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Bernard Barmasai chases first marathon victory in Vienna on 29th April
As a 3,000 m steeple chaser Bernard Barmasai was the number one in the
world, when he broke the world record in Cologne back in 1997 with 7:55.72
minutes. Today he still is the third fastest steeple chaser of all times
with this result. But nowadays the Kenyan is chasing success in a different
event: the marathon. It is the 24th Vienna City Marathon on 29th April
where he wants to step up to another level in the classic race. Featuring a
personal best of 2:08:52 so far which he ran in Paris a year ago Vienna's
course record could be well under threat. That stands at 2:08:20 and was
established by Lahoucine Mrikik (Marocco) last year. Additionally Bernard
Barmasai will be aiming for his first marathon victory in Vienna.
Organisers of Austria's biggest and most prestigious road race are
expecting a field of more than 24,000 runners on 29th April. That includes
other running events besides the marathon which are staged parallel to the
marathon. "We are happy with the entry figures and I am especially
delighted to welcome such a prominent athlete as Bernard Barmasai", said
Race-Director Wolfgang Konrad, who himself was an international steeple
chaser. He did not held a world record but a noticable national record of
8:17.22 minutes which he ran in Berlin in 1982. With that time he was
number three in the world season's list of that year.
After a marathon debut of 2:14:49 three years ago in Rotterdam Bernard
Barmasai improved to 2:10:52 in 2005 and then to 2:08:52. In October last
year he just missed out on winning Amsterdam where he was beaten by fellow
Kenyan Solomon Bushendich by two seconds. Additionally he missed his
personal best by the same margin, clocking 2:08:54. There was some wind in
Amsterdam last year so if conditions are fine in Vienna next week there
should be room for improvement.
Similar to Amsterdam there will be stiff opposition at the Vienna City
Marathon as well for Bernard Barmasai. It is Luke Kibet who has exactly the
same personal best as Barmasai. The 24 year-old Kenyan clocked his 2:08:52
in Eindhoven two years ago, where he finished third. Frederick Cherono so
far is 14 seconds quicker than his two fellow countrymen. He won the Torino
Marathon in 2004 with 2:08:38. Additionally he is the winner of the Rome
Marathon from 2003 (2:08:47). There was more recent success for William
Todoo, who took this year's Dubai Marathon in January in 2:09:53 and now
aims for further improvement in the Austrian capital. Another Kenyan, Abel
Kirui, could be someone to watch. He recently won the Paderbon Half
Marathon in 61:32 after a slow first part of the race.
In comparison the women's field will not be as promising as the men's. This
is also because organisers had to take a setback since the defending
champion Tomo Morimoto had to cancel her start in Vienna. The Japanese
suffers of an ankle injury which unfortunately did not heal in time to
resume training. At least for the Austrian spectators this might be good
news since local hero Susanne Pumper could now be in with a chance. The 36
year-old ran her marathon debut in Vienna last year. Coming in fourth with
2:32:21 she broke the Austrian record. In 2005 Pumper had won the silver
medal in the 3,000 m final of the European Indoor Championships. But the
favourite will probably be Romania's Luminita Talpos, who enters the race
with a personal best of 2:27:32.
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