Press Release - Vienna City Marathon - 9/6/21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
                   Vienna City Marathon On 12 September:            
        Strong Ethiopians and the two Swiss record holders in Vienna

Ethiopians Betesfa Getahun and Gelete Burka will be the fastest athletes on 
the start list for the Vienna City Marathon next Sunday. They feature 
world-class personal bests of 2:05:28 and 2:20:45 respectively. The 38th 
edition of Austria's biggest road running event is the first major 
international marathon featuring a strong international elite field and a 
mass race since the start of the Corona pandemic. Including races at 
shorter distances a total of 25,000 athletes have registered for the event. 
6,000 of them will run the marathon. The Vienna City Marathon is a World 
Athletics Marathon Label Road Race.

Betesfa Getahun heads the elite start list which includes ten runners who 
have personal bests of sub 2:10. The Ethiopian ran 2:05:28 in his debut 
marathon in Amsterdam two years ago. Returning to the Vienna City Marathon 
will be Switzerland's record holder Tadesse Abraham, who was the runner-up 
here in 2019 with 2:07:24. 

With a personal best of 2:06:40 Tadesse Abraham is among the fastest 
European marathon runners. Due to breathing problems he dropped out of the 
Olympic marathon in Sapporo (Japan) a month ago. While this was of course a 
major disappointment he then quickly decided to go for the Vienna City 
Marathon. „I am in form and I want to show it. I am really looking forward 
to Vienna as I have such great memories of this race,“ said Tadesse 
Abraham.

The women's field includes six runners with personal bests of sub 2:28. 
Gelete Burka is the fastest on the start list with 2:20:45. She achieved 
this time in Dubai in 2018 and then won the marathons in Ottawa (2018) and 
in Paris (2019). The women's race will also feature the Swiss marathon 
record holder: Fabienne Schlumpf ran 2:26:14 in her debut in Bern earlier 
this year and then finished in a very strong 12th position at the Olympic 
marathon.

Elite runners with personal bests

MEN

Betesfa Getahun ETH 2:05:28
Tadesse Abraham SUI 2:06:40
Kento Kikutani  JPN 2:07:26
Bethwell Rutto  KEN 2:07:41
Edwin Kosgei    KEN 2:07:51
Fikre Workneh   ETH 2:07:58
Derara Hurisa   ETH 2:08:09
Yuta Koyama     JPN 2:08:46
Edwin Kangogo   KEN 2:09:12
Isaac Kosgei    KEN 2:09:17
Koki Yoshioka   JPN 2:10:13
Leonard Langat  KEN 2:10:49
Daiji Kawai     JPN 2:10:50
Samwel Kiptoo   KEN 2:13:18
Jiksa Tadesse   ETH Debut
Evans Cheruiyot KEN Debut

 
WOMEN

Gelete Burka           ETH 2:20:45
Risper Chebet          KEN 2:23:45
Rebecca Kangogo        KEN 2:24:25
Celestine Chepchirchir KEN 2:24:48
Medina Armino          ETH 2:26:12
Fabienne Schlumpf      SUI 2:26:14
Lucy Cheruiyot         KEN 2:27:16
Meseret Dinke          ETH 2:32:16
Vibian Chepkirui       KEN Debut

More information is available at: www.vienna-marathon.comm 
 
                                    ###