Rodgers
Rop and Magdaline Chemjor win once more in Berlin
Jörg Wenig for the IAAF
6 May 2002 - Berlin -
For the first time in its history Berlin’s traditional 25 k
race has the same winners as the previous year. The 2001 champions from Kenya,
Rodgers Rop and Magdaline Chemjor, came back and won again on Sunday.
However, while the recent Boston Marathon champion Rop won the men’s race with a strong sprint finish. In a tactical race the 26-year-old Rop clocked 1:15:48, beating Wilson Onsare (Kenya) by just one second. Magdaline Chemjor reached the finish line in the women’s without any opponents near her. Chemjor ran 1:26:15, which was 64 seconds slower than last year.
5,585 runners took part in the event, which was run in very good conditions with no wind and temperatures between 12 and 16° Celsius. Another 1,750 inline skaters and children also took part in the 22nd edition of the “25km von Berlin”.
In the men’s race, starting in front of the Olympic Stadium and later passing through the Brandenburg Gate the first group reached the 10 k point after 30:15 minutes. Although the loop course drops considerably for the first few miles, split times were not as fast as in former years.
Rop was running right at the end of the group with up to 15 runners. “I had some problems in the first part of the race, because my muscles were tight. It took a while until it got better”, he later said.
The day before his manager Volker Wagner had said: “Don’t expect too much of Rodger, because the Boston Marathon is just three weeks ago. Normally he would not have started in the 25k race, but being the winner from last year we decided he should give it a try. If the pace is not too fast he should be okay for 25k.” Wagner, who was in Brussels for the IAAF’s World Half Marathon Championships, was right!
The slow pace suited Rop. And when Wilson Onsare sped up after about 17k, he was ready and followed his countryman. The other six contenders of the elite group could not match their pace. “When we passed the half marathon point I knew I would win, because I realised that Wilson was breathing heavily”, Rop commented. Still for the spectators the final finish looked very close with the two runners neck and neck towards the line. At one point Onsare even seemed to get ahead of Rop, but during the last 50 metres Rop passed him in the convincing style of a champion.
A year ago Rop had won the event in a world best time of 1:13:44 hours which still stands. That victory came only weeks after that the policeman from Kapsaid had left Kenya for the first time in his life. “He came to train with some other runners I manage. So they told me, that there is a good new runner who should get the chance to get in a race in Europe”, Volker Wagner remembered. At the end of March 2001 Rop came to his camp in Detmold for the first time. In autumn he ran his debut marathon in New York, coming in third (2:09:51).
Rop did not even consider the possibility of fast times like last year. “After winning Boston I went back to Kenya. There were celebrations and honours for two weeks”, said Rodgers Rop, who became a father for the second time just a few days after his triumph in Boston. So he did not start training again until last week. “And all I did was 20 miles altogether.”
By winning in Berlin, Rop gave another example of his great abilities. “I wanted to defend my title in Berlin. But now I will go back to Kenya for a break.”
In autumn he will probably run the New York Marathon, and as reigning champion will be back to contest Boston in 2003. As such, as both courses are not easy ones we will probably have to wait some more time before finding out Rop’s true speed limits at the marathon distance. “I believe that on fast course I should be able to run a marathon between 2:06 and 2:07. May be I will come back to Berlin one day to do it.”
In contrast to the men’s race the women’s was a one athlete affair. After Milkah Chepkieny (Kenya) and Birhane Dagne (Great Britain) pulled out of the event at short notice there was no other women who could match the pace of Magdaline Chemjor.
The 23-year-old, who is coached by Brother Colm O’Connell in Kenya, probably misjudged her pace. The course dropping in the first part of the race she was going very fast. Between 3 and 4 k she still had the men’s leading group well in sight, as she was running less than 250 metres behind.
10k was reached by Chemjor in 32:42 minutes, a very fast pace. She was only off her personal best for 10k by 35 seconds. At 15 k she timed 50:07 on her own watch – still a fast pace. But there were 10k to go – and quite a few of these were uphill. Magdaline Chemjor struggled later in the race and lost speed. “It was difficult running alone and uphill. But I hope to come back next year to beat my personal best”, she said. With no real opponents around Magdaline Chemjor was more than 10 minutes ahead at the end. It was the biggest winning margin in the history of the “25 km von Berlin”. Valentina Delion (Moldavia) took second place in 1:36:25. Next weekend Magdaline Chemjor will run a 10 mile race in Bern and then continue racing in Europe until mid June.
Results -
Men:
1. Rodgers Rop (KEN) 1:15:48, 2. Wilson Onsare (KEN)
1:15:49, 3. John Rono (KEN) 1:16:34, 4. Erassa Lemi (ETH) 1:16:44, 5.
Mesheck Kosgei (KEN) 1:16:48, 6. Laban Chege (KEN) 1:17:12, 7.
Erastus Limo (KEN) 1:17:20, 8.
Daniel Keter (KEN) 1:17:27, 9. Moses Masai (KEN) 1:18:18, 10. Abebe Mekonen
(ETH) 1:18:55.
Women:
1. Magdaline Chemjor (KEN) 1:26:15, 2. Valentina Delion
(MOL) 1:36:25, 3. Kathrin Behrens (GER) 1:42:59.
