Press Release - Vienna City Marathon - 5/7/06

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
                              Contact: Andreas Meier (Press Officer)
                                       +43 – 650 350 1488 
                                       

           
   Morocco's Lahoucine Mrikik breaks course record with 2:08:20 while 
           Japan's Tomo Morimoto takes Vienna with 2:24:33
 
The 23rd edition of the Vienna City Marathon produced one of the best 
quality races in its history. While the men’s race saw a course record 
the women’s race was won by a Japanese runner for the first time in the 
history of the race. It was Morocco’s Lahoucine Mrikik who surprisingly 
took the race with a new course record of 2:08:20 hours. Peter Chebet 
(Kenya) was second with 2:08:56 while Dmytrov Baranovsky (Ukraine) was 
third in 2:10:56. Meanwhile for Japan another world class marathon 
runner emerged in Vienna: 22 year-old Tomo Morimoto ran 2:24:33 to win 
the race in front of fellow Japanese Chieko Yamasaki (2:29:09). Mary 
Ptikany (Kenya) was third with 2:31:29.

In fine weather conditions 23,961 runners participated in the various 
events of the Vienna City Marathon. At the start the temperature was 
12° Celsius. While there was hardly any wind it was getting warm during 
parts of the race when the sun came out. This year’s motto of the 
Vienna City Marathon was: Run Vienna, enjoy Mozart. Classical music was 
played along the 42.195 k course through the city. Vienna City Marathon 
has positioned itself among international marathons with this 
distinctive feature.

In the men’s race the beginning was a fast one. 5 k were run in 15:05 
minutes and the 10 k mark was reached in 30:16. But some of the early 
sped was lost in the middle of the race. Eight runners were in the 
leading group that passed the half way mark in 64:22 minutes. The 
course record of Samson Kandie (Kenya), who had run 2:08:35 two years 
ago, then seemed to slip away when the splits were around 3:05 minutes 
for several kilometres. 30 k was reached in 1:31:48. It was shortly 
before that point when the group broke up. Mrikik and Chebet took the 
lead and at around 38 k the Moroccan increased the pace once more. He 
clocked 2:55 minutes for the next kilometre and decisively left behind 
Chebet, whose brother Joseph had won the race three years ago. “I had 
chosen Vienna because I new that the pace would suit me. It was my aim 
to run sub 2:10 but I did not expect a 2:08 before. But today 
everything was perfect: my form and the weather conditions”, the 34 
year-old winner said. Lahoucine Mrikik, who partially trained with 
former London Marathon winner Abdelkader El Mouaziz in Morocco, had 
entered the race with a personal best of 2:13:31.

In the women’s race the 22 year-old winner Tomo Morimoto produced the 
12th fastest time of the year with 2:24:33. It was the second fastest 
time ever run in Vienna behind the 2:23:47 course record of Maura 
Viceconte (Italy) from 2000. Chieko Yamasaki and Mary Ptikany had 
passed 10 k together with Morimoto in 34:24 minutes. It was already 
before the 20 k mark when Tomo Morimoto, who had run her marathon debut 
this year in Osaka clocking 2:27:46, broke away from the others. “I 
felt fine and saw the chance of running a very good time”, the winner 
later explained. Passing half way in 1:12:31 she was already 25 seconds 
clear of Chieko Yamasaki. “Now it is my aim to qualify for the World 
Championships in Osaka next year”, Tomo Morimoto said. Fourth placed 
Susanne Pumper broke the Austrian record with 2:32:21.

For more information please visit: www.vienna-marathon.com
or contact Andreas Maier (Press Officer) by phone (+43 – 650 350 1488)
or E-mail: 



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