April 21, 2013 has gone down in the history books. Eliud Kipchoge (37/Kenya) won his first marathon in Hamburg with a course record (2:05:30 hours). The beginning of a world career.
Kipchoge became the best runner of all time and is the first person to go under two hours (1:59:40) over the 42.195 kilometers under laboratory conditions.
His best time in Hamburg still stands. On Sunday at 9.30 a.m., a hot pack is on the hunt for the 36th Haspa Marathon…
Four men at the starting line were already faster. Among them the No. 1 Abebe Negewo (37/Ethiopia, 2:04:51 hours) and the Hamburg winner of 2017 Tsegaye Mekonnen (27/Ethiopia, 2:04:32 hours).
“We’re pretty optimistic that 2:05 is possible with this group,” says Athlete Manager Jurrie van der Velden (38). “The athletes have trained really hard in the last two years and want to seize the opportunity after Corona.”
Prize money of EUR 40,000 is available for each record (25,000 wins + 15,000 record bonuses).
For women, the chance (2:21:55 hours) is even greater. The hope lies in 10 km world record holder Yalemzerf Yehualaw (22/Ethiopia), who is running her first marathon. “The women’s field is much stronger than ever before,” enthuses van der Velden.
The Dutchman experienced something new on Thursday. All top athletes missed the press conference! The plane broke down in Uganda. The groups from Ethiopia and Kenya missed their connection in Istanbul. And a faction that was supposed to come via Paris got stuck there! “I’ve been doing this for 16 years,” says van der Velden. “But that’s never happened to me before…”
Kipchoge will follow the race online in Kenya. Van der Velden: “If the record falls, that would be the natural progression. Eliud will have no problem with that.”
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