Press Release - Vienna City Marathon - 4/13/17

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                Both course records under threat in Vienna

Both course records could be attacked at the Vienna City Marathon on 23rd 
April. With deeper elite fields than in recent editions organisers hope to 
see fast winning times. Current course records stand at 2:05:41 and 
2:23:47. With personal bests of 2:05:21 and 2:23:26 Kenya's Eliud Kiptanui 
and Meseret Mengistu of Ethiopia are the fastest athletes on the start 
list. Arond 9,000 runners have entered the 34th edition of the Vienna City 
Marathon, which is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race. Adding other running 
events staged parallel to the marathon a total of more than 42,000 athletes 
have so far been registered. The Vienna City Marathon is Austria's biggest 
sporting event. Late registration is only available for accompanying races 
on Saturday (22nd April), namely the new Vienna 10K race and kids runs. 
Information is available at: www.vienna-marathon.com

Eight runners with personal bests of sub 2:09 are currently on the men's 
elite start list. Two of them have run under 2:06: Eliud Kiptanui clocked 
2:05:21 in Berlin two years ago while Ethiopia's Deribe Robi ran 2:05:58 in 
Eindhoven in 2015. Five more athletes feature personal records between 2:09 
and 2:11. Among them is Vincent Kipchumba, also known as Vincent Toroitich, 
who ran a fine race at the Berlin Half Marathon recently. The Kenyan was 
entered as a pacemaker into the Berlin race but continued after his duties 
and finished with a PB of 60:32 in second position. A debutant could 
produce a surprise as well: Uganda's Geoffrey Kusuro features a fine half 
marathon PB of 59:43.

While Getu Feleke of Ethiopia established the course record of 2:05:41 
three years ago the women's mark is much older. Maura Viceconte clocked 
2:23:47 back in 2000. The record of the Italian has been targeted a number 
of times in the past editions of the Vienna City Marathon but somehow 
always survived. This year's elite race start list suggests that the mark 
could finally go. 

Half a dozen women have been entered who have already run under 2:26:30. 
Meseret Mengistu is the fastest on the start list: Two years ago the 
Ethiopian won the Paris Marathon with 2:23:26. "In better weather 
conditions I could have run 2:22 today," said Shuko Genemo, when she took 
the Vienna City Marathon a year ago in very windy conditions. The Ethiopian 
clocked her PB of 2:24:31 in that race and now returns to Vienna as the 
defending champion. Running her debut Angela Tanui looks to have the 
potential to make an immediate impact over the classic distance. The Kenyan 
ran five half marathons in a row with sub 70 minutes' results. While her 
personal record stands at 67:16 from 2016 she recently was second in the 
Rome Ostia race with 67:43.

Selected elite runners with personal bests

Men:
Eliud Kiptanui KEN 2:05:21
Deribe Robi ETH 2:05:58
Mustapha El Aziz MAR 2:07:55
Ishmael Bushendich KEN 2:08:20
Sergey Lebid UKR 2:08:32
Suleiman Simotwo KEN 2:08:49
Silas Limo KEN 2:08:54
Ezekiel Omullo KEN 2:08:55
Alfonce Kigen KEN 2:09:47
Albert Korir KEN 2:10:08
Dereje Abera ETH 2:10:19
Paulo Paula BRA 2:10:23
Vincent Kipchumba KEN 2:10.32
Regasa Mindaye ETH 2:11:21
Geoffrey Kusuro UGA Debut

Women:
Meseret Mengistu ETH 2:23:26
Shuko Genemo ETH 2:24:31
Nancy Kiprop KEN 2:25:13
Rebecca Chesire KEN 2:25:22
Helalia Johannes NAM 2:26:09
Roza Dereje ETH 2:26:18
Tizita Terecha ETH 2:28:02
Emma Quaglia ITA 2:28:15
Irene Chepkirui KEN 2:31:55
Angela Tanui KEN Debut

For more information please visit: www.vienna-marathon.com or contact 
Andreas Maier (Press Officer):  

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