London Marathon 2008: Elite Women’s Race Preview
Posted April 11th, 2008 at 3:30 PM by Jared Markowitz
Section: News & Results, Marathons
The women’s competition at the 2008 Flora London Marathon promises to be intense despite the absence of perennial favorite and World Record holder Paula Radcliffe, who recently withdrew due to a toe ailment. The race will still include a pair of Ethiopian stars as well as several other first class British marathoners. These women will be racing for one of the most prestigious titles in the marathon world as well as points in the World Marathon Majors contest.
Leading the way for the women will be the inaugural World Marathon Major Champion, Gete Wami of Ethiopia. Wami had a stellar track career before turning to the marathon, and has finished on the podium in numerous world class marathons. She won last fall’s Berlin marathon and finished second at London last year (to China’s Chunxiu Zhou). Her lifetime best of 2:21:34 ranks near the top of the field but is almost a minute slower than that of fellow Ethiopian Berhane Adere, whose 2:20:42 is the fastest in the field. Adere also sports an impressive marathon resume with two Chicago victories and the 2008 Dubai title to her credit. Adere will be looking to avenge a few uncharacteristically poor performances at London as her fourth and eleventh place finishes the last two years are far below her standards.
Joining the Ethiopian twosome will be a pair of Romanian runners out for glory. Constantina Tomescu-Dita has a blistering 2:21:30 PB and will join Adriana Pirtea who will be out to avenge a devastating loss to Berhane Adere in last fall’s Chicago marathon. Pirtea got caught by Adrere in the last 200m of that race while celebrating what she thought was a solo victory. Doubtless she will be out for revenge in London!
A few other notable contenders will be out to steal the show this Sunday, including last year’s fourth place finisher Selina Kosgei (KEN), Russians Svetlana Zakharova (2:21:31 PB) and Lyudmila Petrova (2:22:33 PB), Germany’s Irina Mikitenko(2:24:51 PB) and Australia’s Benita Johnson (2:22:36 PB). Johnson is fresh off an impressive 11th place showing that led the Australian team to a third place finish at the World Cross Country championships, so she will be hoping that success translates to the roads.
Finally, there will be a strong British presence in this race that will undoubtedly be strongly supported by the home crowd. Leading the way will be Mara Yamauchi, who recently won the 2008 Osaka Marathon in 2:25:10. She will be challenged by Kathy Butler, Liz Yelling, and Hayley Haining, who are all competing for the third and final spot on the British Olympic team.
With such a strong field assembled and so much at stake, the women’s race at the 2008 Flora London Marathon should be a classic battle. The fast course and famously enthusiastic crowds should provide world class times and no shortage of drama.
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Tags: adriana pirtea, benita johnson, Berhane Adere, chunxiu zhou, Constantina Tomescu Dita, elite women, elite womens field, flora london marathon, Gete Wami, Hayley Haining, Irina Mikitenko, kathy butler, Liz Yelling, London Marathon, London marathon preview, london2008, london2008news, Mara Yamauchi, marathon coverage, marathon preview, paula radcliffe, race coverage, racing news, Selina Kosgei, Svetlana Zakharova Lyudmila Petrova
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[…] London Marathon 2008: Elite Women’s Race Preview The women’s competition at the 2008 Flora London Marathon promises to be intense despite the absence of perennial favorite and World Record holder Paula Radcliffe, who recently withdrew due to a toe ailment. The race will still include … credit : http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2008/04/london-marathon-2008-elite-women%E2%80%99s-race-preview/ […]
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