Press Release - Vienna City Marathon - 3/15/23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
                    Vienna City Marathon on 23rd April:            

       Vienna's strong women's field includes 5K world record holder 
                              Senbere Teferi         

Senbere Teferi, the 5K world record holder, is among a group of African 
runners who form a strong women's elite field at the Vienna City Marathon. 
Austria's major road running event will be staged for the 40th time and it 
could well be the women who produce the headlines at the jubilee edition on 
23rd April. The current course record of 2:20:59 will be a target if 
weather conditions are suitable on the day. Organisers of the Vienna City 
Marathon, which is the only World Athletics Elite Label Road Race in 
Austria, expect to register around 35,000 entries for their event. This 
includes races at shorter distances staged parallel to the marathon. 
Registration for all races is still possible at: www.vienna-marathon.com

Senbere Teferi brings plenty of promising speed to the marathon. The 27 
year-old Ethiopian clocked 14:29 in a 5K race in Herzogenaurach (Germany) 
in 2021. This time still stands as a world record in a women only race. So 
far Senbere Teferi could not transform her exciting speed to the marathon. 
However she is eager to change this in Vienna this spring. "It is my aim to 
smash my personal best and win the race," said Senbere Teferi, who will run 
her third marathon in the Austrian capital. Back in 2018 she ran her debut 
in Dubai in 2:24:11 and then she clocked 2:25:22 in Tokyo in 2020. However 
her half marathon PB of 65:32 indicates that Senbere Teferi, who won silver 
medals at the World Cross Country Championships and in the 5,000 m final of 
the World Championships in 2015, should be capable of running significantly 
quicker.  

Running a faster time is one thing, winning is another. The Vienna City 
Marathon will provide quite a challenge for Senbere Teferi. There are four 
Kenyans in the women's field who have run faster in the marathon than the 
Ethiopian. Visiline Jepkesho, Magdalyne Masai, Rebecca Tanui and Agnes 
Keino intend to add to Kenya's Vienna win streak. In the past five editions 
of the VCM the women's winner was always a Kenyan. A year ago Vibian 
Chepkirui broke the course record with a time of 2:20:59. 

Visiline Jepkesho is the fastest on the current women's start list with a 
personal best of 2:21:37. The 33 year-old has plenty of experience in the 
marathon and will start a comeback in Vienna after giving birth to her two 
sons. She ran her PB when finishing fourth in Paris in 2017. Visiline 
Jepkesho has run four sub 2:23 marathons and took major victories in 
Rotterdam (2018) and Paris (2016). 

Magdalyne Masai is another athlete who recently came back from maternity 
leave and who has been successful before the break. In 2019 she took the 
Toronto Marathon with a personal best of 2:22:16. Little over a week ago 
the 29 year-old showed fine form, when she clocked a half marathon PB of 
67:07 in the Rome Ostia race finishing third. 

Rebecca Tanui and Agnes Keino will travel to Vienna full of confidence, 
since both of them won their autumn marathon race with personal bests. 
Tanui triumphed in San Sebastián in 2:23:09 while Keino smashed the course 
record of the Munich Marathon with 2:23:26, leaving behind the former World 
Marathon Champion Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia. Keino then also won the Buri Ram 
Marathon in Thailand in January in 2:28:08, smashing another course record.
 
For more information please visit: www.vienna-marathon.com 

                                    ###