PRESS RELEASE – 29^th VIENNA CITY MARATHON ON SUNDAY:

 

Defending champion John Kiprotich

targets personal best and a first

sub 2:07 time on Austrian soil

 

John Kiprotich targets the first sub 2:07 time on Austrian soil in SundayÂ’s Vienna City Marathon. The defending champion intends to improve his personal best of 2:07:08. He will be one of five Kenyans in the race, who have run the distance faster than 2:08. A personal record will be the goal for the defending womenÂ’s champion as well: Fate Tola (Ethiopia) took the Vienna City Marathon with 2:26:21 in 2011 and is now eager to improve this time. Organisers of AustriaÂ’s biggest sporting event have registered a record number of 36,000 entries. This includes other running events staged parallel to the marathon on Sunday.

 

The 29^th Vienna City Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race. The event will be shown live on the internet on Sunday from 8.40 am at: www.vienna-marathon.com

 

“In 2011 I did not expect to win the race. This success was a big motivation for me to train hard to further improve. It is my goal to come closer to the best runners of the world,” said John Kiprotich, who won last year’s race with 2:08:29. The 23 year-old, who had improved his PB by more than seven minutes in Vienna last year, ran a good half marathon in the built-up to Vienna. In February he clocked 60:02 minutes in the Rome-Ostia race. “This was a good sign for Vienna, where we will have a race of champions on Sunday. I am happy to be back and I expect a fast race,” said John Kiprotich, who is one of four former Kenyan winners coming back to Austria. Henry Sugut took the Vienna City Marathon in 2010 with 2:08:40, Gilbert Kirwa was number one in 2009 with 2:08:21 and Luke Kibet won in 2007 (2:10:07). Kibet then went on to win the World Championships’ marathon in the same year.

 

The runner with the fastest time in the field is Gilbert Kirwa. But the 26 year-old, who had improved to 2:06:14 in Frankfurt in 2009, does not see himself as the favourite. “There are very strong runners in the field on Sunday,” Gilbert Kirwa said. The Kenyan has not raced since April 2011, when he ran the Rotterdam Marathon and finished eleventh with 2:14:29. “Originally I wanted to run the Frankfurt Marathon in October, but then I got injured. I then hoped to compete in Tokyo in February, but I was not ready for it in time. So instead I opted for Vienna, where I have very good memories. When I won the 2009 race this was a great motivation for me,” Gilbert Kirwa said.

 

Another former Vienna winner who attended today’s press conference was Henry Sugut. “I expect a very competitive race and look forward to Sunday. All of us want to win,” said the Kenyan, who hopes to improve his personal best of 2:08:21 which he ran in Paris in spring 2011. He then acted as a pacemaker in Berlin, where Patrick Makau (Kenya) broke the world marathon record (2:03:38). “When I paced for Patrick Makau I saw how hard it is to run such a pace and how hard you will have to train for it. I paced him for 25 k,” said Henry Sugut. He then ran a full marathon in Frankfurt (2:08:56) and after a break started preparing for Vienna. “I want to run sub 2:08 on Sunday. May be I can achieve a result around 2:07:00.”

 

While Henry Sugut has run with Patrick Makau in Berlin Fate Tola also has experience in running with one of the best – but on a more regular basis. She is the training partner of the German record holder Irina Mikitenko (2:19:19). Coached by Irina’s husband Alexander they all were together in Albuquerque (USA) for high altitude training recently. “I have trained well with Irina,” said Fate Tola, who is married in Germany and speaks some German. The 24 year-old has two goals on Sunday: “I want to defend my title and achieve a personal best.”

 

One of her rivals will be a two-time Vienna winner: Luminta Talpos (Romania) took the race in 2007 and 2008. Four years ago she qualified for the Olympic Games in Vienna. “This is the goal again. I hope to qualify for London on Sunday,” said the 39 year-old, who clocked her personal best of 2:26:43 in Vienna in 2008.

 

Selected elite runners of the Vienna City Marathon:

 

MEN:

Gilbert Kirwa             KEN               2:06:14

Gilbert Yegon            KEN               2:08:18

John Kiprotich           KEN               2:07:08

John Komen              KEN               2:07:13

Patrick Ivuti                KEN               2:07:46

Wilson Kigen            KEN               2:08:16

Henry Sugut              KEN               2:08:21

Iaroslav Musinschi    MDA               2:08:32

Geoffrey Ndungu      KEN               2:08:33

Luke Kibet                 KEN               2:08:52

Shume Gerbaba       ETH                2:09:03

Mariko Kipchumba   KEN               2:09:04

Lusapho April           KEN               2:09:25

Dmitriy Safronov       RUS               2:09:35

Willy Kibor                 KEN               2:10:21

Emmanuel Samal     KEN               2:10:27

 

WOMEN:

Fate Tola                   ETH                2:26:21

Luminita Talpos        ROM               2:26:43

Olga Glok                  RUS               2:28:27

Aberash Nesga        ETH                2:29:47

Helalia Johannes      NAM               2:30:35

Pauline Kahenya Njeri         KEN    Debut

 

For more information please visit: www.vienna-marathon.com or contact Andreas Maier (Press Officer) by phone (+43 650 350 1488) or E-mail: andreas.maier@vienna-marathon.com

 

Please note: You may use the attached photo for online purposes, showing . Henry Sugut, Luminita Talpos, John Kiprotich, Fate Tola, Gilbert Kirwa and Race Director Wolfgang Konrad (right to left). Credit essential: www.photorun.net