News05 Nov 2007


Women’s course record broken in Seoul

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Lee Eung-jung the women's winner of the 2007 Seoul JoongAng Marathon (© c)

Seoul, KoreaOn a cool and dry sunny morning (5C) over 14,500 runners from 17 countries set off from the start line of the JoongAng Soul Marathon and 10km race at Jamsil Main Stadium on Sunday 4 November.

The overall course record almost fell to Kenya’s Joshua Chelanga who won the men’s race in 2:08:14, just one second slower than the record set by his compatriot Jason Mbote - 2:08:13 in 2006.

The women’s course record was bettered by Korean runner Eun-jung Lee who crossed the finish in 2:29:32.

MEN

A large group of runners, among who were nine athletes with personal bests below 2:09:00, led the marathon from the gun. They passed through the first 5km in 15:32 overcoming the chilly, though dry weather (57% humidity) and wind of 2.2m/s.

The leaders accelerated in the next 5km and made the first 10km in 30:37. The pack started to thin and was down to twelve runners at the halfway turn-around-point, which they passed at 1:00:58.

After the pacemakers dropped off at the 33km only six runners stayed in the hunt: Kenya’s Joshua Chelanga, Barus Benson, Nicholas Chelimo, Hillary Kimaiyo, Morocco’s Abderrahime Boramdane and Ethiopian Yirefu Birhanu Derb.

The pace appeared to fast and by the 37km only Joshua Chelanga and Abderrahime Bouramdane were left to fight it out in front, with Yirefu Birhanu Derb, Barus Benson and Nicholas Chelimo dropping back to form a second pack, one minute behind the leaders.

However, Bouramdane did not have luck in trying to overtake Chelanga who threw in tentative surges, and as such the Moroccan had to be content with following him closely just a few strides behind all the way to the finish line which he crossed six seconds afterwards. But the 29-year-old Bouramdane had every reason to be happy having improved his personal best by 2:21.

Birhanu was the best of the second pack of runners, winning the fight to the line for third in 2:09:01 by just three seconds from Barus.

WOMEN

There were no invited elites in the women’s field and the race was not as dramatic as the men’s with four Korean runners contesting the woman’s title. 

Eun-jung Lee led the field from the starting gun together with Ho-Sun Park. They passed together the 5km mark in 17:25, with Hae-Jin Bae, and, Jin-Sook Kim lagging about one and two minutes behind.

Eun-jung Lee passed the 10km mark in 34:38, leaving her only true rival Ho-Sun Park almost one minute behind. She continued relentlessly building her lead and finished unchallenged in 2:29:32 improving the 2003 course record which belonged to Korea’s Yun-Hee Chung (2:30:50) by almost a minute.

Yelena Kurdyumova and Sergey Porada for the IAAF

RESULTS

MEN
1. Joshua Chelanga KEN 2:08:14
2. Abderrahime Bouramdane MAR 2:08:20
3. Yirefu  Birhanu ETH 2:09:01
4. Benson Barus KEN 2:09:04
5. Nicholas Chelimo KEN 2:09:42
6. Hillary Kimaiyo KEN 2:11:57
7. Samson Ramadhani TAN 2:13:53
8. William Kiplagat KEN 2:14:20
9. Ji Young Jun KOR 2:16:20
10. Joao Nytyamba ANG 2:16:38
 
WOMEN
1. Eun-Jung Lee KOR 2:29:32
2. Hae-Jin Bae KOR 2:37:43
3. Ho-Sun Park KOR 2:41:01
4. Jin-Sook Kim KOR 2:49:10


10km race


Men
1.  Soon-Taek Yim 32:36
2. Young-Hak Park 34:53
3. Jong-Moon Kim 35:46

Women
1. Jong-Sun Yeo 38:21
2. Hye-Won Oh 40:11
3. Kwang-Sook Kang 41:17

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