FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lel, Zhou Win 27th Flora London Marathon
Hall finishes 7th, sets U.S. marathon debut record with his 2:08:24
LONDON - (April 22, 2007) - Against deep fields and under warm, sunny
conditions at the 27th Flora London on Sunday, Martin Lel of Kenya and Zhou
Chunxiu of China earned their race titles in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 41 seconds
and 2:20:38 respectively, while American Ryan Hall from Bear Big Lake,
Calif. had a smashing U.S. record debut in 2:08:24 to finish seventh
overall.
In the men's race, perhaps the best ever assembled, Lel, the 2005 race
champion who was edged by countryman Felix Limo last year, found the right
combination at the end to pull away from Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco and
Limo. Goumri debuted with an impressive runner-up finish in 2:07:44 with
defending champion Limo three seconds back.
"I corrected the mistakes from last year and I had to be careful to
preserve my energy. Last year, I made a great mistake when I did not have
enough left at the finish and I could not react, but today was one of the
most tactical races I have run. I am proud with this win because there were
several champions running," said Lel who took home $80,000.
Hall, 24, too ran a smart race as the U.S. 20K and half-marathon record
holder stayed with the lead pack and even fronted the group at 35K before
the Team Running USA athlete fell back as the tempo continued. His solid
7th place 2:08:24 performance, #2 all-time U.S. individual behind Khalid
Khannouchi, bettered the previous U.S. debut record - held jointly by
Alberto Salazar and Alan Culpepper - by 1 minute and 17 seconds.
"Ryan showed the courage of a lion out on the course today. To be able to
run alongside the world record holder, the course record holder, the world
champion, defending champion and so many other marathon greats without even
a hesitation is quite phenomenal. To have a breakthrough race here under
such conditions is a tribute to his fitness and his confidence in his
training. To be able to follow in the footsteps of Deena and Meb's marathon
success was a tremendous advantage for him when tackling the marathon at
such a young age," said Team Running USA coach Terrence Mahon post-race.
"His wife Sara kept him calm and gave him the support that he needed
leading up to the race. He is glad to have this run finished and is excited
to be Sara's support team for her upcoming track season. He will return to
California for a well-deserved break, but is already excited to get ready
for the Olympic Trials this November in New York City," Mahon continued.
Hall's Team Running USA teammate and 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist
Meb Keflezighi unfortunately had to stop at 16 miles as the blister on his
left foot returned and it caused his right Achilles tendon to tighten.
Other notable DNFs included: former world record holder and 2002 race
champion Khannouchi, two-time Olympic gold medalist Haile Gebrselassie,
2004 Olympic Marathon champion Stefano Baldini, Galina Bogomolova and
Lyudmila Petrova.
In the women's race, the lead pack hit halfway in a fast for the conditions
1:09:58 which took a toll on most of the front runners. At mile 23, Zhou
threw down a 5:29 mile to pull away from Lornah Kiplagat and Gete Wami, and
Zhou's 5:09 24th mile sealed the victory, the first for a Chinese runner at
London and worth $105,000 ($55,000 plus a $50,000 time bonus). Wami of
Ethiopia was the women's runner-up in 2:21:45.
"This result shows that my training has worked and it was always my
ambition to win the London Marathon. I started to train for the marathon
only in 2002, so to win a race such as this one is fantastic. I am honored
to be the first Chinese person to win the race," Zhou said.
The Flora London Marathon is also part of the World Marathon Majors (WMM)
series and the updated WMM leaderboard can be found at:
WorldMarathonMajors.com. The other WMM races this year are the Boston
Marathon (April 16), real,- Berlin Marathon (September 30), LaSalle Bank
Chicago Marathon (October 7) and ING New York City Marathon (November 4),
plus the IAAF World Championships marathon races in Osaka (August 25 for
men and September 2 for women).
27th Flora London Marathon
London, GBR, Sunday, April 22, 2007
MEN
1) Martin Lel, KEN, 2:07:41, $80,000
2) Abderrahim Goumri, MAR, 2:07:44, $55,000
3) Felix Limo, KEN, 2:07:47, $47,500
4) Jaouad Gharib, MAR, 2:07:54, $40,000
5) Hendrick Ramaala, RSA, 2:07:56, $35,000
6) Paul Tergat, KEN, 2:08:06, $22,500
7) Ryan Hall, USA / CA, 2:08:24*, $20,000
8) Marilson Gomes dos Santos, BRA, 2:08:37, $14,000
9) Dan Robinson, GBR, 2:14:14, $4500
10) Andi Jones, GBR, 2:17:49, $2000
Other U.S.
14) Joe Driscoll, USA / NC, 2:20:49
*U.S. marathon debut record (previous record, tie, 2:09:41, Alan Culpepper
(CO), Chicago, 10/13/02 and Alberto Salazar (OR), New York City, NY,
10/26/80)
WOMEN
1) Zhou Chunxiu, CHN, 2:20:38, $105,000
2) Gete Wami, ETH, 2:21:45, $80,000
3) Constantina Tomescu-Dita, ROM, 2:23:55, $37,500
4) Salina Kosgei, KEN, 2:24:13, $20,000
5) Lornah Kiplagat, NED, 2:24:46, $17,500
6) Mara Yamauchi, GBR, 2:25:41, $30,000
7) Benita Johnson, AUS, 2:29:47, $3500
8) Liz Yelling, GBR, 2:30:44, $8500
9) Inga Abitova, RUS, 2:34:25, $1500
10) Berhane Adere, ETH, 2:39:11, $1000
Complete results at: London-Marathon.co.uk
Fastest U.S. Men's Marathon Debuts
Time / PL / Athlete / Location / Date
2:08:24 7 Ryan Hall (CA) London, GBR 04/22/07
2:09:41 6 Alan Culpepper (CO) Chicago, IL 10/13/02
2:09:41 1 Alberto Salazar (OR) New York City, NY 10/26/80
2:11:13 7 Rudy Chapa (OR) New York City, NY 10/23/83
2:11:17 10 Todd Williams (TN) Chicago, IL 10/19/97
U.S. Men's All-Time Marathon Top 10 Performers
2:05:38 Khalid Khannouchi, 30, Ossining, NY Flora London, GBR, 04/14/02
2:08:24 Ryan Hall, 24, Big Bear Lake, CA Flora London, GBR, 04/22/07
2:08:47a Bob Kempainen, 27, Minnetonka, MN Boston, MA, 04/18/94
2:08:52a Alberto Salazar, 23, Eugene, OR Boston, MA, 04/19/82
2:08:54a Dick Beardsley, 26, Excelsior, MN Boston, MA, 04/19/82
2:08:56 Abdi Abdirahman, 29, Tucson, AZ LaSalle Bank Chicago, IL, 10/22/06
2:09:00a Greg Meyer, 27, Wellesley, MA Boston, MA, 04/18/83
2:09:28a Bill Rodgers, 31, Melrose, MA Boston, MA, 04/16/79
2:09:32 David Morris, 29, Albuquerque, NM LaSalle Banks Chicago, IL,
10/24/99
2:09:32a Ron Tabb, 28, Eugene, OR Boston, MA, 04/18/83
a = point-to-point course which could be aided by slope and / or tailwind;
not eligible for U.S. record per USATF Rule 265.5
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