Samuel Mugo wins the 2009 Beijing International Marathon (© c)
One week after the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Nanning, the distance running focus remains in China with the 30th Anniversary edition of the Beijing Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label event. And the likelihood, as with Wilson Kiprop in Nanning, is that a Kenyan will win in the Chinese capital.
The favourite, both by dint of his victory last year, and in his own estimation yesterday is Sammy Mugo. Now 24, Mugo set a personal best of 2:08.20 in winning last year. He had to drop out of Boston earlier this year with bronchial problems, but reckons he’s ready to run well again, and fast.
“I developed a chest problem on the way to Boston, and had to drop out at 25km. But I feel fine now. I soon got back into training, and I’m going well, and feeling very strong. I think I can improve a lot.” Asked who his principal rivals for Sunday’s race would be, he responded, “I don’t have any.”
Several men would likely disagree. Compatriot, Nicholas Kamakya was only 20 seconds behind, in his debut last year, and says he feels much stronger after running the Rome Marathon in spring. Another Kenyan, Salim Kipsang has run 2:07.29, and has won in Paris and Tokyo. And Gudisa Shentema of Ethiopia has run 2:07.34.
The Beijing Marathon was launched in 1981, as part of the wave of innovation in China, following what was called the ‘opening up’ of the country, instituted by Deng Xiaoping, in the post-Mao era.
The race had an early impact in the athletics world when, inside three years in the mid-eighties, two men – Taisuke Kodama of Japan and Abebe Mekonnen of Ethiopia – won in 2:07.35, then the fifth fastest in the world. But so fast has the marathon world been accelerating recently that that time would be just creep into this year’s top 30.
But Mugo aims to change that. “If the weather is good, we can run faster than that,” he said yesterday.
The women’s record of 2:19.39, by Sun Ying Jie of China in 2003, is both more recent and more spectacular; and seems unlikely to be broken this weekend. Leading contenders for victory are the training partners from Hebei province, Chen Rong, a winner here three years ago, and Wang Jia Li. Wang is marginally faster with 2.26.34 to Chen’s 2:27.05, but is less consistent, and admitted at yesterday’s press conference that after a 2:39 here in 2007, “folks here are not familiar with me. I need to do better to make an impact.”
There was a nice moment following the press conference, when Chen and Wang were asked who was the stronger at the moment, and each immediately pointed at the other. But they should not be alone in their rivalry, since Asha Gigi Roba of Ethiopa has run half a minute faster than Wang, and there are two more 2:27 women, Asmae Leghzaoui of Morocco, and one of the Nurgalieva twins, Olesya, from Perm in Russia.
Temperatures are expected to be cool, around 10°C for the race which begins in Tiananmen Square, and ends in the 2008 Olympic complex. There will be around 30,000 competitors from over 50 countries for the three races, with around 8000 running the marathon.
Pat Butcher for the IAAF
