25 points 2:19:44
2. Irina Mikitenko GER 15 2:22:18
3. Paula Radcliffe GBR 10 2:23:46
4. Atsede Habtamu ETH 5 2:24:25
5. Tatyana Petrova RUS 1 2:25:01
The current standings in the 2010-2011 WMM series:
Men
1. Patrick Makau (KEN) 60
2. Emmanuel Mutai (KEN) 55
3. Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) 41
4. Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) 40
5. Gebre Gebremariam (ETH) 35
Women
1. Liliya Shobukhova (RUS) 65
2. Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 60
3. Mary Keitany (KEN) 35
4. Bezunesh Bekele (ETH) 30
5. Florence Kiplagat (KEN) 25
5. Aberu Kebede (ETH) 25
5. Teyba Erkesso (ETH) 25
5. Caroline Kilel (KEN) 25
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