Press Release - Hannover Marathon - 3/7/23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                   ADAC Marathon Hannover on 26th March

          Amanal Petros, Julien Wanders and Matea Parlov Kostro 
                      head elite fields in Hannover

Some of Europe's top names in long distance running will compete at the 
ADAC Marathon Hannover on 26th March. Germany's multiple record holder 
Amanal Petros and European half marathon record holder Julien Wanders of 
Switzerland are on the start list for the traditional spring race while the 
European Championships' silver medallist Matea Parlov Kostro of Serbia 
returns to the race where she clocked her personal best. With a PB of 
2:04:56 Kenya's Jonathan Maiyo currently is the fastest athlete in the 
elite field while Rabea Schoneborn of Germany heads the women's list with 
2:27:03. 

Organisers of the ADAC Marathon Hannover, who moved the race from the 
traditional April date to the end of March for the first time, expect to 
register over 20,000 runners for the 31st edition, including races at 
shorter distances. Last year's Hannover marathon champion Hendrik Pfeiffer, 
who switched clubs recently and now competes for local club TK Hannover, 
will compete in the half marathon on 26th March since he will run the 
Boston Marathon on 17th April. The ADAC Marathon Hannover is a World 
Athletics Road Race Label event. Online entry for all races is still 
possible at: www.marathon-hannover.de
	
Amanal Petros recently became the first German male athlete in history to 
have broken the three main national road running records: He already held 
the best marks for the half marathon (60:09) and the marathon (2:06:27) and 
then added the 10k record with a time of 27:32 in Castellón, Spain. The 27 
year-old, who was fourth in the European Championships' marathon in Munich 
last summer, currently trains in Iten, Kenya. "I am looking really forward 
to run in Hannover for the first time. I am curious about the fast course," 
said Amanal Petros, who is a training partner of Julien Wanders. "If my 
training continues to go well and weather conditions are good on the day I 
hope to run another personal best." With such a result he would smash 
Hannover's 2:08:32 course record. 

Julien Wanders so far could not transform his enormous potential to the 
marathon distance. The 26 year-old European record holder at 10k (27:13) 
and in the half marathon (59:13) ran his debut in Paris in spring 2022. 
Suffering of stomach problems he had to stop three times but still finished 
in 2:11:52. Wanders then did not finish his second marathon in Valencia in 
December after running a first half of 63:22. With its flat course and very 
good pacemaking options the ADAC Marathon Hannover might well be the place 
where Julien Wanders can finally perform well in the marathon. "A time of 
sub 2:10 would be nice. I opted for Hannover after speaking with Amanal 
about the race," said Julien Wanders.

It will be interesting to see what Jonathan Maiyo will be capable of in 
Hannover. The 34 year-old Kenyan clocked his personal record of 2:04:56 
back in 2022 in Dubai. At that time it was a world-class time. Although 
Maiyo did not yet manage to run that fast again he showed a number of fine 
performances. In December he ran a solid 2:09:47 and took fourth place in 
Malaga.

Germany's Rabea Schoneborn, the twin sister of Deborah Schoneborn, returns 
to the ADAC Marathon Hannover and currently is the fastest woman on the 
start list with a PB of 2:27:03. She was runner-up here a year ago with 
2:27:35 and then showed a fine performance at the European Championships. 
Finishing in 12th position she won the European Cup with the German team in 
Munich. 

The athlete who finished behind Rabea Schoneborn last year in Hannover then 
turned the tables at the European Championships and became a surprise 
silver medallist: Matea Parlov Kostro was third at the ADAC Marathon 
Hannover with a PB of 2:28:39 and then finished runner-up in soaring 
temperatures in Munich with 2:28:42. The 30 year-old recently improved her 
half marathon PB to 69:53 and could be in a position for a big personal 
best in Hannover. 

With a PB of 2:27:05 Viktoriia Kaliuzhna of Ukraine is the second fastest 
woman on the start list. Due to the war in Ukraine she currently lives near 
Wroclaw in Poland. Kaliuzhna competed in the 2021 Olympic Games as well as 
the European Championships, but on both occasions did not finish in very 
high temperatures. She will now be eager to bounce back. Aleksandra 
Brzezinska will be full of confidence when she travels to Hannover. The 
Pole ran a PB of 2:28:09 in Valencia in December. 

More information about the ADAC Marathon Hannover is available at: 
www.marathon-hannover.de 

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