Bruna Genovese won the first international marathon of her career in Tokyo last weekend (Sun 21 Nov) in 2:26:34, the fastest by an Italian woman this year and the second fastest time of her life.

A well tested course

It is not by chance that this achievement should have occurred in the Japanese capital, as the Tokyo course is one that the 28 year-old knows very well having finished third and fourth on previous occasions.

The Tokyo race marked the first important result of her career when she finished third in 2:25:35 in 2001, the third fastest time in Italian history behind Maura Viceconte's 2:23:47 (first in Vienna 2000) and Franca Fiacconi's 2:25:17 (first in New York 1998). In her second appearance in Tokyo last year Genovese crossed the finish line in 2:34:32 to take fourth place.
 
"The Tokyo marathon is a women's race, and as such we receive more attention than in races for both men and women, “confirmed Sunday’s winner. "This is why it is one of my favourite competitions.

"My training sessions gave promising results, so I was confident before the start although I knew that I was going to compete against some big rivals.”

Conservative start paid off

Genovese executed the perfect race, with her tactics paying off precisely as she expected.

"I decided not to follow the early pace set by the Ethiopians Gete Wami and Elfenesh Alemu, the Japanese Masko Chiba and the Chinese Sun Yingjie. The weather conditions were ideal although it was windy. For this reason I stayed behind in the second pack and ran my own race.

”I began making up the ground by 31 km and caught up with Wami at 34 km. This is when I realised that I could clinch the win. With 7km to go I was still 51 seconds behind Chiba and Alemu but I still hoped to reach them. I managed to overhaul them after the 40 km.”

Third marathon of 2004

Tokyo was Genovese’s third marathon of a successful 2004, after finishing second in the Rome Marathon with 2:29:04 behind Ornella Ferrara (2:27:49), and then taking a very good tenth place in the Athens Olympic Games in 2:32:50.

"When I crossed the finish-line in Tokyo I did not fully realize that I had won until I saw my coach Salvatore Bettiol approaching to hug me. He was moved.

"I have realized what I did only since my return to Italy. This victory has made me popular among Japanese fans who asked me for autographs. I am also receiving attention from the Italian media and this makes me proud."

Played the same waiting game in Athens

At the Olympic Games in Athens the Italian used similarly tactics by starting conservatively. She was well behind the leading group in the first half of the race before closing the gap in the final stages of the race.

"I chose not to follow the leading group in Athens because it was a very hot day. I made up the ground and overhauled some fading athletes who started too quickly. The Olympic tenth place is the result I had dreamed about before flying to Athens, so I am very happy. The only thing that disappoints me is that the result did not receive the attention it deserved from the Italian media."

Prefers road to track 
 
Bruna Genovese was born on 24 September 1976 in Montebelluna, near Treviso and lives in Volpago del Montello in the north-eastern part of Italy. She started with non-competitive runs when she was 12.

She now has modest personal bests on the track for 5000m with 16:44.76 (2001) and 10,000 metres in 34:14.68 in 2000 (33:55.3 - hand timed, 25 April 2004) and has competed in two editions of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships - in Durham 1995 as a junior and in Villamoura 2000 as a senior.

"I always preferred running on the road than on the track. The turning point of my career was in 1999 when I ran my first marathon in Venice where I finished third in 2:31:06. In 2001, I finished ninth in Boston (2:30:39) before taking part in the World Championships in Edmonton where I came in seventeenth (2:33:13).

”Just three months after Edmonton I ran 2:25:35 in Tokyo, which is my PB. My rise to the top was slowed in 2002 because of a problem in my left leg following my sixth place in Boston in 2:29:02.”

Close friends

Genovese owes much of her success in 2004 to her coach Salvatore Bettiol, a former international marathon runner who finished fifth in the Olympic marathon in Barcelona 1992.

"Salvatore lived 200 metres from me when I began running. He has always been an example for me. At the beginning I ran just for fun a couple of times per week. After sustaining an injury I asked him for help. He advised me to join a club. This was the beginning of our partnership.

”Between us there is not just a typical coach - athlete relationship. We are also very close friends. He has always supported me when I was injured and helped me not to give up. When he sees that I am nervous before big races he perfectly understands what I feel because this is what he experienced when he was an athlete."
        
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF

Bruna Genovese currently stands in 50th position for her event in the IAAF World Rankings.