Ethiopia's Shitaye Gemechu - winner in Treviso (© Alberto Zorzi)
Course records by Kenya's Benjamin Pseret (2:10:18) and Ethiopia's Shitaye Gemechu (2:28:03) and the best ever figures for entries (4710) and finishers (3726) capped a successful 4th Treviso Marathon, held yesterday from Vittorio Veneto to Treviso.
Four men ran under 2:10:34, the previous course record set by Rachid Kisri in 2006.
WOMEN - Gemechu has Osaka goal
The 26-year-old Gemechu, who lives in Addis Ababa and is married with Asnake Fekadu (4th in men's race), was the strong pre-race favourite, as she ran for Ethiopia in the last three editions of World Championships (7th in 2001, 10th in 2003, 22nd in 2005) and has the fastest PB in the field with 2:26:15 (4th in Berlin in 2002). She has won the Amsterdam Marathon in 2001 and the Rock'n'Roll Arizona Marathon three times in a row from 2004 to last year.
However, since 2004 she had not been able to run under the 2:30-wall. She went back under on the very flat course of Treviso Marathon after a solo run from 10km to the finish line. Last year Italy's Deborah Toniolo stunned everybody with an unexpected 2:28:31. Gemechu's goal was to improve that time and she crossed halfway in 1:13:18. In the second part she slowed down and close with a time of 2:28:03.
“In the second part I suffered a little with the weather,” said the winner. “I have tired legs and it was hard to run with such a wind. On the other side the course it was perfect and it was beautiful to run between two lines of cheering people.”
Gemechu already thinks about the World Championships in Osaka. "In last years I has always been one of the best runners in Ethiopian team, obviously I would like to run in Japan", she explained.
Morocco's Soumyia Labani closed out the race in second, improving last year's 3rd place, even if she clocked a worst time (2:31:43 this year, 2:30:48 in 2006) "I was sure to run faster than 2:30, I was very well trained," she said. "Unfortunately at 37km my legs suddenly got empty and I was forced to slow my pace." She dedicated her result to her father, who died three months ago. "I suffered so much his absence, but he also gave me a reason to run for." She is focused on the Worlds in Osaka as well.
MEN - Winning with injured hamstring injury
Morocco's Rachid Kisri had come back in Treviso to defend his title. However, after a very fast start (30:18 at 10km, Kenya's Paul Kanda paced), he got into some trouble at 19km and before half marathon he had already dropped out.
The pack passed the halfway in 1:05:00. After the second ‘rabbit’ Justus Kiprono finished his work at 30km, Ethiopia’s Asnake Fekadu and Kenyan Benjamin Pseret were in the lead with Philip Kiplagat, David Maiyo and Italy's Antonello Petrei in the front group.
Petrei was the first to be dropped, then Kiplagat, and by 40km just Pseret and Maiyo could fight for the win.
At 41km Pseret, who is 26 and lives and trains in Kaptabuk (West Pokot), stopped for few seconds because of a sudden ache in one of his hamstrings. "I started immediately to run again," the winner said after the race, "I caught my rival with some hundred metres to go and out-sprinted him."
He closed in 2:10:18, 1 second ahead of Maiyo. It was his first win in a marathon and a strong improvement from his PB 2:13:46, set last year in Barcelona when he was 2nd.
Pseret said thanks to both the organizers and the pacemakers. "The course is beautiful and flat and the pacers did a good job," he added.
All the other three athletes behind him set huge PBs, including Gemechu's husband Asnake Fekadu, who was out-sprinted by Kiplagat for the 3rd place. They both were clocked with the same time.
Alberto Zorzi for the IAAF
Selected results
(42.195km)
Men’s race
1. Benjamin Pseret, KEN, 2:10:18
2. David Maiyo, KEN, 2:10:19
3. Philip Biwott Kiplagat, KEN, 2:10:27
4. Asnake Fekadu, ETH, 2:10:27
5. Kennedy Kimeli Kemei, KEN, 2:14:30
6. Antonello Petrei, ITA, 2:15:20
7. Joachim Nshimirimana, BUR, 2:15:53
8. Pietro Cilento, ITA, 2:16:08
Women’s race
1. Shitaye Gemechu, ETH, 2:28:03
2. Soumyia Labani, MAR, 2:31:43
3. Sisay Measo, ETH, 2:35:51
