Kenya out to dominate marathon | thetelegraph.com.au

National treasure: The late Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya.Source: AP

FEW nations could absorb the loss of an Olympic gold medallist and still feel confident of retaining the title at the next Games, but Kenyan faith that they will win the men's marathon again in London seems completely justified.

Raila Odinga, Kenya's prime minister, called Sammy Wanjiru "one of our sure bets for gold" in London and described his death last year as "therefore a big blow to our dreams".

Wanjiru rewrote summer marathon race tactics in becoming the first Kenyan man to win the Olympic road run at Beijing four years ago breaking a 24-year-old Games record in a time of 2hrs 06min 32sec.

He also won Chicago in 2009 (in 2:05:41) and London (2:05:10) the same year. At just 24, Wanjiru died in a fall from a balcony at home in his village; whether it was suicide, murder or an accident is still debated.

But, perhaps inspired by Wanjiru, Kenya's runners have gravitated to the marathon since the last Olympics and completely owned the event last year.

As of March 16 this year, Kenya had a mind-blowing 278 men and 61 women who have bettered the IAAF A-qualifying entry time for the Olympic marathon. The IAAF qualifying time for men is 2hrs 15min and 2:37:00 for women.

Athletics Australia controversially raised the bar to 2:12:00 for men and 2:32:00 for women. To date, since the Olympic qualifying period started in January 1, 2011, the only Australian male qualifier is Michael Shelley (2:11:23). There are three women: Benita Willis (2:28:24), Lisa Weightman (2:29:23) and Jessica Trengove (2:31:02).

Australia's choices for London are uncomplicated.

Not so straight-forward in Kenya, because in 2011 their men won every major big city marathon as well as the world title race and broke course records in all the majors as well.

The top 20 times in the world were run by Kenyans. That includes the world record 2:03:38 by Patrick Makau Musyoki to win Berlin last September. A month later Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich ran only 4sec slower in winning in Frankfurt.

Yet the two fastest times ever run are not even eligible for the world list because the famous Boston course fails to conform to record specifications.

So that eliminated Geoffrey Mutai (2:03:02) and Moses Mosop (2:03:06) who dominated Heartbreak Hill to grab a quinella for Kenya in Boston last year.

But they are both still in the mix for the Kenyan team. The pressure for the third Kenyan men's marathon spot for the Olympics in August is extreme because official world recordholder Makau, and 2011 Daegu world marathon champion Abel Kirui have been selected.

Kenya will finalise its marathon selections after the northern spring marathon races wrap up, probably after the London city race on April 22. Boston will be run on April 16.

But Kenya's northern neighbour Ethiopia was never going to let such domination stand, especially in an event made their own by Olympic gold medallists Abebe Bikila (marathon winner Rome and Tokyo), Mamo Wolde (Mexico winner) and Haile Gebrselassie (world record breaker, first man under 2:04).

As of this week, Ethiopians hold eight of the world's top-12 fastest men's marathon times in 2012, including the top three marks by Ayele Abshero (2:04:23), Dino Sefir (2:04:50) and Markos Geneti (2:04:54). The times were all recorded at Dubai or Houston

Women reign on world track - Magazine |theeastafrican.co.ke

Women reign on world track

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Photo/File Kenya’s Hellen Obiri. She won the women’s 3,000m final at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships at the Atakoy Athletics Arena in Istanbul on March 11.  

By AYUMBA AYODI  (email the author)

Posted  Friday, March 23  2012 at  19:01

IN SUMMARY

• The women claimed two gold medals at the just concluded World Indoor Championships in Turkey, writes Ayumba Ayodi.

Kenya put on an exceptional show at the just concluded World Indoor Championships in Turkey and the Africa Cross Country Championships in Cape Town.

The women, in particular, saved the region some blushes by claiming two gold medals, while the male athletes, who opted for an early pace that proved counterproductive, settled for silver and bronze.

The results from the Africa Cross Country Championship weren’t a replica of last year when Kenya swept all the individual and team titles but still, winning six out of eight titles was phenomenal.

The naysayers were silenced when Pamela Jelimo, who is also the reigning Olympic Games 800m champion and the fast-rising Hellen Obiri pulled off a magnificent victories in the 800m and 3,000m respectively.

The victory was particularly emotional for Jelimo, who is out to rescue a career that had plummeted owing to injuries she sustained just after winning Kenya its first Olympic title at the 2008 games in Beijing.

Obiri’s victory not only erased the misfortune of the 2011 World Championships in Daegu where she tripped and fell during the 1,500m final but halted a successive title for Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar.

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Kenya’s other previous indoors wins are by Paul Korir (1,500m, 2004), Bernard Lagat (3,000m, 2004) and Wilfred Bungei (800m, 2006). Lagat is now a US citizen.

Tactical errors by Kenyans Augustine Choge and Edwin Soi, and Uganda’s Moses Ndiema Kipsiro handed Lagat his third consecutive title in the 3,000m.

Choge, the 2005 Commonwealth Games 5,000m champion settled for silver, Soi got bronze while Kipsiro, the 2012 World Championships 5,000m bronze medallist, finished a distant seventh.

The men also disappointed in the 800m when favourite Boaz Lalang, Timothy Kitum of Kenya, and Uganda’s Julius Mutekanga fell in the semi-finals of the race that went to Ethiopian Mohammed Aman who won the race.

Kenya’s Silas Kiplagat fizzled to a distant seventh in the 1,500m final after Bethwell Birgen fell in the semi-finals. Abdalaati Iguider of Morocco prevailed in the race.

“The indoor track is all about tactics. I now want to fully focus on how I will defend my Olympic Games title in London,” said Jelimo.

Obiri, who declared her intentions for the Olympic Games 1,500m title held by Jebet Lagat, said: “The coaches told me to stay behind her and use my power and kick in the last 100m and it worked well.”

The 2010 World Indoor silver medallist Lalang and Choge blamed it on wrong tactics.

“I took to the front too early and relaxed on the home stretch with 50 metres to go,” said Lalang.

Ethiopian Woman First to Finish Marathon Under Sunny Skies - Eagle Rock, CA Patch

A 20-year-old Ethiopian woman was the first runner to cross the finish line of the 2012 Los Angeles Marathon under blue skies.

Wearing red, Fatuma Sado kneeled down to kiss the ground after completing the 26-mile, 385-yard course from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica's Ocean Avenue in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 39 seconds. She captured a $100,000 bonus for beating the fastest man in the challenge race, Simon Njoroge, 31, of Iten, Kenya.

Forecasters had predicted on-and-off showers through the day, and hail and thunderstorms. But the course was dry and temperatures were in the mid-40s. Race organizers described the weather as "near perfect."

"The race was good," Sado said, speaking softly through an interpreter at a news conference. "The weather was cold when I started, and at the end it was windy—that is why I did not get so good of a time."

Marathon Press Officer Rich Perelman initially projected Sado might shatter marathon records. With an injury to her left leg, she limped slightly in the beginning and final stretches.

As she rolled downhill toward the ocean, nearing the finish line at the Santa Monica Pier, Sado looked over her shoulder to find the elite men competitors at least four minutes behind.

"Doesn't she just look great?" Perelman said.

Njoroge finished today's race in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 12 seconds, with a pace of 5 miles and 2 second per mile. Last year—in spite of heavy rain—Markos Geneti ran the fastest marathon ever in Los Angeles with a time of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 35 seconds.  

Sado and Njoroge each received $25,000 and a 2012 Honda CR-V, valued at $29,795. Her prizes totaled $149,795.

Hers is the fifth best women's time in the race's 27-year history, just shy of the fourth-place record of 2 hours, 25 minutes and 38 seconds set in 2010 by Edna Kiplagat. Sado hasn't placed lower than second in the four marathons she has completed since 2011.

The elite women's field got a 17-minute, 31-second head start, based on
a formula involving the lifetime bests of the elite male and female runners.
The bonus has been won by male runners four times and women runners four times.

• Related: Photos: LA Marathon 2012

Clouds loomed, but it was dry at dawn as more than 20,000 runners massed outside Dodger Stadium for start of what is traditionally one of the most grueling athletic events known to man. The starter's gun for the main pack fired about 7:25 a.m.

The clouds parted at the 10th mile. But the elite runners said that's when temperatures dropped and the wind picked up, hurting their times in the final stretch through Santa Monica.

Last year, a drenching 2.42 inches of rain fell over the marathon course, and dozens of runners got dangerously cold. Today, race organizers were equipped with about 5,000 plastic trash bags to keep racers warm and dry at the start. Some 23,000 Mylar blankets were also on hand to help runners guard against hypothermia, according to marathon Chief Operating Officer Nick Curl.

Heating buses were on stand-by at the medical stations and the finish line.

Last year, more than 300 marathon runners were evaluated for hypothermia and 20 were hospitalized. Rain has fallen on the race three other times in addition to last year. Trace amounts of rain fell twice in the 1990s, and 1.6 inches fell on the race in 2000, spokesman Perelman said.

The race has been held annually since 1986. For the third year in a row, the race will be run on the "Stadium to the Sea" course, billed by organizers as having a landmark every mile.

From Dodger Stadium, the course heads toward downtown, passing Chinatown, Olvera Street, City Hall, Little Tokyo, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. After the downtown leg, the course heads west through Echo Park and Silver Lake into Hollywood, passing the Hollywood & Highland Center, home of the Academy Awards, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

The field then headed south onto Sunset Boulevard, entering West Hollywood, then Beverly Hills, where the runners swarmed Rodeo Drive. The latter parts of the race, officially known as the Honda LA Marathon, include Century City, the Veterans Administration grounds and Brentwood's broad San Vicente Boulevard, concluding near the Santa Monica Pier.

Changes to the race included allowing two-person relay teams, with each person running half the race, and an expansion of the race's charity program. About 200 relay teams have entered the race, with teams raising funds for the race's official charities. The relay hand-off point was on Sunset Boulevard, just before the Sunset Strip. The expansion of the race's charity fundraising efforts include the "I Run 4 Something" initiative, encouraging all the runners to raise money for their favorite causes.

Race organizers believe runners can raise $4 million for charitable causes, breaking last year's record. Since Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt purchased the operating rights to the race in 2008, the amount of money raised for charity has gone from just over $1.25 million in 2009 to $1.95 million in 2010 to just under $3 million in 2011, according to race officials. A field of about 23,000 runners is expected. The male and female winners will each receive $25,000 and a Honda CR-V, valued at $29,795.

— City News Service contributed to this report.