'Mungara Chases Unique Hat-Trick on Gold Coast'

https://www.iaaf.org/news/preview/2017-gold-coast-marathon-preview

Past Gold Coast Airport Marathon winners Risa Takenaka (Team Shiseido) and Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) return to Sunday's race to lead a sizable Japanese contingent in both the full and half marathons. 2015 women's winner Takenaka will be seeking to improve on her PB of 2:28:09 and to extend the Japanese women's winning streak on the Gold Coast to six years in a row. 2013 men's winner Kawauchi will be running Gold Coast for the sixth year in a row as his final tuneup for next month's London World Championships. His 70th career marathon, his goal at Gold Coast is a sub-2:10. If he clears 2:12 he will break Abebe Mekonnen's world record of 22 career sub-2:12 marathons.

Other top Japanese competition includes last year's 4th-placer Chiharu Takada (Team JR Higashi Nihon), Takenaka's husband Takuya Noguchi (Team Konica Minolta), and 2016 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon winner Ryo Hashimoto (Team GMO Athletes) who in just his second marathon ran 2:11:20 to beat Kawauchi in Hofu. Japanese runners in the half marathon include Takada's teammate Koji Gokaya (Team JR Higashi Nihon) in the men's race and Mizuki Tanimoto (Team Tenmaya) in the women's race.

The 39th Gold Coast Airport Marathon and ASICS Half Marathon will be streamed live here starting at 5:45 local time on Sunday, July 2. The half marathon is set to start at 6:00 a.m. with the wheelchair race at 7:15 and the marathon at 7:20. JRN's Brett Larner will be doing commentary on the marathon broadcast again this year.

39th Gold Coast Airport Marathon and ASICS Half Marathon

Elite Field Highlights
Gold Coast, Australia, 7/2/17
click here for detailed field listing
times listed are best marks within last three years except where noted

Men's Marathon
Kenneth Mungara (Kenya) - 2:08:32 (Milan 2015)
Jonah Chesum (Kenya) - 2:08:57 (Barcelona 2017)
Yuki Kawauchi (Japan) - 2:09:01 (Gold Coast 2016)
Tewelde Hidru (Eritrea) - 2:09:16 (Frankfurt 2015)
Matthew Kipsaat (Kenya) - 2:09:19 (Rome 2017)
Feyera Dadi (Ethiopia) - 2:09:42 (Dongying 2016)
Abraraw Tegegne (Ethiopia) - 2:09:47 (Ljubljana 2016)
Douglas Chebii (Kenya) - 2:09:48 (Seville 2017)
Chiharu Takada (Japan) - 2:10:03 (Fukuoka International 2014)
Takuya Noguchi (Japan) - 2:11:04 (Tokyo 2017)
Ryo Hashimoto (Japan) - 2:11:20 (Hofu 2016)
Yuta Takahashi (Japan) - debut - 1:02:13 half (2015)

Women's Marathon
Abebech Bekele (Ethiopia) - 2:23:33 (Dubai 2015)
Letebrhan Gebreslasea (Ethiopia) - 2:25:01 (Dongying 2017)
Mercy Kibarus (Kenya) - 2:26:52 (Seoul 2017)
Meseret Tolwak (Ethiopia) - 2:27:17 (Frankfurt 2015)
Leah Kiprono (Kenya) - 2:27:39 (Zhengzhou 2016)
Risa Takenaka (Japan) - 2:28:09 (Nagoya 2015)
Azusa Nojiri (Japan) - 2:28:54 (Yokohama Women's 2014)
Elizeba Cherono (Netherlands) - debut - 1:10:10 half (2015)

Men's Half Marathon
Koji Gokaya (Japan) - 1:04:20 (New Year Ekiden 4th Stage - 22.0 km, 2015)
Liam Adams (Australia) - 1:03:29 (Gold Coast 2015)
Hiroki Yamagishi (Japan) - 1:03:41 (Marugame 2015)
Keita Nagura (Japan) - 1:03:56 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2017)
Jeffrey Hunt (Australia) - 1:06:44 (Gold Coast 2014)

Women's Half Marathon
Sara Hall (U.S.A.) - 1:10:07 (Houston 2016)
Milly Clark (Australia) - 1:10:48 (Cardiff 2016)
Desiree Linden (U.S.A.) - 1:11:05 (NYC 2017)
Jess Tengrove (Australia) - 1:11:07 (San Diego 2015)
Cassie Fien (Australia) - 1:11:13 (Cardiff 2016)
Mizuki Tanimoto (Japan) - 1:12:39 (Nat'l Corp. Half 2017)

photo © 2017 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

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