Memorable marathon races

London Marathon 2002

Khannouchi breaks own marathon World best to defeat Tergat and Gebrselassie, IAAF 14/4 2002.

Khannouchi, of the United States, needed to break his own world best at the Flora London Marathon here on Sunday just to beat the greatest field of marathon runners ever assembled, clocking 2hr 5min 38sec. The organisers had claimed it was the 'World's Greatest Race'. If anything, they could be accused of classic British understatement, as the 22nd running of the London delivered probably the greatest display of distance running ever seen, and all in front of some 32,000 in the mass event.

The race organisers spent $3$ million on assembling the elite field, and they certainly got what they paid for. As well as Khannouchi bettering his Chicago 1999 world best by 4sec, Britain's heroine Paula Radcliffe also ran a world best for a women's only race, 2:18:56.

But while Radcliffe's marathon debut was a solo effort, Khannouchi had a real foot race to win, which was not settled until the last mile. Dogging his footsteps for 25 of the 26 miles 385 yards were two of the finest distance runners in the world. Paul Tergat, of Kenya, placed second - for the third time in his three marathons starts - to become the second-fastest marathon runner in history with 2:05:48, while Haile Gebrselassie, the four-time IAAF world champion at 10,000m, clocked the fastest time in a debut marathon, 2:06:35.

Fourth place went to last year's London victor, Abdelkader El Mouaziz, of Morocco, in 2:06:52, a personal best. 'That was very tough,' said 30-year-old Khannouchi, the Morocco-born athlete who became an American citizen in 2000. 'The quality of the field here today meant that I had to work really hard to win. I said before that if we had the opportunity for good weather and good competition, we had a chance to break the record. And today, everything was perfect.'

As good as his word in the pre-race hype, Ethiopia's Gebrselassie set off at better than world record pace, clicking past the mile markers in steady 4:45sec miling to reach the halfway point bang on the requested 1hr 02min 42sec.

But, contrary to their own midweek predictions, more experienced marathoners such as Antonio Pinto, Tergat, El Mouaziz and Khannouchi clearly determined that they had no choice but to stay close to the man widely acknowledged to be the world's greatest distance runner. It set up a magnificent contest.

Once the official pacemakers stepped off the road after the half-distance, it seemed that the leaders began to check out each other, some degree of caution setting in. El Mouaziz, as he had done in the IAAF World Championships in Edmonton last year, took on the pace-setting responsibilities, though he also weaved across the course at times, inviting Gebrselassie to take on the front-running duties.

Gebrselassie, the man who has broken 15 world records on the track, has made his career out of an ability to sit, wait and kick in the closing stages of big races (as Tergat, a runner-up to the Ethiopian in two world championships and two Olympic 10,000m, knows only too well). Here, on his debut over 42.2km, he was being expected to lead for long sections, and this may not have suited him.

Still the 4:45 miles clicked past, bringing the leaders to 20 miles in 1:34:48, and one-by-one, the leading pack was whittled away - Britain's Mark Steinle, three-time London winner Pinto, Gebrselassie's team mate Tesfaye Jifar, and European champion Stefano Baldini each gradually losing contact.

And then there were three. As Khannouchi, Gebrselassie and Tergat headed along the Victoria Embankment, the River Thames to their left, they could hear the chimes of Big Ben as they had been racing for two hours. The bells tolled for Gebrselassie's hopes of victory.

The little Ethiopian, the IAAF World champion at half-marathon, went to a grab a drink just after 24 miles, looked up and saw a five-metre gap opened to his rivals. The magic thread that had bound the three runners together for so long was decisively broken.

Khannouchi now went to the front determinedly, pushing the pace into the final mile, still bouncing off the balls of his feet, as the elegant Tergat loped half-a-stride behind him. As the American pushed hard on the road towards Buckingham Palace, and the final corner on the course, the Kenyan was broken, the race won. Now, it was a matter of whether Khannouchi could better his own best.

Seeming full of running, Khannouchi bounded through the finishing tape, to erase his unhappy memories of his DNF in Edmonton last year, and claim $255,000 in prize money and time bonuses, the biggest pay-day of his career.

Men: Top 5:
1. Khalid Khannouchi (U.S.) 2:05:38 (world best)
2. Paul Tergat (Kenya) 2:05:48
3. Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) 2:06:35
4. Abdelkader El Mouaziz (Morocco) 2:06:52
5. Ian Syster (South Africa) 2:07:06

Chicago Marathon 2002

Below you see a list of live updates during the race written by Runnersworld.

Update #1: Good morning. This is Runner's World's live coverage of the 25th running of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. Reporting from the Hilton Hotel near the starting line are Bob Wischnia, Matthew Linde, Amby Burfoot and Marty Pos. Conditions this morning in Chicago are near ideal. Fifteen minutes prior to the start, the temperature is 43 degrees on the starting line with a northwesterly breeze of 5 mph which is expected to increase. The humidity is 59 percent. This is the first time in marathoning in which both the men's and women's field has the two fastest marathoners in history. Heading the men's field is three-time winner Khalid Khannouchi of New York who is the world record holder. He is expected to receive a stiff challenge from Paul Tergat of Kenya who has run the second fastest time in marathon history. The women's race is expected to be equally historic. Defending champipon and world record holder Catherine Ndereba of Kenya will be matched up against Paula Radcliffe of England who ran the second fastest in marathon history last April in London.

Update #2: The start is clean without any incidents. The wind has picked up slightly and it's now gusting. But the weather is close to perfect: Clear and cool. The early leaders have passed through 2 miles, the first mile was 4:49 and the second was 4:43. All the favorites are among the rabbits including Khalid Khannouchi and Paul Tergat. American Alan Culpepper, running his first marathon, is just of the pace of the leaders.

Update #3: Twenty minutes into the Chicago Marathon, the pacesetters - Gert Thys and Silvio Guerra - are still leading with all the expected leaders. The leaders went through 10-K in 29:36, 20 seconds faster than the course record - and dead even with the world-record pace set in London. Paula Radcliffe leads the women. She went through 5 kilometers in 16:26 - 10 seconds ahead of her London pace. A stride or two back of Radlcliffe are Catherine Ndereba and the two top Japanese, Chiba and Shibui. American heroine Deena Drossin is 30 seconds back, going through 5-K in 16:52. Ndereba wants to go through halfway in 1:09 and negative split the second half. The top women pass through 6 miles in 31:43 - 2:18 marathon pace.

Update #4: The lead women have passed through 10 kilometers in 32:47 - well under world-record pace. Radcliffe still leads with Ndereba a few strides back. Deena Drossin went through 10-K in 32:55 and is in fourth place. After 8 miles, the top women have passed through in 42:06, still leading is Radcliffe with Ndereba, Chiba and Drossin. The men have passed through 15 kilometers in 44:20, 15 seconds ahead of London's world-record pace. Khannouchi is 10 meters in back of the pace setters, seemingly biding his time.

Update #5: The lead men - headed by pacesetters Thys and Kariuki - have passed 11 miles in 52:25 - about a minute ahead of world-record pace. Most of the expected contenders are in the lead group, including Khannouchi and Tergat. The men continue to run mile splits between 4:35 and 4:45 and clearly have their sights set on a world-record attempt. The 12-mile split was 57:05. Paula Radcliffe is still the women's leader at 10-miles, reached in 52:37 - 2:17:50 marathon pace. Ndereba and Chiba remain in contact with Radcliffe, about 10 meters back. Radclife leads at 11 miles, reached in 58:04. Conditions have not changed appreciably and the wind has not been a signifcant factor. But it will be a headwind in the final 2 miles will almost certainly slow any record attempts.

Update #6: The men have passed through halfway in 1:02:30 - 15 seconds faster than world-record pace. The lead pack has thinned to about 10 men. A 10-mile split for Alan Culpepper is 48:32--2:07 pace - but he is not among the lead group of men. Tergat is slightly ahead of Khannouchi but only by a couple of strides. Khannouchi appears to be running very relaxed in about sixth place. Radcliffe still is leading the women through 12 miles in 1:03:15, but Ndereba has dropped back by 35 meters and is running by herself.

Update #7: Radcliffe leads at halfway in 1:09:05, almost 2 minutes faster than the first half of London and about a minute faster than Ndereba ran at Chicago last year. Radcliffe appears to be running very comfortably among a group of five men, including Weldon Johnson. Ndereba has dropped back by about 15 seconds. The lead group of men have gone through 15 miles in 1:11:27 which projects to 2:04:48 marathon finish. Tergat is just a stride in back of the pacers, slightly ahead of Khannouchi and John Kagwe. At 25-K, they passed through in 1:13:57 - still faster than Khannouchi's world-record pace at London.

Update #8: The lead group of men at 16 miles (1:16:42) includes Khannouchi, Tergat and the two top Japanese. Last year's champion Ben Kimondui is a stride back of the pacesetter in second. Just before halfway, Deena Drossin is in fifth place, running 2:22 pace. At 15 miles, Radcliffe leads the women in 1:18:46 - a 2:17:40 marathon pace.

Update #9: a quick update on the two top American women. At halfway, Deena Drossin is in 4th place in 1:11:04, about 1:40 in back of Radcliffe. Jennifer Rhines is in 10th place at halfway in 1:14:44. Meanwhile, the gap between Radcliffe and Ndereba has lengthened to about 10 seconds. At 25-K, Radcliffe passed through in 1:21:33 - still almost two minutes ahead of her London Marathon pace. The men have gone through 18 miles in 1:25:14. The men are now being led by Japanese track star Toshinari Takaoka who has opened up a 5-second lead on Khannouchi. At 30 kilometers, the men passed in 1:28:54 - faster than world-record pace. In third is El Mouazis. Takoaka ran a 4:44 mile from 18 to 19.

Update #10: Radcliffe continues to lead. At 25-K, Drossin has dropped a spot to 5th, but is still running 2:22 pace about three minutes behind Radcliffe. Takaoka leads at 19 miles, reached in 1:30:35. His last mile was 4:40. He is followed by Khanhnouchi, Tergat and El Moaziz. Takoaka is a Japanese track star, running his second marathon. His 20 mile split is 1:35:22, a sub-2:05 time. The last Japanese to win Chicago was Seko in 1988. Radcliffe is running strong and Ndereba appears to be losing ground and falling back.

Update #11: The gap between Racliffe and Ndereba has grown to 22 seconds at 18 miles. Radcliffe's last mile was 5:02. She is running 2:17 pace. The wind has picked up again and the runners will face a 12 mph headwind in the last three miles. Takaoka has opened up a significant lead. He has 13 seconds on El Mouaziz in second. Alan Culpepper is looking good. He's passed Comisky Park in about 1:43. Takoaka has a 2:09 best in his only other marathon. His gap has grown to 20 seconds and is lengthening.

Update #12: Radcliffe has reached the 20-mile mark in 1:44:42 and appears to be accelerating. Unless she falters dramatically, the world record appears to be well within her range. Ndereba is not in the picture. Takoaka has gone through 22 miles in 1:44:56 and the gap has widened to 20 seconds. Buit Takoaka's last mile was 4:55 and he appears to be slowing. The chase pack has noticed and, led by Khannouchi in second, looks ready to make a move. But he still has a big gap to close. Tergat and El Mouaziz are a stride behind Khannouchi. In the 23rd mile, Takoaka is slowing. The headwind has picked up to 17 mph which the leaders will soon face. The pain on Takoaka's face is evident as he heads north. At 24 miles, Khannouohi accelerates down a hill and he is clearly making his big move. At 35 kilometers, the split is 1:43:45 but Takoaka is in trouble. Khannouchi has the Japanese star in his sights and has halved the gap.

Update #13: Khannouchi has closed the gap at 24 miles and is just a step behind. At the McCormick Place tunnel, Khannouchi passes Takoaka who does not respond. At 1:58:37, Khannouchi takes the lead with the finish line only 1.5 miles away. In the tunnel, Khannoiuchi extends his lead to about 8 seconds and is acclerating. He looks great. Tergat and El Mouaziz are closing on Takoaka. At 2:01, he has less than a mile to go and the world record is within his sights. The win is conceded. He is 10 seconds under world record pace and appears to be closing fast. It will be very close to the record. Outside Solider's Field, Khannouchi looks like he is running a 5-K, rather than the final mile of a marathon. Khannouchi wins the 25th LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon for the 4th time in 2:05:55 and collaspes on the finish line, emotionally spent.

Update #14: Khannouchi's is the fourth fastest of all time. He says, 'This is just incredible. Chicago is a magical place to run. They gave me the support I need. I was just hoping to get to the finish line safe and strong. This is a great win for the United States. Conditions weren't too good. The wind was hard and I just wanted to get the win. The electrictiy frolm the crowd was fantastic. I'm just glad I got the win. The crowd keeps me alive. The conditions were too windy and cold for a world record.' American Alan Culpeppper has finished in under 2:10. Meanwhile, Radcliffe has entered the McCormick Place tunnel and the world record will be obliterated. Ndereba is nowhere in sight. Radcliffe breaks the world record as she wins the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in a phenomenal 2:17:18.

Update #15: Ndereba finishes second in 2:19:25 - the first time two women have ever run sub-2:20 in the same marathon. Radcliffe says, 'I'm just so pleased. The wind was tough. I felt good the first half and I justed to run tough the second half. At 22 to 23 miles, I had a bad patch but once I turned north toward the finish, I really pushed it. I was kicking hard at the end and really wanted the record badly. The people out on the course were brilliant. They came close to beating the British crowd in London for enthusiasm.' Radcliffe's splits were 1:09:05 for the first half and she ran the second half faster in 1:08:13

Men
1. Khalid Khannouchi (U.S.) 2:05:56
2. Daniel Njenga (Kenya) 2:06:16
3. Toshinari Takaoka (Japan) 2:06:16
4. Paul Tergat (Kenya) 2:06:18
5. Abdelkhader El Mouaziz (Morocco) 2:06:46
6. Alan Culpepper (U.S.) 2:09:41
7. John Kagwe (Kenya) 2:10:02
8. Driss El Himer (France) 2:11:51
9. Peter Githuka (Kenya) 2:12:43
10. Tobias Hiskia (South Africa) 2:13:16
Women
1. Paula Radcliffe (Britain) 2:17:18 WB
2. Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) 2:19:26
3. Yoko Shibui (Japan) 2:21:22
4. Svetlana Zakharova (Russia) 2:21:31
5. Madina Biktagirova (Russia) 2:25:20
6. Deena Drossin (U.S.) 2:26:53
7. Kayoko Obata (Japan) 2:28:15
8. Nuta Olaru (Romania) 2:31:37
9. Masako Chiba (Japan) 2:34:36
10. Jeanne Hennessy (U.S.) 2:35:53

Radcliffe destroys World Marathon Best in Chicago, IAAF, 13/10 2002.

Capping one of the finest distance running seasons ever witnessed, Britain's Paula Radcliffe shattered the World best in the Marathon with a 2:17:18 run at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

'I'm really pleased,' said the 28-year-old, after knocking one minute and 29 seconds from the record set here last year by Kenya's Catherine Ndereba. It was largest record-breaking margin since Ingrid Kristiansen (2:21:06) lowered Joan Benoit's standard in 1985 by one minute 37 seconds. 'This is, since London, what I knew I was capable of doing.'

Ndereba was a distant second in 2:19:26, the first time a woman running a marathon in under 2:20 did not emerge victorious.

So dominant was Radcliffe's stunning performance that the run of Khalid Khannouchi, a sterling 2:05:56 and the fourth fastest performance ever, seemed an after thought.

The forecasts of cold weather and rain showers never materialized, producing the perfect conditions for which the organisers had hoped. In spite of some particularly strong headwinds in the latter half of the race, both all-time performance lists were drastically altered, placing the Silver Anniversary edition of the Chicago race among the finest marathons ever.

Khannouchi, who has now run three of the four fastest marathons ever, was in awe of Radcliffe. 'She didn't complain about the winds, but she could have broken 2:17. It was a brilliant race.'

'I went through the first half feeling good, and everyone said the second half of the course was faster and so I kicked on again and felt good,' said Radcliffe. 'But then at about 22 to 23 miles, I really needed the toilet and thought I would have to stop. Then the feeling just went off.' 'I was trying to hold the pace a bit at the beginning and then push on.' I was really surprised how much support there was out there for me, there were so many British people and flags'

'I was nervous warming up,' continued Radcliffe, who now leads the world this year in every distance from 5000m to the marathon. 'I'm still new to it, and I knew it was going to be a tough race with Catherine and Yoko(Shibui).'

And it was, at least for the first half. After reaching the 13.1 mile point in 1:09:01, Radcliffe began to slowly pull away, building a 15 second lead by the 25km mark when Shibui was dropped. 10km later she extended her lead to 45 seconds, then sealed the world best with a pair of quick miles: 5:09 for the 21st mile, and 5:11 for the 22nd. She closed with a slowish 5:24 mile into the headwind of Grant Park, but by then the record was hers.

Behind the Briton, Chicago produced the deepest en-masse finish ever, with the top four runners under 2:22 for the first time. Yoko Shibui improved her best to 2:21:22 to finish third, nine seconds in front of Svetlana Zakharova, who lowered her own Russian national record to 2:21:31. Both are now among the ten fastest women ever over the distance.

In the men's race, Khalid Khannouchi's bid to win an unprecedented fourth 'Windy City' title was challenged by a surge after 30km by Japan's Takaoka Toshinari. The Japanese record holder for 3000, 5000 and 10,000, the 32 year-old from Kyoto built a 17 second lead five kilometers later. But just minutes before reaching the two hour point, Khannouchi moved ahead and finished unchallenged, just 18 seconds shy of his world best set in London in April. 'I wasn't worried about Takaoka, 'Khannouchi said. 'I knew that I could make up a 30 second deficit in the last three miles if I ran hard.'

It was a sprint finish for second, with the Japanese holding off Kenyan Daniel Njenga by the slightest of margins, with both timed in 2:06:16. For Takaoka, it was a personal best by more than 3 minutes and a new Asian record. For Njenga, who was breifly hospitalized after the race, it was a personal best by nearly five minutes. In his fourth marathon, Paul Tergat finished fourth in 2:06:18.

Khannouchi said he was most motivated by the support of the crowd and the competitiveness of the race. 'You come here and you know you're going to compete against the best. But you can't imagine how many times I heard my name out there. The support was astounding.'

In spite of the lowest place ever in his marathon career, Tergat was pleased. 'To run 2:06 again, that is terrific.' Speaking of the brilliant finish displayed by Khannouchi, Tergat, considered by many as still one of the finest distance runners ever, shared nothing but praise. 'He's the greatest marathoner now,' he said without hesitation. 'He's exceptional. It's very difficult mentally to run two great races in one year. And he's done it.'

Radcliffe's victory netted her $250,000 --$100,000 for the win and a $150,000 record bonus. Sponsor Volkswagon of America also awarded the Briton with a new car for her record run. Khannouchi earned $175,000 - $100,000 for the win, and a $75,000 bonus for a sub 2:06 performance.

London Marathon 2003

Radcliffe runs 2:15:25 in London! IAAF Sunday 13 April 2003

Paula Radcliffe ran a stunning World women's marathon best of 2:15:25 in London today, while World and Olympic men's champion Gezahegne Abera once again triumphed after five athletes entered The Mall together to begin the final sprint to the finish.

Radcliffe led every step of the way and was almost a mile clear of former world record-holder Catherine Ndereba of Kenya by the finish, as Deena Drossin broke the 18-year-old US record of Joan Benoit.

It was an awesome display by Radcliffe, running almost as fast as the leading men in the closing stages, and it took women's world marathon running into a new era. She obliterated her own world best by almost two minutes as she maintained her 100% record at the distance.

Radcliffe has raced just twice this year and has set world bests on each occasion, but if her 30:21 10km in Puerto Rico was outstanding, there are few superlatives that can adequately describe a performance that left a truly world class field reduced to virtually also-rans.

Radcliffe blasted through halfway in 68:02, yet still ran negative splits as she produced an amazing second half of 67:23. She was so fast that only one of the two designated 2:16 pacers, Simon Loywapet, went the full distance with her.

The unique decision to use male pacemakers, saw eight Kenyans setting out in four pairs with target times of 2:16, 2:18, 2:20 and 2:22. But from the start only Radcliffe went with the two 'rabbits' who were designated to run at 2:16 pace, Loywapet, and Hamburg Marathon winner Christopher Kandie. An opening mile of 5:10 saw her already well clear of her female rivals and a quicker second split pushed her 14 seconds clear and on sub-2:15 schedule.

Although she revealed she went into the race with no set pace or race plan, she admitted to realising a 4:57 third mile was too fast, and so decided to ease off. 'Then I eased off a bit too much,' she said. Radcliffe's slowest mile of the race, a 5:22 sixth mile split, had allowed Constantina Dita (ROM) and Susan Chepkemei (KEN) to close to 11 seconds. However, soon the gap was increasing again and had reached 79 seconds by halfway over Dita, with Chepkemei a further nine seconds down, and Ndereba fourth in 70:12.

The 17th mile saw Radcliffe pick up the pace with a 5:07 mile that took her two minutes 20 seconds clear, and perhaps now she appeared to be visibly working for the first time, her head beginning to bob but the legs were still piling on the pressure. Ndereba had just moved into second by this stage but Radcliffe was out of sight.

The home favourite was well inside the world best for 30km as she went through in 1:36:36, some 64 seconds inside her split from Chicago. Ndereba (1:39:30) was having a good spell and was no longer losing ground, but equally she was not closing on the Briton.

With three miles to go Radcliffe threw off her gloves, but there was no sign of the wheels coming off as well, as she powered to a truly sensational run.

Drossin was also beginning to show what she could really do at the marathon and was closing on Ndereba, and more importantly Benoit's longstanding national record.

Into the last mile and with head bobbing more and more, Radcliffe pushed herself to the limit, trying to drag every extra second she could out of the world best. Cheered on by a huge crowd, she came into the finishing straight knowing she would not only smash her world mark but also become the first woman to break 2:16 for the distance.

She said: 'The last five miles were tough, especially the sections into the wind, but the crowd were fantastic. After last year I didn't think the crowd could be as good but they were even better. The say the Isle of Dogs is quiet but it was the noisiest part of the course. They were amazing and I am so grateful for their support.'

'I knew that in every marathon you go through a bad patch. In London last year it was around 17-18 miles, in Chicago it was 23 miles, and today it was off-and-on for the last five miles.'

'I just kept telling myself 'five more miles and then you can rest for three weeks' but it still hurt. Those last two miles were really hard into the wind but once I reached Big Ben I was out of the wind and it got a bit easier.

'I knew from last year London is a fast course and the wind was more in our favour this time. My time at halfway was far faster than I had planned, even if I felt good I didn't expect to run that fast, but I thought 'you've committed yourself now, so you've got to keep it going.'

'I hadn't planned it that way but no-one came with me in the opening mile and we weren't even going that fast, so from then on I just followed the pacemakers. I didn't speak to them at all, my only words were to a TV cameraman on a motorbike who was getting too close. I had to tell him to move away because the fumes were making me sick.'

'I felt sick at the finish. I had stomach cramps but no worse than I've had in the past. I sometimes feel as bad at the end of a hard training session, it's just the body telling me 'You're working me hard, it hurts!'

Drossin joked: 'I know how my stomach feels after running 2:21, so I can't imagine what Paula's is like.'

The world cross country silver medallist had a bad spell at 25km but finished strongly and said: 'Coming into the finishing straight I thought I was probably 30 seconds outside the schedule for the record. Then I saw the clock on the gantry and thought 'I can't reach the line in 30 seconds ' well, let's at least give it a try. I am delighted to break the record. I wanted to run 2:20 but I am still very happy.'

1 Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 2:15:25
2 Catherine Ndereba (KEN) 2:19:55
3 Deena Drossin (USA) 2:21:16
4 Susan Chepkemei (KEN) 2:23:12
5 Ludmila Petrova (RUS) 2:23:14
6 Constantina Dita (ROM) 2:23:43
7 Jelena Prokocuka(LAT) 2:24:01
8 Elfenesh Alemu (ETH) 2:24:56
9 Michaela Botezan (ROM) 2:25:32
10 Derartu Tulu (ETH) 2:26:33

Splits
Mile Split Elapsed
1 5:10 5:10
2 5:08 10:18
3 4:57 15:15
4 5:07 20:22
5 5:10 25:32
6 5:22 30:54
10km 32:01
7 5:12 36:06
8 5:11 41:17
9 5:18 46:35
10 5:13 51:48
11 5:10 56:58
12 5:16 1:02:14
20km 1:04:28
13 5:16 1:07:30
Halfway 1:08:02
14 5:08 1:12:38
15 5:10 1:17:48
16 5:13 1:23:01
17 5:07 1:28:08
18 5:11 1:33:19
30km 1:36:36
19 5:07 1:38:26
20 5:07 1:43:33
21 5:11 1:48:44
22 5:06 1:53:50
23 5:13 1:59:03
24 5:03 2:04:06
40km 2:09:29
25 5:08 2:09:14
26.2 2:15:25

Paris World Championships 2003

Men's 5000m

Paris, France - As the world watched Ethiopia's World 10,000 metres champion and Morocco's World 1500 metres champion tussle over the world 5000 metres title, the Kenyan who charged past to snatch the victory was not Abraham Chebii, who had beaten the Ethiopian nor two-time former World cross country champion John Kibowen, but the last Kenyan to make the world championships team.

Eliud Kipchoge finished third behind Chebii and Kibowen at Kenya's trials in July to make the squad that would join Richard Limo, the defending champion.

In Paris, the double gold bids of Ethiopia's double world cross country champion Kenenisa Bekele and Morocco's world record-holder Hicham El Guerrouj commanded attention.

'I knew that everybody is watching Chebii, Bekele and Hicham, so I took the prize,' said a smiling Kipchoge, 18. 'I have never raced Hicham. I have raced with Bekele, and he beat me in Oslo,' he said, adding that he thought, 'If Bekele and Hicham are watching Chebii, let me go, they won't get me.'

Kipchoge, who set the 12:52.61 world junior record for the event in Oslo, had been mulling over the opportunity for a while, only with a slightly different goal. 'When we came here, from the beginning of the championships, I was thinking that if the pace is faster, I will become a medallist,' he said.

He took the lead more than once during the race, but then began to gather strength. 'I had to regain energy to prepare for Hicham,' he said. After El Guerrouj took the lead I with about two laps left, and was being chased by Bekele, it was Kipchoge who managed to overtake one and then the other in the final straight. 'With 300 metres, I was thinking of a medal,' said Kipchoge. 'When there was 70 metres, I saw Hicham is no longer going. I decided to go.'

'I am now the World champion, and I am very happy,' said Kipchoge. 'Richard is my training partner, so I am glad I have this title now.'

The two Kenyans have the same manager, Jos Hermens, who also manages Bekele, and said he expected two medals, from Bekele and Kipchoge, but not in the order things worked out. 'But we know he is very good and that he has a good kick,' said Hermens of Kipchoge. 'He ran a smart race tactically.'

Kipchoge used the same sprint finish to blast past Uganda's Boniface Kiprop in the junior race of the world cross country championships in March, where he earned his only other global medal, although on a junior level. At 18, Kipchoge can still compete at junior level, but showed he can play with the big boys as well.

It was as a boy growing up in the rural Kapsisiwo area of the Nandi district, some 50 kilometres from the town of Kapsabet and not far from Eldoret, that Kipchoge first thought about running. 'Patrick Sang is my neighbour,' he said of Kenya's steeplechaser Sang, whom Kipchoge watched and tried to imitate in running.

However, it wasn't until 2000, after running in school but never having taken it seriously that Kipchoge, the last of five children of subsistence farmers who grew corn and beans, and kept cattle, began to train seriously, encouraged by Sang.

Kipchoge made it to provincial cross country championships in February of 2001 and placed fifth in the world cross juniors in 2002. The year 2003 will certainly be remembered as his breakthrough year, with his world cross title being followed up by the world junior record, wins over 5000m on the European circuit in Milan and Stockholm, and now, the World 5000m title coveted by multiple World champions.

Kipchoge's victory in Paris gives the running powerhouse of Kenya only its second gold medal of the championships, both earned on the last day, beginning with Catherine Ndereba's marathon victory. 'This is so important for us,' said head Kenyan coach Moses Kiptanui. 'We were expecting gold on the first day, the women's 10,000m, and then the second day, and so on.'

Restoring Kenyan pride has become something of a habit with Kipchoge, who won the junior men's title on the last day of the World cross country championships after Ethiopia swept all three individual gold medals on the first of the two-day championships. In Paris, too, the first three of the distance track events, the men's and women's 10,000 and the women's 5000m, went to Ethiopia, but Kipchoge swooped in during the last individual track event, to pull Kenya back up the medal table.

'I know people in Kenya are watching, and it feels great,' said Kipchoge.

Bekele's Double

Tonight Kenenisa Bekele drove a three piece Ethiopian juggernaut through the World 10,000 metres hopes of East African rivals, Kenya, and so took the first step on the path to become the first man since compatriot Miruts Yifter's triumphs at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, to take a 5000m and 10,000m double at a major senior global championship.

Following Bekele (26:49.57) over the finish line were the other two elements of the Ethiopian vanguard, quadruple World 10,000m champion Haile Gebrselassie (26:50.77), and Sileshi Sihen (27:01.44), the 2003 Ethiopian champion at 5000m (beat Bekele) and 10,000m.

After the race Bekele was coy about the prospect of such a double attempt confirming only that 'the Ethiopian Team Management will make the decision about whether I run the 5000m.'

What is clear is that he is one of the four (three runners + one reserve) which the Ethiopian Federation have entered for the 5000m in Paris. Bekele's reticence also matches that shown before both of his successful double campaigns at the World Cross Country Championships in the last two winters.

Jos Hermens, the manager of both Bekele and Gebrselassie also would not be drawn on the subject of whether Bekele should run the 5000m but agreed that the 21 year-old certainly possessed the stamina to double.

'Yes, I think it is physically possible for him to run so much in a week, he can do it,' said Hermens.

'Bekele is a great runner and he can do everything, he is very versatile,' Hermens continued. 'He will always be great across the country, and on the track too, and if he is careful physically, and that's the most important thing, he can dominate for another ten years.'

If attempted, this would mean that Bekele would face two more races, a heat (28 Aug) and then a final (31 Aug), and all that on top of tonight's 26:49.57 run which was a championship record and the fastest time in 2003. An epic race but surely a strength sapping one too that produced the first sub-13 minutes 5km split (12:57.25 -second half) ever run in the history of 10,000 metres racing.

Yifter, who was the inspiration for a young Gebrselassie to take up running seriously, carried the nickname of 'Yifter the Shifter' because of his devastating finishing kick, which he characteristically employed with 300 metres to go, and which famously led to his defeat of Finland's quadruple Olympic champion Lasse Viren in 1980.

Bekele precisely mirrored Yifter's Moscow tactics tonight, making a burst past World record holder Gebrselassie just as the Ethiopian trio came out of the penultimate bend with 300 metres to go to the finish. The burst was devastating and immediately saw off Sihine, and within another 100 metres Gebrselassie 'the Emperor' was also vanquished.

Not even Yifter managed to lead home an Ethiopian medal sweep, and tonight's feat at 10,000m was unique in World Championships history, and the first globally since Finland took all three medals in the 1936 Olympics.

Paris from a Distance

The distance races in the Stade de France brought some of the greatest moments of the 9th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Paris 2003 Saint Denis (23 ' 31 August), which concluded on Sunday evening. Ken Nakamura gives us his analysis of events:

Women's 10000m

Multiple records were set in the women's 10000m. Not only was the winning time the third fastest in history, but the best-mark-for-places (fastest time for the given positions) were set for 2nd to 16th places. Eight runners broke 31 minutes barrier, surpassing the previous best of six in Sydney.

The race started fast. The opening 1000m split, 2:59.62, was the second fastest (the fastest is the 2002 European Champs race with 2:59.16) in history. Surging just before the 2000m, Sun Yingjie made a valiant attempt to win the race! She had to take sting out of the kickers with a fast pace.

However, the Ethiopians covered her move, and thus began the greatest women's 10,000m race in history. The opening 5000m split, 15:06.53, was also the second fastest in history. (the fastest is 15:05.70 in Sydney). In spite of starting out so fast, the final 5000m was covered in 14:57.35, the fastest in history. The outcome of the race was uncertain until the last lap, with Berhane Adere producing some last lap magic.

Women's 5000m

On the other hand, the women's 5000m was statistically a mediocre race at best. No records (in a wider context) were set, and Sun with stomach problem was not able to make the race. Memorable it was though on an emotional level, as Kenya's World junior record holder Tirunesh Dibaba defeated her senior colleagues with a brilliant 14:51.72 win.

The men's 10,000m was a beautiful spectacle. The records were set, and Haile Gebrselassie made a valiant attempt to win, albeit in a very unconventional way for him.

The leader covered the last 5000m of the 10,000m in 12:57.24. Not only this split was the fastest closing 5000m in the championships 10,000m (the previous record was 13:12.12, recorded in Atlanta), but it was also the fastest 5000m in a global championships surpassing the 12:58.13 Salah Hissou recorded when he won the 5000m in Sevilla'99. The record, however, only lasted a week, broken in the 5000m final.

The difference between the closing 5000m splits (12:57.24) and the 5000m World record (12:39.36) was 17.88 seconds, which is a record. The previous best of 18.4 seconds (13:31.4 for the closing 5000m when the World Record was 13:13.0) was recorded in the 1976 Olympics.

Men's 1500m

Hicham El Guerrouj won the last three World Championships 1500m. However, in both Sevilla and in Edmonton (and also in Sydney), he had his countryman pace the first part of the race to his advantage. Some wondered if he could win the 'real' championships race anymore. In Paris, for the first time since the 1997 Worlds, he was the only Moroccan in the 1500m final, so he had to do all the work himself, and he won the race with great courage and style.

El Guerrouj was expected to go for the sustained drive, which is his strength. He did just that. With 900m to go he took the lead and stayed there for the rest of the race. Later he confirmed 'I intended to run the last 1000m hard.'

Men's 5000m

With El Guerrouj's victory in the 1500m and Bekele's victory in the 10,000m, the showdown was set for the 5000m, just like Paris Olympic Games 79 years ago between the Finns Nurmi (won 1500m) and Ritola (won 10,000m). However, the Kenyan men were so far in Paris without a gold medal; they had even lost the 3000m Steeplechase. The 5000m was their last chance.

The highly anticipated 5000m final did not disappoint anybody. Everyone did what they were supposed to do to win. Bekele started the race really fast. The opening 1000m was near record 2:31.94 (the record is 2:31.76 in 1993 Worlds). Although the pace slackened in the middle, El Guerrouj did what he had to do to win. He took the lead with 900m to go, as he did in the 1500m. His attempt to take the sting out of the kickers had begun.

This resulted in the fastest ever closing 1000m, 2:24.33, in the global championships, surpassing the record 2:25.16 set in the 1983 at Helsinki. Unfortunately, for El Guerrouj, it was not fast enough; he was outkicked by Eluid Kipchoge.

Women's 1500m and 5000m double attempt

Finally it should be noted that Yelena Zadorzhnaya challenged an even tougher double than El Guerrouj. She ran both the 1500m (8th) and 5000m (4th).

The 1500m was won by her compatriot Tatyana Tomashova in a championships record of 3:58.52, after Turkey's heroine Süreyya Ayhan failed to break the will of the opposition in her usual style, leading to an impressive final assault from Tomashova.

However unlike El Guerrouj who was finished with the 1500m before attacking the 5000m, Zadorzhnaya had to go back and forth between 1500m and 5000m. Even El Guerrouj admitted that 'Running 5000m a day after the 1500m was tough, because of the different rhythm in the race.'

Zadorzhnaya's remarkable week went as follows ' Tue 26 Aug 5000m Heat; Wed 27 Aug 1500m heat; Thu 29 Aug 1500m semi; Sat 30 Aug 5000m Final; Sun 31 Aug 1500m final.

In Stade de France, we have seen distance races that captured our imagination. Anybody fortunate enough to be in the stadium will remember them for a long time.

Tergat goes under 2:05 in Berlin

Berlin - Paul Tergat crowned the jubilee edition of the 30th Real Berlin Marathon with a sensational new world best. Having not won one of his former five marathon races, the 34-year-old Kenyan became the first runner to achieve a sub 2:05 time in the classical race. Paul Tergat ran 2:04:55. Khalid Kahnnouchi (USA) was the holder of the former mark, having won the London Marathon in 2002 in 2:05:38. "This marathon has made history. I am simply overwhelmed", Paul Tergat said.

Instead of, as expected, running alone during the last few kilometres Paul Tergat had company: Sammy Korir came close again in the last few metres and finished just one second behind. Besides Titus Munji it was Korir who had been Tergat's most important pacemaker during the race. Munji (Kenya) was third in 2:06:15. These three results made the Real Berlin Marathon the best ever marathon. The average time of the first three Kenyans is still faster than Khannouchi's former world best. Munji's result is now the eighth fastest time ever. Additionally no other team has been as fast as those three Kenyan's, who all belong to the same training group of Dr. Gabriele Rosa. Their team time in Berlin was 6:16:06. In Amsterdam in 1999 the first three Kenyans had run 6:20:26 as a team.

While it was probably not a surprise that Paul Tergat ran a world record in perfect weather conditions with temperatures between 9 and 16° Celsius and no wind, there was another world record in the men's race which was indeed a surprise: Andres Espinosa (Mexico), the winner of the New York Marathon 1993 became the first master runner to run sub 2:10. Espinosa finished fourth in 2:08:48.

In front of about a million spectators Paul Tergat, who earned 120,000 Euros in Berlin, was helped by two great pacemakers: Korir and Munji, who stayed in the race and both were rewarded with world class times on the new Berlin course with the finish at the Brandenburg Gate. The new course proved that it was as fast as the old one was. It was in the beginning, when the pace changed several times. First the leading group was going too fast, then they slowed too much. So the kilometre splits changed from 2:54 to 3:07. But finally the pacemakers got it right and passed the half way mark as planned in 63:01 minutes.

It was after the 25 k mark (1:14:42), that Tergat pushed the pace himself for the first time. That was when last year's winner Raymond Kipkoech was dropped. He finally came in fifth in 2:09:21. The Kenyan who had won in 2:06:47 last year, was supposed to be Tergat's main rival on his way to his first marathon win. Five times before Tergat had missed victory in a marathon.

Tergat had said before the race that he would give everything he had in the second half. But Munji and Korir stayed in front of him a remarkably long time. "I have to thank them both they have helped me to achieve this world record. In the morning when it was clear that we would have perfect weather conditions we decided to go for the world record. But although they were the pacemakers I expected that they would run the whole race", Tergat said.

At 30 k (1:29:24) and at 35 k (1:43:59) the three were still together. Meanwhile the split times had dropped clearly under three minutes. At one stage, between 30 and 31 k, they even ran 2:47. It was at 36 k, when Sammy Korir tried to surge away, but he could not drop Paul Tergat. Titus Munji was beaten at this point, but Tergat was now running no longer behind but next to Sammy Korir. It was on the last kilometre, when the two could already see the Brandenburg Gate on Unter den Linden, that Tergat could finally leave Korir behind. But the drama continued for Tergat on his way to victory. He was somehow irritated and did not chose the shortest line through the Brandenburg Gate. And Korir could then almost close the gap again. So there were just a few metres separating the two at the finish line. But both were celebrating in the finish, when they hugged each other. "The last few metres were very exciting. I then said to Sammy simply: we did it", Tergat said later.

"I was supposed to run the Amsterdam Marathon - that was the race I originally trained for. But when I saw these very fast split times I decided to stay in the race", Korir said. He had a marathon best of 2:08:13. It was the same reason for Munji to stay in the race.

"I want to thank my wife, my manager and the organisers who all supported me to make this possible", Paul Tergat said in a first statement. Later on he added: "There was great support by the spectators, that helped a lot. I think today we got the maximum result that was possible for us. In future I might perhaps be able to run something like 2:04:30. But I don't expect to be able to run a 2:03."

Asked if he was somehow relieved that he finally won a marathon, Paul Tergat said: "I always said I know that my time in the marathon will come if I stay focussed. And felt that I would be able to break the marathon one day. Now that has happened and I am very happy."

Results, Men:
1. Paul Tergat KEN 2:04:55
2. Sammy Korir KEN 2:04:56
3. Titus Munji KEN 2:06:15
4. Andres Espinosa MEX 2:08:46
5. Raymond Kipkoech KEN 2:09:21
6. Kazuhiro Matsuda JPN 2:09:49
7. Kurao Umeki JPN 2:09:52
8. Andre Ramos BRA 2 :09 :58
9. Makhosonke Fika RSA 2:10:16
10. Javier Caballero ESP 2:10:44