Uniper Rhein Marathon

Credit : Norbert Wilhelmi Tom Gröschel and Anja Scherl are the winners of the Metro Marathon Düsseldorf. It is the first time in the history of the event that there are two national winners. Both also took the German Championship as this was included in the race. Tom Gröschel clocked 2:13:49 in cloudy but dry weather conditions, which is a fine personal best and the fastest time by a German this year. In a close finish New Zealand’s Malcom Hicks was second in 2:13:51, just two seconds behind the winner. Denmark’s Thijs Nijhuis took third place with 2:14:18. Only three weeks after running a marathon comeback race in Hannover, where she finished eighth in 2:32:31, Anja Scherl was a surprise late entry. She took the race in 2:32:56, followed by Hiruni Wijayaratne of Sri Lanka and Turkey’s Ümmü Kiraz, who clocked 2:34:10 and 2:34:37 respectively. In her comeback marathon after injury Germany’s Anna Hahner finished fourth in 2:36:09. Organisers of the 17th Metro Marathon Düsseldorf registered a total of 20,000 athletes, including races at shorter distances. 3,500 of them were marathon runners. More than 60,000 spectators lined the streets to support the runners. In a close men’s race a group of four runners passed the half marathon mark in 1:07:23, including Tom Gröschel, Martin Hicks, Thijs Nijhuis and Russia’s Fedor Shutov, who is an Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA). The same group of runners were still in the lead at the 30k mark (1:35:33) and at 35k (1:51:17). Shutov was running two seconds behind though at 35k and then dropped back. Between 35 and 40k Tom Gröschel and Malcom Hicks pushed the pace and managed to seperate themselves from the group. The race was then decided in the last few hundred meters with Tom Gröschel sprinting away to win with 2:13:49. ,,I tried to push the pace in the second half and of course I knew the course from last year which gave me a bit of an advantage at the end," said Tom Gröschel, who became the second German men’s winner of the Metro Marathon Düsseldorf. Carsten Eich was the winner back in 2004 when he ran 2:14:06. In the women’s race Hiruni Wijayaratne from Sri Lanka passed the half marathon mark leading in 1:15:50. At that point German runners Anja Scherl and Anna Hahner were in second and third with split times of 1:16:49 and 1:16:50. At the 30k mark Wijayaratne still had a big lead. She passed this point in 1:48:20 with Scherl now running alone in second (1:49:05) and Hahner (1:49:53) following in third position. Wijayaratne then could not keep the lead and was overtaken by Scherl shortly after 35k. However she clocked a Sri Lanka record of 2:34:10. “I was hoping to keep up with Anna first and then tried to push the pace after 25k,” said Anja Scherl. Results Men: 1. Tom Gröschel GER 2:13:49 2. Malcom Hicks NZL 2:13:51 3. Thijs Nijhuis DEN 2:14:18 4. Fedor Shutov ANA/RUS 2:14:21 5. Jeisson Suarez Bocanegra COL 2:14:48 6. Ihor Porozov UKR 2:15:06 7. Mustapha EL Ouartassy MAR 2:15:28 8. Ronald Schröer NED 2:16:00 9. Frank Futselaar NED 2:16:58 10. Simon Stützel GER 2:18:58 Women: 1. Anja Scherl GER 2:32:56 2. Hiruni Wijayaratne SRI 2:34:10 3. Ümmü Kiraz TUR 2:34:37 4. Anna Hahner GER 2:36:09 5. Jovana De La Cruz PER 2:37:41 6. Hanne Verbruggen BEL 2:39:03 7. Isabel Leibfried GER 2:39:35

Credit : banger1977 Fedor Shutov is the favourite for the Metro Marathon Düsseldorf on Sunday. The Russian, who is competing as an Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA), holds the fastest personal best in the elite field with a time of 2:11:26. While Tom Gröschel is in the national focus fellow-German Anna Hahner returns to marathon racing on Sunday after a long injury break. Both are the favourites for the national championships, which are included in this race. The international qualifying times set by the IAAF for the World Championships in Doha in late September will be a target for a number of athletes in Düsseldorf, among them a group of South Americans. For the men this time stands at 2:16:00 while the women’s mark is 2:37:00. Including races at shorter distances a record total of around 20,000 runners have entered the 17th edition of the METRO Marathon Düsseldorf. Around 3,500 will compete in the marathon. The METRO Marathon Düsseldorf will be streamed live at: https://larasch.de/event/metro-marathon-duesseldorf-2019/livestream “It is my aim to develop the race further,” said new Race Director Sonja Oberem. The former German top marathon runner, who finished eighth in the Olympic Marathon in Atlanta in 1996, took fifth place in the World Championships in 2001, won a bronze medal at the European Championships in Munich in 2002 and ran a personal best of 2:26:13, took over from Düsseldorf Marathon founder Jan Winschermann recently. Due to financial reasons this year’s elite field is not as strong as it had been in the past. However Sonja Oberem is determined to present stronger fields in the future again. “It was very important for us that our title sponsor Metro renewed our contract for another two years until 2021. Additionally we have great support from the city,” said Sonja Oberem. In the absence of African elite runners it is Russia’s Fedor Shutov, who is the favourite on Sunday. The 33 year-old clocked his personal best of 2:11:26 in 2016. More recently he ran 2:16:48 in Dublin last autumn. While Russia’s Athletics Federations remains suspended Shutov belongs to the group of Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANA). Germany’s Tom Gröschel returns to the Metro Marathon Düsseldorf, where he ran a very good debut last year. He produced an upset by taking the national title with a personal best of 2:15:20 here in 2018. “In contrast to last year, when I decided at short notice to run my marathon debut, I am much better prepared now. It is my goal to run a personal best on Sunday,” said the 27 year-old, who was Germany’s best marathoner in the European Championships last year in Berlin, where he finished in 11th position. There is a group of four runners with personal bests of sub 2:17. Mikhail Krassilov (Kazakhstan/2:16:08), Ronald Schröer (Netherlands/2:16:19), Malcolm Hicks (New Zealand/2:16:28) and Luis Orta Millan (Venezuela/2:16:30) could all go for the Doha qualifying time. Debutant Miguel Amador Montilla of Colombia might be in for a surprise. He ran 66:27 in the Medellin half marathon in altitude last year. Returning to Düsseldorf where she ran a fine debut of 2:30:14 back in 2012 is Anna Hahner. The 29 year-old former Vienna City Marathon winner (2014) is the only athlete among the women’s elite field who holds a sub 2:30 personal best with 2:26:44. However the 29 year-old comes back from a long injury period. Her recent half marathon result from Berlin, where she ran 1:15:42 does not suggest that she is capable of running sub 2:30 times yet. And accordingly Anna Hahner said: “It is nice to be back and running smoothly again without any pain or problems. But it will not be about times this spring.” She plans to run the Berlin Marathon in September and will go for the international Olympic qualifying time of 2:29:30 there. Since defending champion Fabienne Amrhein had to cancel her start in Düsseldorf at short notice due to an injury to her heel Anna Hahner is likely to win the national title. One of the favourites is Peru’s Jovana de la Cruz. The 26 year-old ran her most recent marathon back in 2016, when she finished the Olympic marathon in Rio in a fine 36th position with 2:35:49. Earlier that year she had improved her personal best in Houston, taking fifth place in 2:31:33. In 2018 she ran her half marathon PB of 70:56. Erika Abril Suarez of Columbia and Norway’s Runa Falch hold personal bests of 2:33:33 and 2:33:52 respectively while there is a former Metro Marathon Düsseldorf champion returning to the race: Hungary’s Zsofia Erdely was the winner in 2016, when she clocked her personal best of 2:35:37. Selected elite runners and personal bests Men: Fedor Shutov ANA/RUS 2:11:26 Tom Gröschel GER 2:15:20 Mikhail Krassilov KAZ 2:16:08 Ronald Schröer NED 2:16:19 Malcolm Hicks NZL 2:16:28 Luis Orta Millan VEN 2:16:30 Serkan Kaya TUR 2:17:27 Gert Jan Wassink NED 2:17:34 Simon Stützel GER 2:17:51 Muzaffer Bayram TUR 2:17:57 Miguel Amador Montilla COL Debut Women: Anna Hahner GER 2:26:44 Jovana de la Cruz PER 2:31:33 Erika Abril Suarez COL 2:33:33 Runa Falch NOR 2:33:52 Zsofia Erdely HUN 2:35:37 Hiruni Wijayaratne SRI 2:36:35 Ümmü Kiraz TUR 2:38:26 Angela Figueroa COL 2:40:17