21 May 2000Vienna, AustriaRunning in almost perfect conditions, Kenyan runner Willy Cheruiyot and Maura Viceconte of Italy smashed the respective course records for men and women in the Vienna City Marathon on Sunday.
Cheruiyot crossed the finish line in 2 hours eight minutes and 48 seconds, breaking the previous record, set by Ethiopian runner Taya Moges in 1998, by 33 seconds.
Viceconte put in an outstanding race to come in 2 hours 23 minutes 47 seconds, a new national record and 7.2 minutes ahead of the course record set in 1997 by Tatiana Dzhabrailova of Ukraine. It was the Italian runner's personal best time - more than four minutes faster than her previous best. The previous Italian women’s best for the marathon was 2:25:17, set by Franca Fiacconi in the new York Marathon on 1 November 1998.
Cheruiyot, who started the race as a pacemaker for the favourite Simon Bor, also of Kenya, ran together with his countrymen from start to finish. Bor was in front going into the final stretch, then Cheruiyot broke away in the last few meters to cross the line first.
``I did not expect such a race,'' Cheruiyot said at the finish. ``It was a wonderful race.''
Hailemariam Tedesse of Ethiopia was third with 2:13.29
Runners enjoyed near perfect conditions, with mild summer temperatures under clear blue skies on the flat course that takes them past some of the city's most famous landmarks.
Organisers said the 10,000 entrants for this year's race was an all-time record in the now 15-year-old event.
