Press Release - Vienna City Marathon - 5/20/05

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
                                   Contact: Andreas Meier (Press Officer)
                                            +43 – 650 350 1488 
                                            

                        22nd Vienna City Marathon: 
         Kosgei, Thugwane, Kipsos and defending champion Kandie 
           among 20,000 runners in Austria’s biggest road race
		   

Sunday's 22nd edition of the Vienna City Marathon will see the greatest 
field ever assembled for this race. For the first time an Olympic Champion 
runs in Vienna: Josiah Thugwane (South Africa/1996). There are eight men 
with personal bests of sub 2.10 and four of them have already been faster 
than 2.08. Among them is the defending champion Samson Kandie. The Kenyan 
broke the course record last year, clocking 2.08.35. 

About 20,000 runners are expected to take part in different events on 
Sunday. The Vienna City Marathon will once again be Austria's biggest 
sports event in the summer season. It will be broadcasted live on the 
national TV programme ORF. During the last few year’s the coverage was seen 
by an average of 300,000 viewers.

"I hope that the great potential of our elite runners can be transformed 
into some very good results on Sunday. So I hope the temperatures will not 
get too warm," the elite race director Mark Milde said. At present 
temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius are forecasted for Sunday. 

Pacemakers are supposed to cover the first have in about 64 minutes. That 
could well mean that Kandie has to run quicker than his course record to 
have a chance for a second triumph. Vincent Kipsos (Kenya), who clocked 
2.06.52 for third place in Berlin in 2002, Japhet Kosgei (Kenya), who won 
the Rotterdam Marathon with 2.07.09 in 1999, Josiah Thugwane (South 
Africa/2.07.28), the Olympic Marathon Champion of 1996, Boniface Usisivu 
(Kenya/2.07.50) and Tereje Wodajo (Ehtiopia/2.08.11) have all run faster 
than last year’s winner. 

But Samson Kandie is optimistic: "I had some problems in the second half of 
last year. But now I am fit for Vienna. I hope for a fast race and I am 
prepared for it," the 34 year-old said. Additionally he highlighted today's 
press conference when he revealed the name of his baby daughter who was 
born just a couple of days after he had won last year's race: "Her name is 
Vienna. So I will never forget the Vienna City Marathon."

After a break of one year Japhet Kosgei wants to prove that he still is a 
top marathon runner. The 36 year-old has won three marathons in sub 2:08 
times: Rotterdam (1999), Tokyo (2000) and Otsu (2003). "I was then feeling 
very tired and found it hard to do long training runs. So I took a long 
break. But now I am fine again, and I have trained well for Vienna," Kosgei 
said.

In the women's race the focus will be mainly on one athlete: Florence 
Barsosio. The Kenyan had been second in Paris on 10th April. "I was not 
satisfied with the race and with my time of 2.27.18 – so I have decided to 
try to do better in Vienna."



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