2000 London
Marathon boasts strongest field ever
Chris Turner for the IAAF
5 April 2000 - The 2000 Flora London Marathon on Sunday 16th April boasts its strongest ever men's and women's elite fields, with the potential to offer one of the greatest marathon spectacles ever seen.
MEN:
The list of entrants for this year's men's race is of such awesome quality that it
probably would have been easier for the race organisers to have listed the names of the
top marathon runners not competing in London this month, rather than the actual start list
of entrants! The field includes ten men who have run quicker than 2:08hrs and five of the
top ten from last year's world ranking lists!
The field is headed by 1999 London winner Abdelkader El Mouaziz of Morocco who hung on for a surprise victory last year. In 1999, he was one of only four runners who followed the early pace set by the two official pace makers and after 15 miles found himself alone in the lead and was never headed.
Yet unless El Mouaziz can spring another early surprise and hang on again, the favourite to win on April 16th will be another Moroccan, Khalid Khannouchi. Khannouchi, the would be American citizen who ran 2:05:42 for a new World's best time in the La Salle Chicago marathon last October, has only been resident in the USA since 1998 and is not eligible to run in the US Olympic trials in Pittsburgh on May 7th, and so is now concentrating all his efforts for the year 2000 on the Flora London marathon
Other than his compatriot El Mouaziz, it would appear that Khannouchi's stiffest challenge will come from South Africa's Gert Thys, who ran 2:06:33 in Tokyo last year for third place in the 1999 World rankings. However, a string of fast Kenyans Josephat Kiprono (2:06:44), William Kiplagat (2:06:50) and Japhet Kosgei (2:07:09), who were 4th, 7th and 10th respectively in the world list in 1999, should also be close in the hunt for honours.
More unpredictable will be the opposition offered by South Africa's current Olympic Champion Josiah Thugwane (2:07:28), who will be out to recover some of his former glory and re-establish his credentials as a challenger for the Olympic title in Sydney this autumn.
Europe's challenge is most likely to come from Antonio Pinto (2:07:55) of Portugal who finished second in London last year and who holds the course record from when he won in 1997(2:07:55). The 1996 World half marathon champion Stefano Baldini (2:07:57) of Italy and Spain's Alejando Gomez (2:07:54) whose personal bests were both set back in 1997, will be the other Europeans to watch.
WOMEN:
The women's field also offers a potentially spectacular feast of running with seven women
who have run quicker than 2:26hrs toeing the start line for the Flora London Marathon on
April 16th.
One of the most intriguing clashes will be between the Kenyans, Tegla Loroupe (2:20:43) and reigning London Champion Joyce Chemchumba (2:23:22).
Last year with Chemchumba running what the London organisers claimed was the world's best time for a "women's only" race, there was much debate about whether it or Loroupe's "mixed" race(paced) time was the legitimate women's best on an approved course. This solely Kenyan "argument" is now at an end, as Chemchumba's time was subsequently superseded by exceptionally fast races in Tokyo last November and then in Osaka this January. However, it will still be interesting to see who takes the mantle as Kenya's best on London's streets this April.
However, Romania's Lidia Simon who was pushed to a super quick 2:22:54 PB (8th world all-time) by Japan's Harumi Hiroyama (2:22:56) in Osaka (Jan 30th 2000), will not let the Kenyans have it all their own way. In fact Simon, whose new personal best marked her third victory on the Osaka course, will be seen by many as a good outside bet to win in London, particularly as she beat Loroupe in the 1999 Osaka race.
Other than the Romanian, the main European challenge should come from Manuela Machado (POR), the 1995 World champion who was third in London last year (2:25:09) and Italian Maria Guida (2:25:57) who won in Carpi last autumn. Yet don't forget 1996 Olympic 10,000 metres champion Fernanda Ribeiro who has a half marathon best of 1:08:44 and has all the credentials to make a major marathon break through here in London.
The women's field is so strong that the 1999 World Marathon champion Jong Song-ok of Korea and Ethiopia's newly crowned World Cross Country Champion
Deratu Tulu (2:30:28) could quite easily get overlooked. As could Adriana Fernandez of Mexico (2:24:06) who was second behind Chemchumba last year and Ethiopia's Elfenesh Alemu (2:24:00) who also deserve a mention in this exceptionally high quality women's field.
