Skip to main content

Berlin Marathon - Results

by Brett Larner

Hot conditions in the final kilometers of the 2009 Berlin Marathon kept times slower than anticipated. With Team Kanebo's Tomohiro Seto a no-show, three elite Japanese men joined the field behind the anticipated duel between Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia and Duncan Kibet of Kenya. Former national record holder Atsushi Fujita (Fujitsu) and 2009 World Championships marathon alternate Kensuke Takahashi (Team Toyota) ran together in the second pack, relaxing through a slow first 10 km in 30:53 before the pace began to ratchet downward. At halfway the pair were right together in 1:04:18, Fujita well on track for his sub-2:10 target and Takahashi looking smooth.

When the pack broke apart in the second half Takahashi began to drift away and by 40 km was 45 seconds behind Fujita, who had fallen off sub-2:10 pace himself. Takahashi rallied for a strong finish but could only come within 6 seconds of Fujita by the goal line. Fujita was 8th overall in 2:12:54, Takahashi 9th in 2:13:00. Former Team Subaru runner Girma Assefa of Ethiopia beat both in his marathon debut, finishing 6th in 2:09:58.

Sanspo.com reports that Takahashi had problems after the race when he was selected for a post-race doping test. Takahashi needed to show his passport for ID purposes but had forgotten it at his hotel. Takahashi was forced to wait in the doping control tent for an extended period of time while one of his coaches struggled with road closures to return to the hotel. The coach eventually managed to reach the hotel and fax a copy of Takahashi's passport to anti-doping officials.

2008 Hofu Yomiuri Marathon winner Kentaro Ito (Team Kyowa Hakko Bio) started at what for him was a solid pace, 16:06 for the initial 5 km, maintaining it with mechanical precision as he went through 20 km in 1:04:26. From there he began to fade, clocking 17:01 between 20 and 25 km and ultimately falling as far as a 19:50 split from 35 to 40 km. Television coverage of women's winner Atsede Habtamu of Ethiopia showed her fly past a staggering Ito in the final kilometers. Ito finished 38th in a lowly 2:25:27, overtaken by Shigeaki Hirata (Takigahara SDF Base), the top Japanese finisher at the 2008 Kawaguchiko Marathon, who was 29th in 2:24:38.

Three-time Fuji Mountain Race defending champion Yuri Kanbara (Team Lafine), running Berlin as practice for November's Yokohama International Women's Marathon, was the top Japanese woman in 3:08:35.

Click here for complete results from the 2009 Berlin Marathon.

2009 Berlin Marathon - Top Finishers
click athlete names for splits and finish videos

Men
1. Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) - 2:06:08
2. Francis Kiprop (Kenya) - 2:07:04 - PB
3. Negari Terfa (Ethiopia) - 2:07:41 - PB
-----
6. Girma Assefa (Ethiopia) - 2:09:58 - debut
8. Atsushi Fujita (Team Fujitsu) - 2:12:54
9. Kensuke Takahashi (Team Toyota) - 2:13:00
29. Shigeaki Hirata (Takigahara SDF Base) - 2:24:28
38. Kentaro Ito (Team Kyowa Hakko Bio) - 2:25:27

Women
1. Atsede Habtamu (Ethiopia) - 2:24:47
2. Silvia Skvortsova (Russia) - 2:26:24
3. Mamitu Daska (Ethiopia) - 2:26:38
-----
61. Yuri Kanbara (Team Lafine) - 3:08:45

(c) 2009 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...
3 comments
Read more

Osaka Marathon Preview

The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing. Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no do...
1 comment
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...
Post a Comment
Read more