Stanley Leleito wins the 2005 Zurich Marathon (© Lorenzo Sampaolo)
Zurich, SwitzerlandThe 20yearold kenyan Stanley Leleito smashed his PB reducing it from 2:17:32 to 2:10:16 to clinch the first win of his career in the third edition of the Zurich Marathon this morning.
Following Leleito’s heels another three men also finished under the 2:11 barrier. Eric Nzioki, a kenyan coached by the three-time Boston Marathon winner Cosmas Ndeti, improved his PB from 2:16:00 to 2:10:33. Amnani Bayo Getuli from Tanzania, who ran his previous best of 2:12:53 in Dubai in 2005, completed the african podium with the third place in a new PB of 2:10:44. Viktor Röthlin from Switzerland, dipped under the 2:11 barrier to finish fourth in 2:10:59, one minute slower than the 2:09:56 winning time he set last year.
The women’s race featured a win by the local favourite Claudia Oberlin who won the first marathon of her career in 2:34:38, but not enough to set the qualifying standard for the World Championships in Helsinki.
MEN
A twelve-men group formed the leading pack in the early stages with all the favourites at the front. The pack included both pacemakers Abraham Tadese from Ethiopia and Wilson Chemweno from Kenya (second at the IAAF permit cross country race in Diekirch in Luxemburg this winter) followed by the kenyans Nzioki, Leleito, Joseph Kadon and Peter Musioki, the Ethiopian Tesfaye Eticha (winner in Zürich in 2003), Röthlin and Getuli.
The leaders, who ran the first part of the race at 3:07 for each km, reached the 5 km mark in 15:25. Still twelve men remained in contention, in line with a 2:10 pace at the 20 km mark (1:01:30). They reached halfway in 1:04:54. After the 21 km Chemweno finished his pacemaking task.
Nine men pulled away at the 30 km (1:33:00). The lead group was led by Kadon (PB 2:11:30) followed by Nzioki and Eticha who ran close on his heels. The race reached its climax in the 33 km when Nzioko launched a first attack and increased the pace. Only Bayo and Leleito managed to keep the pace set by Nzioko. With seven km to go Leleito soared the pace and dropped Nzioko and Bayo. He built up a comfortable lead of 20 seconds in the final kilometres to secure the first marathon win of his career in 2:10:16, with a final margin of 17 seconds over Nzioki, who pulled away from Bayo in the final two km.
“I expected to win and lower my PB today, although I knew that there were many tough compatriots in the race. I have prepared very well for this race in Kenya. I set my previous PB in Athens in my first marathon over a very difficult course, so I was confident that I could run the best race of my life”, said a smiling Leleito, who comes from a village about 150 km from Nairobi.
WOMEN
The 26-year-old swiss Claudia Oberlin improved on her second place from last year’s Zürich marathon taking the first win of her career in 2:34:38, thirty seconds slower than her PB set last year in Zürich.
Oberlin went to the lead with an Ethiopian duo formed by Sisay Arsede Measo and Emebet Abossa in the first part of the race. The women’s race did not undergo any significant changes in the top positions and Oberlin remained in line with the qualifyng limit until the halfway mark which was reached in 1:15:50 but the pace slowed down in the second half of the race.
However, Oberlin, overcame a crisis between 25 km and 30 km, and dropped the Ethiopians at the 33 km and increased her lead to secure an easy win in 2:34:38 with a four-minute margin over the ethiopians Tsige Worku (2:38:35) and Emebet Abossa (2:39:01). Arsede Measo, who had run in the lead in the first part of the contest, dropped back to fifth in 2:40:44.
“I have won my first marathon in front of the home crowd. In the final part of the race I was pushed by my supporters along the course. This makes me forget the disappointment for missing the qualifying time for the World Championships. I will not try again to qualify for Helsinki because other spring marathons are scheduled too early. I will start again in autumn”, said Oberlin.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
Results from the Zürich Marathon:
Men:
1 Stanley Leleto (Ken) 2:10:16
2 Eric Nzioki (Ken) 2:10:33
3 Amnaay Bayo Getuli(Tan) 2:10:44
4 Viktor Röthlin (Swi) 2:10:59
5 Dmitry Burmakin (Rus) 2:11:19
6 Joseph Kadon (Ken) 2:11:21
7 Tesfaye Eticha (Eth) 2:13:23
8 Dmytro Osadchy (Ukr) 2:13:33
Women:
1 Claudia Oberlin (Swi) 2:34:38
2 Tsige Worku (Eth) 2:38:35
3 Emebet Abossa (Eth) 2:39:01
4 Angeline Joly (Swi) 2:39:24
5 Arsede Measo Sisay (Eth) 2:40:44
