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Lead Stories: Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Wanjiru Sets Olympic Marathon Record in Victory

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 10:01 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Kenya’s Samuel Wanjiru used a blistering early pace and a late race surge to shatter the Olympic Record in winning the final distance event of these Games. Wanjiru’s time of 2:06:32 broke the old record by an astounding 2:49 and is even more remarkable considering the sweltering conditions in which he performed. Wanjiru was joined on the podium by silver medalist Jaouad Gharib of Morocco (2:07:16) and Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia (2:10:00). Despite his country’s dominance on the world marathon circuit, Wanjiru’s triumph was the first Olympic gold medal for Kenya.

The storylines prior to this race were focused mainly on the Kenyan contingent and their goal of ending their gold medal drought. Despite the withdrawal of four-time Boston Marathon champ Robert Cheruiyot, the Kenyan squad of Wanjiru, multiple-time New York and London champ Martin Lel, and reigning World Champion Luke Kibet would prove formidable. The Kenyans were expected to face stiff competition from the Moroccan and Ethiopian teams as well as notable individual challengers such as American Ryan Hall. Perhaps the biggest challenge for every runner in the field would be the conditions, as a flat course would be offset by the heat and humidity typical of summer in Beijing.
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Ritz, Hall, Sell finish in 9th, 10th, and 22nd

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Dathan Ritzenhein, Ryan Hall, and Brian Sell have completed their Olympic Marathons in fine fashion. Ritzenhein and Hall finished in 9th (2:11:59) and 10th (2:12:33) respectively with Brian Sell placing 22nd (2:16:07). Stayed tuned for more analysis of their races at thefinalsprint.com …

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Wanjiru Wins Olympic Marathon; Gharib and Kebede Claim Silver and Bronze

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru has won the Olympic Marathon, the first Olympic Marathon gold medal for the storied Kenyan distance team. Wanjiru’s time of 2:06:32 broke the old Olympic record by almost 3:00 (2:09:21 was the old record) and was a remarkable achievement given the steamy conditions. Morocco’s Jaouad Gharib took silver in while Ethiopia’s Tsegay Kebede took bronze, passing teammate Deriba Merga on the track.

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Wanjiru, Merga, Gharib only men left at 20 miles

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 8:57 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

The lead pack of the Olympic Marathon has been whittled to three- Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya, Deriba Merga of Ethiopia, and Jaouad Gharib of Morocco. Their 20 mile split was 1:35:52, still right around 2:05:40 pace. Wanjiru and Merga look very strong while Gharib has drifted off the pace numerous times but has been able to claw back to the front each time. Martin Lel and Yonas Kifle are now off the leaders, but running together as the closest pursuers. Americans Dathan Ritzenhein and Ryan Hall are in 10th and 13th, about 2:30 and 3:30 back respectively. Brian Sell is another 1:30 back from Hall in 18th place. Thus far the leaders have been able to deal with the heat admirably, but this last 10k promises to challenge every man in the race. Stay tuned….

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Lead pack down to 5 through 15 miles of Olympic Marathon

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 8:36 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

The lead pack has dwindled to five through 15 miles of the Olympic Marathon. These men- Martin Lel and Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya, Yonas Kifle of Eritrea, Deriba Merga of Ethiopia and Jaouad Gharib of Morocco- are still running around 2:05-2:06 pace. They came through the half marathon in 1:02:38 and 15 miles in 1:11:24. Their closest competitors are about 45 seconds back, with Americans Dathan Ritzenhein and Ryan Hall nearing the top 10 about 1:15 back. The temperature continues to rise as the morning progresses in Beijing. The question now will be who in the lead pack can hold on for another 11 miles, and who among the chasers can reel them in?

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Lead Pack of 7 intact through 10 miles of Olympic Marathon

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 8:20 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

A lead pack of 7 men have passed the 10 mile mark of the Olympic Marathon in a sizzling 47:46. This pack includes all three Kenyan entrants (Martin Lel, Samuel Wanjiru, and Luke Kibet) as well as Moroccans Abderrahim Goumri and Jaouad Gharib and Eritreans Yared Asmeron and Yonas Kifle. The Kenyans and Eritreans have been trading the lead, with Samuel Wanjiru periodically leading surges to pull the leaders further from the rest of the field. They are currently under 2:05 pace, quite ambitious considering the rising temperatures on this summer morning. The temperatures have risen nine degrees (into the mid-80s) since the start and will likely continue to rise in the next two hours.

Back in the pack, the Americans are running more conservatively and perhaps more intelligently. Dathan Ritzenhein is about 50 seconds back, Ryan Hall is about 70 seconds back, and Brian Sell is about 2:33 off the leaders. Look for these men to pick off competitors throughout the second half of the race as the pace takes its toll. Hall is perhaps drawing his inspiration from Deena Kastor’s bronze medal effort in 2004, where the American moved up throughout the race as her more ambitious competition faltered in the heat. Nonetheless, the Americans have a lot of ground to make up…

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Olympic Marathon Underway!

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 7:26 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

The Men’s Marathon is underway at the 2008 Olympic Games. Ninety two men toed the line including Americans Ryan Hall , Dathan Ritzenhein, and Brian Sell. The thermometer read 74 degrees at the start, with humidity at 67%. These conditions should become more severe and play a role as the morning progresses, even on the relatively flat Olympic course.

Among the favorites in this race are Kenyans Martin Lel and Sammy Wanjiru, Moroccans Abderrahim Goumri and Jaouad Gharib, Qatar’s Mubarak Shami, Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede, Japan’s Tsuyoshi Ogata, and of course Ryan Hall. Look for these men to set a brisk pace as conditions allow and set themselves up for a late race battle. Of course the marathon is one of the most unpredictable events out there, so it would be surprising if there are no upstarts who play a major role….

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2008 Beijing Olympic Preview: Men’s Marathon

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 6:00 PM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

ryan hall dathan ritzenhein brian sell qualify for 2007 olympic marathon team_250wide Men’s Marathon
The Schedule: Sunday, Aug 24 (live on NBC, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EDT)
The Americans: Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, Brian Sell
The Contenders: Sammy Wanjiru (KEN), Martin Lel (KEN), Robert Cheruyiot (KEN), Mubarak Shami (QAT), Abderrahim Goumri (MAR), Jaouad Gharib (MAR), Tsegaye Kebede (ETH), Tsuyoshi Ogata (JPN)
The Stats: Records, 2008 List, 2007 Worlds, 2004 Olympics
The Medal Picks: T&FN - Wanjiru, Lel, Goumri;
SI - Lel, Goumri, Kebede
The Story: If you look at the World Marathon Majors leader board, you would expect the race to come down to Lel, Cheruyiot and Goumri, or new half-marathon World Record holder Wanjiru. But that’s predicting the future based solely on what has happened in the past, and that’s an iffy proposition for the marathon.
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Bekele Completes Distance Double

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 8:29 AM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele has won the Olympic 5000 m, pulling away late to earn his second gold medal of these Games. Bekele clocked 12:57.82 for the distance, an Olympic Record and a remarkable feat considering the tactical nature of this race. Kenyans Eliud Kipchoge and Edwin Soi took silver and bronze in 13:02.80 and 13:06.22, respectively. Americans Bernard Lagat and Matt Tegenkamp finished in ninth and thirteenth, well out of medal contention.

The buildup for this race was not lacking in drama, as remarks made by Kenyan coach Julius Kirwa revealed the team tactics that his nation planned to employ. The Kenyan plan was focused on neutralizing reigning World Champion Bernard Lagat, a miler by trade who used his blistering kick to win off a slow pace last summer in Osaka. Of course the Kenyans must also have been concerned about their archrival Ethiopia, whose team of the Bekele brothers (Kenenisa and Tariku) along with Abreham Cherkos would prove formidable. Kenenisa Bekele owns the World Record in the 5000 m but had thus far failed to win a championship 5000m, due mainly to the physical toll of his dominance in the 10000 m.
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Dibaba Golden Again!

Posted August 22nd, 2008 at 8:59 AM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba has completed a rare distance double, winning the Women’s Olympic 5000m title tonight to add to the 10000m title she won last Friday. Dibaba stayed near the front throughout and used a punishing final kilometer to hold off 10000m silver medalist Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey and fellow Ethiopian Meseret Defar, who took silver and bronze respectively. Kara Goucher was the top American in 9th place and was closely followed by 10000m bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan in 10th.

Few races in these Games have been surrounded with as much intrigue as this one. There was the great individual matchup between Dibaba and Defar, two rivals who have traded the World Record in recent years (Dibaba currently owns it at 14:11.15 but Defar has run 14:12.88).
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