Alberico di Cecco wins the 2005 Rome Marathon (© Michele D'annibale)
Venice, ItalyThe 21st edition of the Venice Marathon will be highlighted by a battle between four top Italian marathon stars Daniele Caimmi, Alberico Di Cecco, Migidio Bourifa and Giuliano Battocletti who are bidding for a spot in the Italian team at next summer’s IAAF World Championships in Osaka.
Comebacks for Caimmi and Di Cecco
Caimmi and Di Cecco, two prominent names in Italian long distance running, have got through a difficult 2006 season and Venice may represent a comeback for both.
Caimmi started his season very well finishing second in the Rome Marathon in March in 2:09:30 but an injury in the middle of his preparation for the European Championships in Gothenburg forced him to pull out of the continental race in Sweden.
Caimmi finished fourth at the European Championships in Munich 2000 and sixth at the World Championships in Paris 2003 and ran a PB of 2:08:59 in Milan 2002. Caimmi has already competed in Venice, finishing second (2:12:41) in 1998 and third (2:10:26) in 2001. The marathon runner from Jesi is married to top Italian marathon runner Rosaria Console who finished second in Carpi last week.
“In Venice I want to test my form. I want to do well not only for me but also for all those who helped me during a troubled year,” Caimmi said.
Di Cecco will line up in Venice for the first time in his career. The marathon specialist from Guadiagrele (near Chieti) in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, ran the best race of his career in Rome on 13 March 2005 when he set his lifetime best with 2:08:02 which places him third in the Italian all-time list behind Olympic champion Stefano Baldini (2:07:22) and former New York marathon winner Giacomo Leone (2:07:52).
Di Cecco finished ninth in the Athens Olympic Marathon in 2004 in the race won by his compatriot Baldini. Di Cecco also ran twice in New York finishing fifth in 2003 and sixth in 2005.
Migidio Bourifa, who was born in Casablanca (Morocco) but has always lived near Bergamo in northern Italy, finished 23rd in the IAAF World Road Running Championships in Debrecen on 8 October (third among European athletes). Bourifa dipped under 2:10 in 2002 when he clocked 2:09:07 in Paris.
Giuliano Battocletti, known as a cross country specialist, turned his attention to the Marathon last year. In his first serious attempt over the distance the athlete from Cles (near Trento), who was a former World junior bronze medal in the 5000 metres in Lisbon 1994, finished third in the 2005 Milan Marathon in 2:11:59.
Rotich and Rotich lead the Kenyan challenge
The Kenyan challenge to the Italians is led by William Rotich and his namesake Michael Rotich.
William Todoo Rotich won this year’s Roma-Ostia Half-Marathon in 60:12. Michael Rotich ran 2:06:33 when he won the 2003 Paris Marathon. Two more names from Kenya to watch are Paul Lokira (second in Venice in 2:10:18 and first in Padua in 2005), Steven Matebo Cheptot (PB 2:07:59 for third place in Amsterdam 2002) and Jonathan Kosgei (second with PB 2:10:49 in Xiamen 2006).
This year’s Stramilano winner Paul Kimugul will act as the pacemaker until 30 km.
Loroupe the women's favourite
The women’s race features Kenyan legend Tegla Loroupe, one of the greatest mMarathon runners in history. Loroupe set two World marathon records running 2:20:47 in Rotterdam 1998 and one year later 2:20:43 in Berlin, still the ninth best performance in history. This record remained unbeaten until 2001 when Japanese Naoko Takahashi became the first woman in history to break the 2:20 barrier with 2:19:46 in Berlin.
Loroupe’s main contenders are compatriot Lenah Cheruyiot, Poland’s Renata Paradowska (PB 2:27:17 in Boston 1998) and 2005 Italian Marathon champion Ivana Iozzia.
More than 6000 entrants are expected to run the Venice Marathon race on a course which underwent some changes since last year. The race starts from Villa Pisani, a fascinating mansion built in the 17th century in Stra on the Brenta riverside and finishes in Riva dei Sette Martiri in the heart of Venice. The main change to last year’s course is the crossing of San Giuliano’s Park, a vast green area located between Mestre and Venice.
As in the tradition of this Marathon the race will probably reach its climax on the famous 5 km Ponte della Libertà (Bridge of Freedom) where top runners make their move to win before the last two challenging kilometres inside the port area where they have to cross the final 14 bridges which make Venice famous around the world.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
