18th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships - Birmingham 2009

News

The World of the Half Marathon in 2009

02 Oct 2009

Review of greatest 13.1 mile performances so far this year

It is not often an athlete will be billed as favourite for a major event having not run the distance during that year. But when the name of Zersenay Tadese is announced to the crowd in Birmingham on Sunday week, they know they will be in the midst of greatness.

The brilliant Eritrean will be one of the stars of the show at the IAAF/EDF Energy World Half-marathon Championships as he bids to win for a fourth successive time. But when you look back at the event this year, his absence has been striking.

Tadese has been concentrating on other areas of the sport, with second place at the World Cross Country Championships in Amman in March and then silver behind Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele in a thrilling 10,000m at the World Championships in Berlin in August.

It has still been an outstanding year for the half-marathon with Kenya once more being the dominant force. Their athletes occupy the top seven places in the World rankings.

Patrick Makau Musyoki set the standard back in February at the Ras Al Khaimah event in the United Arab Emirates with victory in 58:52 in what proved to be a superb race.

He triumphed by just 0.07 seconds ahead of countryman Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich whose 58:59 puts him third in the rankings, the pair separated by fellow Kenyan Sammy Kirop Kitwara.

Kitwara will pose the biggest threat to Tadese next week because he is very much the man in a rich vein of form. Last month, in Rotterdam, he won in style in 58:58 to show his countdown to Birmingham is proving close to perfect.

If that was not enough, his year began in spectacular style when he won The Hague Half-marathon in March ahead of Haile Gebrselassie – the only man to have beaten the great Ethiopian in 2009.

Musyoki has moved to the marathon. He was fourth in Rotterdam and is not in the team in Birmingham, yet Kenya will take some stopping.September brought an even greater status to the Half-marathon when the BUPA Great North Run was staged between Newcastle and South Shields.

Martin Lel, of Kenya, won in 59:32 ahead of teammate Kiplimo Kimutai in 59.44 and Jaouad Gharib, of Morocco, in 60:04.

Kimutai is in Birmingham… and so is Paula Radcliffe.

The British star has run only once this year, and that was over the half-marathon distance in New York in August when she produced a typically-impressive display to triumph in 69:45.

But it not as quick as the world’s fastest, that honour this year lies with Kenyan Mary Jepkosgei Keitany who won in Lille last month in a brilliant 67:00.
The women’s race at the Great North saw a surprise victor in Portugal’s Jessica Augusto. She stunned the field to win in 69:08, never looking tired and powering along the last mile on the sea front of South Shields ahead Ethiopia’s Berhane Adere, who was second in 69:42, with Ana Dulce Felix, also of Portugal, third in 69:48.

It was some performance. As Augusto said: “I knew I was in good shape but with so many good Ethiopians and Kenyans here I didn’t expect to get a medal and I was surprised when they did not challenge me when I pulled away.

“This is the biggest win of my career and to also run my fastest half marathon time is something I am really happy with.”

Keep an eye on www.birminghamwhm2009.com for more essential World Half build-up.