Belgium
record
for Renders, as Zwierzchlewski takes the men’s honours in the Paris Marathon
April 7 – Paris – Belgium’s Marleen Renders strode to an emphatic 2:23:05
national record victory in the women’s race at the Paris Marathon today. It was
a return to top form for the Belgium athlete who was champion here in 2000
(setting the previous national record of 2:23:43), but who didn’t finish in the
Sydney Olympics and after a
2:28:31
clocking in London last year, was only 18th (2:33:25) in the IAAF
World Championships in Edmonton.
Renders who was shielded throughout the race by a group of male ‘minders’, dominated the race entirely, reaching 21km in 1:11:24, and 30km in 1:41:12, by which time she had established over a minutes lead over the chasing duo, Japan’s Rie Matsuoka and Kenya’s Esther Kiplagat.
Running in bright sunshine in the French capital, Renders never looked in any danger of being caught, her characteristically wide arm running style propelling her to a 2:23:05 minute win, which destroyed her previous national record which was set in this race in 2000.
Matsuoka, running in a fluorescent pink outfit, established her own wide margin after the 30km point over eventual third placer Kiplagat (2:25:32), and finished in a clear second spot in 2:24:33.
France’s Benoit Zwierzchlewski, brought the hosts a home victory in the men’s race, his winning time of 2:08:18, like that of Renders in the women’s race, being the fastest time so far in the world this year.
With a group of nine men still in contention at 25km (1:15:17), Zwierzchlewski began to push the pace with only French compatriot Rachid Ziar, keeping even temporarily in touch. These two established over a minutes lead on the depleted chasing group, who were later joined and overtaken by a fast finishing Pavel Loskutov of Estonia.
Zwierzchlewski, who reached 30km in 1:30:22, 35km in 1:45:31 and 40km in 2:01:19, had no trouble maintaining a forceful pace to the finish, winning in a new personal best of 2:08:18, which obliterated his previous pb of 2:10:47 which he set when winning the national title in Reims in 2000.
Loskutov, who with Mijidio Bourifa of France (3rd 2:09:07) passed Ziar as the race past the Bois de Boulogne, finished extremely strongly to take second place in 2:08:53, an Estonian record, beating the previous national mark (2:11:09), which he had established in Frankfurt last year.
Zwierzchlewski, finished in 13th place (2:18:19) in last summer’s World championships, where he was the third European athlete home, and so his impressive race win here could well be a performance to note with the European championships taking place in Munich this summer.
(NB. all splits unofficial)
Leading Results (AFP)
Men
1. Benoit Zwierzchlewski (Fra) 2hrs 08min 18sec, 2.
Pavel Loskutov
(Est) 2hr 08:53, 3.
Mijidio Bourifa (Ita) 2hr 09:07, 4. Robert Cheruiyot (Ken) 2hr 09:39, 5. Rachid
Ziar (Fra) 2hr 09:54, 6. Hendrick Ramaala (Rsa) 2hr 10:06, 7. Abdallah Behar (Fra)
2hr 10:06, 8.
Tesfaye Eticha (Eth)
2hr 10:14, 9. Larbi
Zeroual (Fra) 2hr 10:40, 10. David Makori (Ken) 2hr 11:20
Women
1. Marleen Renders (Bel) 2hr 23min 05sec, 2.
Rie Matsuoka (Jpn)
2hr 24:33, 3. Esther
Kiplagat (Ken) 2hr 25:32, 4. Chantal Dallenbach (Fra) 2hr 28:27, 5.
Jelena Procopsuka
(Lit) 2hr 28:36, 6. Nives Curti (Ita) 2hr 33:14, 7.
Mary Ptikany (Ken) 2hr
35:07, 8. Adeba Tola (Eth) 2hr 35:51, 9. Irina Permitina (Rus) 2hr 35:58, 10.
Michelle
Leservoiser (Fra) 2hr 39:25
