News: Vienna City Marathon

Marathon Muteti, Cosmas outpaced more then 4800 runners to win in 02:06:53, followed by Langat, Leonard who finished with a time of 02:06:59. Rounding out the top three was Kibrom, Oqbe with a time of 02:07:25. In the ladies race, it was Chepkirui, Vibian (02:20:59) taking the top spot, followed by Chebitok, Ruth who finished with a time of 02:21:03. Finishing third was Jerotich, Sheila (02:23:01). Top 3 Men 1 Muteti, Cosmas KEN 02:06:53 2 Langat, Leonard KEN 02:06:59 3 Kibrom, Oqbe ERI 02:07:25 Top 3 Women 1 Chepkirui, Vibian KEN 02:20:59 2 Chebitok, Ruth KEN 02:21:03 3 Jerotich, Sheila KEN 02:23:01 Complete results Halbmarathon Bauernfeind, Mario scored victory with a time of 01:05:35, followed by Herzog, Peter who finished with a time of 01:05:41. Schrank, Georg (01:08:04) made notched third place. In the ladies race, Kenny, Victoria took top spot in 01:16:16 , ahead of Dungl, Manuela (01:18:50). Rounding out the top three was Wehr, Katharina with a time of 01:19:14. Top 3 Men 1 Bauernfeind, Mario AUT 01:05:35 2 Herzog, Peter AUT 01:05:41 3 Schrank, Georg AUT 01:08:04 Top 3 Women 1 Kenny, Victoria GBR 01:16:16 2 Dungl, Manuela AUT 01:18:50 3 Wehr, Katharina GER 01:19:14 Complete results

Langat, Leonard (ken) grinded past more than 3053 runners to win in 02:09:25. He bested Getahun, Betesfa (eth) who crossed the finish line 17 secondes behind him. Finishing third was Kosgei, Edwin (ken) (02:10:10). In the ladies race, it was Chepkirui, Vibian (ken) (02:24:29) taking the top spot, followed by Dinke, Meseret (eth) who finished with a time of 02:25:31. While Burka, Gelete (eth) came in third at 02:25:38 Top 5 Men 1 Langat, Leonard (ken) 02:09:25 2 Getahun, Betesfa (eth) 02:09:42 3 Kosgei, Edwin (ken) 02:10:10 4 Kikutani, Kento (jpn) 02:10:37 5 Kiptoo, Samwel Ekai (ken) 02:11:16 Top 5 Women 1 Chepkirui, Vibian (ken) 02:24:29 2 Dinke, Meseret (eth) 02:25:31 3 Burka, Gelete (eth) 02:25:38 4 Schlumpf, Fabienne (sui) 02:26:31 5 Cheruiyot, Lucy (ken) 02:27:47 Complete results

Credit : VCM / Leo Hagen The Vienna City Marathon is the second major international marathon which has been moved from a spring date of 2021 into the second half of the year. The race is now scheduled for 12 September. This spring organizers had to cancel Austria’s biggest one day sporting event due to the corona virus pandemic. Because of the ongoing uncertainties during the pandemic there was too much risk continuing to plan with a race on 18 April 2021, organizers explained. The first major race that was moved from spring into the autumn in 2021 was the London Marathon. The Vienna City Marathon is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race. The world is still in a state of upheaval and constant change due to the corona virus pandemic. This especially applies to organizers of major events. That led to the decision to postpone the upcoming Vienna City Marathon from April to 12 September 2021. “In accordance with health experts and those in charge for the City of Vienna, we are convinced that on this date in September we will find an improved overall Covid-19 situation and be able to organize a major marathon in Vienna. We want to hold an event that offers a thrilling experience and inspires the participants and spectators – a race like the one we staged in 2019 or in the years before. Moving it to the second half of 2021 is the more honest answer to the difficult situation and brings more reliability and planning security, also for the participants”, reads a statement of the organizers. “Our goal is to organize the Vienna City Marathon safely but also with a great atmosphere. However, we cannot carry out the extensive conceptual and preparatory work for the marathon under unknown and constantly changing regulations. We want to organize running events and will do so according to the current rules. For our major event, the Vienna City Marathon, however, moving it to September is the more realistic way,” says Vienna City Marathon Race Director Wolfgang Konrad. “I am delighted that the Vienna City Marathon 2021 is planned to take place in an attractive and customary manner. The event mobilizes Vienna and the Viennese population. As a tourist magnet with strong economic effects, the event is of great importance beyond sports and health promotion. It is clear that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, events like the Vienna City Marathon have to cope with great challenges. However, in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, holding the event in September 2021 offers a clear perspective. We hope that the marathon can be held on this new date on the well-known route, which passes numerous tourist attractions of Vienna,” says Vienna’s Mayor Michael Ludwig. The date of the Vienna City Marathon is usually fixed for several years in advance. “It would not have been feasible to wait and hope for the next few months. We could then have found ourselves in a position urgently trying to find a new date in the autumn of the same year. The move required coordination with the City of Vienna, the police, public authorities and other event organizers in order to keep the course through the entire city and the finish area in the Ringstrasse / Rathausplatz area available for the races and for the set-up work,” says Gerhard Wehr, Managing Director of the Vienna City Marathon. He thanked the City of Vienna as well as the sponsors and partners for their support and cooperation. “We hope that the current circumstances and regulations will continue to allow running events to take place. We look forward to every event that can go ahead. This is what our heart beats for, and this is what we will continue to do with all our commitment,” Vienna organizers announced. Online entry for the Vienna City Marathon 2021 will start in autumn at: www.vienna-marathon.com

Eliud Kipchoge broke one of the greatest barriers in sport history in a thrilling performance in Vienna when 34-year-old Kenyan became the first to run the classic marathon distance in under two hours. To the jubilation of the spectators this exceptional athlete ran 1:59:40.2 in the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna’s Prater Park on Saturday. It was a run which made the world hold its breath in fascination and will give the entire sport of running a huge boost. Although the time cannot be accepted as an official world record, the performance is unique: Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in under two hours. The event was made possible by its British title sponsor INEOS, who covered all financial costs and the organizing team of the Vienna City Marathon who conjured up magic to stage this event. “We are proud of you,” said Kenya’s Vice-President William Ruto to Eliud Kipchoge at a party on Saturday evening near the finish line in Prater Park. The Vice-President had travelled to Vienna specially to experience Eliud Kipchoge’s run. That showed something of the importance which this race had for Kenya. It was for Kenyans the equivalent of what would be winning the football World Cup for Germans. “I stood at the finish line and looked down the road. The clock was ticking and showed 1:58 – you were nowhere to be seen…” explained William Ruto about the closing stages. “I asked myself: Where are you? What are we going to say if you don’t do it? Thank you, that you have made this possible!” Ruto added to the amusement of the guests: “You must give yourself time to recover – but we all need to recover from our anxiety.” The Vice-President added: “We are celebrating here in style in Vienna – but that is nothing compared to the joy in Kenya.” Videos online showed thousands of people freaking out at a public viewing in Eldoret. In the capital Nairobi, the traffic came to standstill in some parts because people were dancing in the street. And even in Vienna there were people outside Eliud Kipchoge’s hotel at one in the morning, singing at the top of their voices: “There’s only one Kipchoge…” Wolfgang Konrad, head of the Vienna City Marathon which takes place in April each year, said: “Thank you, Eliud! This is indescribable. This event will be remembered for generations. Everyone who was at the finish line couldn’t help but be thrilled. Vienna is now the home of the fastest marathon in the world and will always be linked with the first 1:59 marathon. I am sure many runners, now they know these surroundings, will want to run here. The entire race is a fantastic worldwide advertisement for the sport of running and Vienna.” Eliud Kipchoge thanked everyone involved who had supported him on the way to achieving his marathon dream – especially his pacemakers: “We came together as a team and that’s what made it possible. I’ve showed: No Human is limited. I was the first. But I now believe that there will be other athletes who will run under two hours.” Before the INEOS 1:59 Challenge Eliud Kipchoge had made clear that this would not be his last marathon. In all probability the Kenyan will run at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year where he is the defending champion in the marathon. Given the brutal weather conditions which can be expected in Tokyo in mid-summer, his Dutch manager Jos Hermens commented: “We then have to see how he comes through them.” For that reason it is not foreseeable at present when and if at all Eliud Kipchoge might undertake another attempt to attack the two hour barrier under conditions which confirm to record requirements. The asphalt which was laid specially for the race on Prater Park’s newly tarmacked Hauptallee should certainly last for a couple of years… For more information please visit: www.vienna-marathon.com.

Credit : VCM / Leo Hagen Nancy Kiprop produced the outstanding performance of the 36th Vienna City Marathon when she broke the women’s course record by over a minute and a half in running 2:22:12 and for good measure also became the first woman to win three VCM titles. Kiprop led a Kenyan clean sweep of the podium with all three women setting personal bests. Angela Tanui was runner-up in 2:25:37 and Maurine Chepkemoi third with 2:26:16. In the men’s race Vincent Kipchumba of Kenya won with a personal best of 2:06:56, improving his lifetime best by almost four minutes. He surged away in the closing stages from Switzerland’s Tadesse Abraham who finished second with 2:07:24. Uganda’s Solomon Mutai took third with 2:08:25, improving his best by just over one minute. 40,590 runners were in action in all the events of the Vienna City Marathon on Sunday, which is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race. Women’s Race Nancy Kiprop came to the Vienna City Marathon and conquered in even more convincing style than on her visits in the last two years. The Kenyan became the first woman to win a hat-trick of VCM titles and what style she showed in the achievement, running a personal best of 2:22:12. It signified an improvement of more than a minute and a half over the previous best of 2:23:47, set by the late Italian Maura Viceconte in 2000. Reflecting after the race, Kiprop explained that her intention was to go out hard from the start: “I planned to run the first half fast – in 2:20 pace – because I knew the first half was basically faster and I would find the second half a bit tougher.” For the first five kilometres Kiprop’s rivals at least had a sight of the dynamic Kenyan. Kiprop went through in 16:28 which pointed to a finishing time of 2:19:00 but Ethiopia’s Rahma Tusa was only 10 seconds adrift and fellow Kenyan Angela Tanui 13 seconds behind. Thereafter Nancy Kiprop turned the screw, relentless as planned over the first half to keep the pace sub-2:20. Kiprop was remorseless in good conditions with temperature at 10 degrees Centigrade at the start. She clocked 32:57 for 10k and went through halfway in 1:09:34, the overall pace still pointing to a low 2:19 which would represent a three minute improvement over her personal best in Frankfurt last October. Her nearest rival was Rahma Tusa, 1:40 behind though the Ethiopian faded later. At halfway Angela Tanui was in third, 2:38 behind and fellow Kenyan Milliam Ebongon was a distant fourth. Nancy Kiprop was expecting to find the second half more demanding and so it proved, her pace slowing for the first time to outside 2:20: “I knew that from 30 to 35k the course is really tough and this is where I struggled and there was a bit of wind but the people were cheering me on, I was so excited.” She kept her eyes on the dual prize of course record and VCM hat-trick, slowing down but not by much: 35k was reached in 1:56:43, just outside 2:20 pace. Kiprop was still over three minutes clear of her nearest challenger and that is how it remained as a weary Nancy Kiprop crossed the finish line beside the famous Burgtheater. But recovery came quickly and she was soon contemplating further exploits and a return to Vienna: “I’m confident I could run 2:20 and am already thinking of what to do with the prize money [A total of 21,000 Euro including course record bonus]] to help my school project in Kenya. I would be very happy to return, I feel loved by the people in Vienna and they love my project.” Nancy Kiprop showed that outstanding performances can be produced not only inside the world famous Burgtheater but also on the finish line beside it. Men’s Race Vincent Kipchumba confessed surprise at his win but the confident way he moved clear of Switzerland’s Tadesse Abraham shortly after 35k spoke of the confidence he attributed to his new coach: “I was surprised to win but my success is down to my coach, Claudio Berardelli who has advised me since October.” The pace among the leading men’s group was hardly metronomic. It fluctuated throughout, suggesting an attack on the course record in the early stages when the expected big group went through 15k in 2:05:40 pace. Halfway in 1:03:21 seemed more realistic and racing became a cat and mouse affair. Tadesse Abraham went to the front but was joined by Vincent Kipchumba with first Kenyan Edwin Yator and then Uganda’s Solomon Mutai, the 2013 World Championship bronze medallist, coming into contention. Tadesse Abraham looked short of the kind of sharpness to make any impression on Mo Farah’s European record, despite his pre-race ambitions: “I was disappointed not to have got close to the record but could still feel Dubai in my legs [2:09:50 in January]. I’ll probably run the World Championships in Doha but shall discuss with my coach first.” Vincent Kipchuma steadily moved away from the Swiss record holder to win by almost half a minute. His 2:06:56 marked not only his first marathon win but an improvement of almost four minutes on his prior personal best of 2:10:32 in Dresden in 2016. Clearly he and his new coach Claudio Berardelli have found a winning formula. Leading Results Men’s Race Vincent Kipchumba Kenya 2:06:56 pb Tadesse Abraham Switzerland 2:07:24 Solomon Mutai Uganda 2:08:25 pb Raymond Choge Kenya 2:09:02 Henry Chirchir Kenya 2:09:16 Brimin Misoi Kenya 2:09:31 Vincent Yator Kenya 2:10:02 Robert Chemosin Kenya 2:10:09 Edwin Kosgei Kenya 2:10:11 Kenneth Keter Kenya 2:10:15 Women’s Race Nancy Kiprop Kenya 2:22:12 course record Angela Tanui Kenya 2:25:37 pb Maurine Chepkemoi Kenya 2:26:16 pb Rahma Tusa Ethiopia 2:26:58 Milliam Ebongon Kenya 2:29:33

Credit : VCM / Leo Hagen Switzerland’s Tadesse Abraham and Kenya’s defending champion Nancy Kiprop will face a tough challenge when they will try to achieve significant victories at the 36th edition of the Vienna City Marathon on 7th April. Abraham, who hopes to become the first European winner since 2001, is one of ten men on the start list with personal bests of sub 2:10. Meanwhile Kiprop could become the first woman to win Austria’s biggest sporting event for the third time. On her way to a possible hat-trick the Kenyan will have to beat a field that includes five other athletes who have run sub 2:28 before. Including other running events staged parallel to the marathon organisers of the Vienna City Marathon expect more than 40,000 entries for their IAAF Gold Label Road Race event. With a personal best of 2:06:40 Tadesse Abraham is not the fastest runner on the start list any more. This is because of the addition of Gilbert Kirwa to the field. The Kenyan, who ran 2:06:14 when he took the Frankfurt Marathon in 2009, has done very well at the Vienna City Marathon in the past. Ten years ago he took the unique debutants’ only race in the Austrian capital with 2:08:21. In 2009 organisers allowed only debutants to compete in the elite races. Three years later Kirwa returned to Vienna, finishing fourth in 2:08:09. Kirwa could not match these sort of performances in the past two years, so the strongest challenge for Eritrean-born Tadesse Abraham might come from four other Kenyans: Kenneth Keter ran a 2:07:34 debut in Frankfurt last October, Victor Kipchirchir won in Valencia in 2016 with 2:07:39, Robert Chemosin has a PB of 2:08:05 and is the Vienna City Marathon winner from 2016 while Raymond Choge took the Kosice Marathon last autumn with 2:08:11. While Uganda’s Solomon Mutai (2:09:27) was the bronze medallist in the World Championships’ marathon in 2015, Brimin Misoi could be in for a surprise: The Kenyan took the Athens Marathon in November, clocking a personal best of 2:10:56 on this hilly and very demanding course. On the flat course in Vienna Misoi should be able to run considerably faster. Two women might well be locked into a battle for victory on 7th April: Nancy Kiprop and Rahma Tusa, whose personal bests are exactly one minute apart. Defending champion Kiprop, who goes for a hat-trick on 7th April, improved to 2:22:46 in Frankfurt last year. Tusa is the winner of last year’s Rome Marathon. She took that race in a PB of 2:23:46. Besides winning Kiprop has an eye on the course record as well. Italy’s late Maura Viceconte, who tragically died earlier this year, established this mark back in 2000 when she ran 2:23:47. Nancy Kiprop came close to the record in 2017 and 2018 with winning times of 2:24:20 and 2:24:18 respectively. On both occasions the weather conditions were not favorable for fast times with strong winds in 2017 and then high temperatures last year. “Defending my title and setting a course record is what I wish for and hope to achieve,” said Nancy Kiprop. Angela Tanui is an athlete who could challenge Kiprop and Tusa in Vienna. The Kenyan set her personal best of 2:26:31 in the Austrian capital two years ago when she finished fifth. Tanui showed fine form recently when she won the Napoli Half Marathon with 69:53. Selected elite runners with personal bests Men: Gilbert Kirwa KEN 2:06:14 Tadesse Abraham SUI 2:06:40 Kenneth Keter KEN 2:07:34 Victor Kipchirchir KEN 2:07:39 Robert Chemosin KEN 2:08:05 Raymond Choge KEN 2:08:11 Abraham Kiplimo UGA 2:09:23 Henry Chirchir KEN 2:09:24 Solomon Mutai UGA 2:09:27 Birhanu Addisie ETH 2:09:27 Vincent Kipchumba KEN 2:10:32 Vincent Yator KEN 2:10:38 Brimin Misoi KEN 2:10:56 Blazey Brzezinski POL 2:11:27 Fernando Cabada USA 2:11:36 Women: Nancy Kiprop KEN 2:22:46 Rahma Tusa ETH 2:23:46 Angela Tanui KEN 2:26:31 Maja Neuenschwander SUI 2:26:49 Maurine Chepkemoi KEN 2:27:12 Milliam Ebongon KEN 2:27:16 Caterina Ribeiro POR 2:30:10