Press Release - Vienna City Marathon - 3/12/24

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
                   VIENNA CITY MARATHON ON 21st APRIL:

           Eritrean duo might eye two records at once in Vienna
		   
Eritrean duo Nazret Weldu and Dolshi Tesfu head the current women's start 
list of the Vienna City Marathon on 21st April. This was announced by the 
organisers of the race. Weldu and Tesfu, who are by some distance the 
fastest Eritrean women marathon runners in history, may be challenged by 
Kenyans Shyline Toroitich and Rebecca Tanui. There are hopes that the 41st 
edition of Austria's major road race will see an attempt to break the 
course record, which currently stands at 2:20:59. 

Including races at shorter distances the organisers of the Vienna City 
Marathon expect to register over 40,000 entries for the 41st edition. 
Around 10,000 of them will be marathon runners. The Vienna City Marathon is 
a World Athletics Elite Label Road Race.

It took 19 years until the women's course record of Italy's late Maura 
Viceconte was finally broken in the Austrian capital in 2019. Kenya's Nancy 
Kiprop improved the mark to 2:22:12. However Kiprop's time lasted much 
shorter than Viceconte's. In 2022 fellow-Kenyan Vibian Chepkirui clocked 
2:20:59. 

Nazret Weldu and Dolshi Tesfu have both already run faster than Vienna's 
course record: 34 year-old Weldu clocked a national record of 2:20:29 when 
she took a very strong fourth place in the World Champiosnhips' Marathon in 
Eugene in 2022. She won the Daegu Marathon in South Korea with 2:21:56 in 
the same year and then placed sixth in Boston in 2023 with 2:23:25. 
Competing in a hot World Championships' race in Budapest last summer Weldu 
finished eighth with 2:27:23. Despite this series of strong performances 
Nazret Weldu still has not achieved the Olympic qualifying standard for 
Paris. She will want to make sure in Vienna that she runs fast enough to 
get into the Olympic race.

Dolshi Tesfu features a personal best of 2:20:40. The 24 year-old, who is 
just 1.56 m tall and weighs as little as 42 kilos, ran this time in her 
debut marathon when she finished ninth in Valencia in 2022. During the race 
Dolshi Tesfu ran the first half in 68:53, which is by far the fastest half 
marathon time ever run by an Eritrean woman. Dolshi Tesfu then showed fine 
performances in her two marathons in 2023 as well: First she was runner-up 
in Rotterdam with 2:21:35 and then she finished 10th in a hot World 
Championships' marathon in Budapest in August. She is already qualified for 
the Olympic marathon.  

When Weldu and Tesfu will come to Vienna for the first time they could 
attack two records in one go: While the course record stands at 2:20:59 for 
the two athletes the national record of 2:20:29 would probably be even more 
significant.

There is an athlete on the start list with a sub 2:20 PB, but at the age of 
43 Helalia Johannes is not expected to challenge for victory. The Namibian 
ran 2:19:52 in 2020 and holds the masters world record since then. 

Two Kenyan women could be the main challengers for Weldu and Tesfu: Shyline 
Toroitich and Rebecca Tanui both know how to win a city marathon. Toroitich 
took the Enschde Marathon last year with a personal best of 2:22:45 while 
Tanui was the winner of the San Sebastian Marathon in 2022 with a PB of 
2:23:09 and then also won in Venice last autumn. Tanui will have the 
advantage of knowing the course of the Vienna City Marathon since she was 
fourth here last year with 2:26:34 in warm weather conditions. 

For Andrea Ramirez Limon the Vienna City Marathon presents the last chance 
to achieve qualification for the Olympic Games' marathon this summer. The 
Mexican has a personal best of 2:26:34. However she ran this back in 2020, 
so it does not count as an Olympic qualifier for Paris. While the 
qualifying time is 2:26:50, Andrea Ramirez Limon would need a faster time 
to succeed since the Olympic race will have a limit of 80 starters.

Austria's record holder Julia Mayer has achieved qualification since she 
was among the 64 pre-qualified athletes at the end of January with her PB 
of 2:26:43. She will be among a group of runners who target the Olympic 
qualifying standard.

For more information please visit: www.vienna-marathon.com

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