Tiruye Mesfin could indeed be in a position to break the course record on Sunday if weather conditions will be suitable. At the moment the forecast looks good, however there might be some wind. The Ethiopian youngster ran a superb 2:18:47 debut at the Valencia Marathon in December and believes she can run considerably faster in her second marathon on Sunday. “I am in fine form and my preparations went very well. I will try to break the course record, but at least I want to run a personal best,“ said Tiruye Mesfin, who hopes to be in the mix for Olympic qualification. „My plan is to run the first half in 68:00.“ While this would lead towards a world-class time of 2:16 she knows that it will probably not be enough to secure an Olympic spot. “I think I would have to go even faster, but there is some time left and I could do it in a later race.“
Qualifying for the 2024 Paris games will probably be easier for Stella Chesang since the competition for places in Uganda is not as tough as in Ethiopia. Running her debut marathon in Hamburg she is ready for an adventurous pace. “I want to go with the first and see how it goes for me and what is possible. I hope to achieve Olympic qualification,“ said Stella Chesang, who chose Hamburg for her first marathon “because of the fast course“. Her half marathon PB of 68:11 indicates that she could break the Ugandan record of 2:23:13. And her tenth place at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, in February shows that she is probably in very good form.
Kenya’s Bernard Koech is the fastest runner in the field with a PB of 2:04:09. He did not make it in time for Thursday’s press conference because of a strike at Hamburg airport. South American record holder Daniel do Nascimento arrived a day earlier and was present when the conference fittingly began in room Sao Paulo at the Radisson Hotel. A year ago the Brazilian, who recently trained in Uganda for a longer period, stunned with a time of 2:04:51 in Seoul. However the 24 year-old then collapsed with ten kilometers to go at the New York Marathon in November. Daniel do Nascimento ran world record pace in the first part of that race and was ahead by well over two minutes at half way. “I made a mistake in New York, it was not a good strategy. After 30k I felt sick and got stomach problems. For me marathon is a bit like a marriage – there are difficult times and better times,“ he said. “I will run more intelligently on Sunday and will surely finish this time.“ If he should succeed in breaking his personal best he would then most probably break the course record as well. Last year Cybrian Kotut improved the mark to 2:04:47, which is just four seconds quicker than do Nascimento’s South American record. Unfortunately the Kenyan is among a number of withdrawals the organisers have to cope with. Ethiopians Mule Wasihun and Muktar Edris, who wanted to run his debut in Hamburg, had to cancel their starts due to an injury as well.
After his sensational gold medal performance at the European Championships in Munich last summer Richard Ringer returns to the classic distance for the first time. Olympic qualification is his next major goal. “Preparing for Hamburg everything went really well, even better than expected,“ said Richard Ringer, who will choose a more conservative approach on Sunday. “I don’t want to take too many risk now as I really want to make sure that I achieve the Olympic qualifying time and go under 2:08.“ Richard Ringer’s PB stands at 2:08:49. “At the moment I hope that a time between 2.07:30 and 2:08:00 will be enough to qualify for Paris.“ Another German runner who will go for the Olympic standard in Hamburg is local runner Haftom Welday. The former Eritrean surprised with a 2:09:06 in Berlin last year and now hopes to run well under the Olympic qualifying time of 2:08:10. Since he will choose a more aggressive approach than Ringer there could be an interesting German battle in Hamburg as well.
Elite Runners with Personal Bests
MEN:
Bernard Koech KEN 2:04:09
Tsegaye Kebede ETH 2:04:38
Daniel do Nascimento BRA 2:04:51
Martin Kosgei KEN 2:06:41
Masresha Bere ETH 2:06:44
John Langat KEN 2:07:11
Henok Tesfay ERI 2:07:12
Joshua Kemboi KEN 2:08:09
Daniel Mateo ESP 2:08:22
Richard Ringer GER 2:08:49
Martin Musau UGA 2:09:04
Haftom Welday GER 2:09:06
Derlys Ayala PAR 2:10:11
Jeisson Suarez COL 2:10:51
Ernesto Zamora URU 2:11:26
Andy Buchanan AUS 2:12:23
Arttu Vattulainen FIN 2:13:29
Joshua Belet KEN Debut
Moses Koech KEN Debut
Demeke Tesfaye ETH Debut
Simon Debognies BEL Debut
WOMEN:
Tiruye Mesfin ETH 2:18:47
Sintayehu Tilahun ETH 2:22:19
Giovanna Epis ITA 2:23:54
Dorcas Tuitoek KEN 2:24:54
Marion Kibor KEN 2:25:15
Kumeshi Sichala ETH 2:26:01
Tsigie Haileslase ETH 2:27:08
Paolo Bonilla ECU 2:27:38
Obse Abdeta ETH 2:27:47
Rosa Chacha ECU 2:28:17
Zenebu Bihonzg ETH 2:28:59
Katja Goldring USA 2:29:01
Tereza Hrochova CZE 2:29:06
Molly Grabill USA 2:29:17
Loreta Kancyte LTU 2:30:48
Fabienne Königstein GER 2:32:35
Tabea Themann GER 2:33:51
Stella Chesang UGA Debut
Mekdes Woldu FRA Debut
Mary Granja ECU Debut
Ana Ferreira POR Debut
