Marathon News - Stunning Solo Performance for Kuzin at Linz Marathon

Apr-15-2007

Stunning Solo Performance for Kuzin at Linz Marathon
by David Monti
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

While the eyes of most marathon observers were on Paris and Rotterdam today, Ukranian Alexander Kuzin put in a stunning solo performance at the OMV Linz Marathon in Austria, setting the second-fastest time in the world this year.

Kuzin, 32, sliced close to three minutes off of his marathon personal best, running the fastest-ever marathon on Austrian soil: 2:07:33. His previous best was 2:10:09 set in Roma in 2006. He was timed at 63:36 at half-way and ran 63:55 for the second half. The race is held on a loop course and his performance was only topped by Mbarak Hassan Shami of Qatar who won at Paris today in 2:07:19.

Benjamin Itok of Kenya, the defending champion and course record holder, finished second in 2:12:06. Austrian Eva-Maria Gradwohl won the women's race in 2:37:36.

Kuzin is the husband of marathoner Tetyana Hladyr who won the 2006 Rome Marathon and was second at New York last November.