Press Release - Frankfurt Marathon - 10/9/19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                 Mainova Frankfurt Marathon on October 27
  
  Course Record Holder Meskerem Assefa returns to defend women's title,
      Junior World Record Holder Tsegaye Mekonnen joins men's field
 
Last year's women's champion and course record holder Meskerem Assefa will 
return to run the Mainova Frankurt Marathon while another world-class 
Ethiopian distance runner will also be on the start line on October 27: 
Tsegaye Mekonnen, the junior men's world record holder in the marathon. In 
addition to these new recruits to the elite line-up, two more athletes will 
be joining them in the race for top prizes: Kenya's Olympic bronze 
medallist in the 5,000m in 2008, Sylvia Kibet and last year's German 
champion Fabienne Königstein. Around 14,000 runners are expected to 
complete the field in the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon which is an IAAF Gold 
Label race, the highest category in road racing. Further details can be 
found at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com
 
"The addition of Meskerem Assefa and Tsegaye Mekonnen means two more top 
stars have joined our race. It says a lot for the quality of the Mainova 
Frankfurt Marathon that these two athletes want to run their autumn 
marathon here. If weather conditions are right, we have a good chance for 
very fast races," said the race director Jo Schindler.
 
A year ago Meskerem Assefa set a course record of 2:20:36 despite windy 
conditions which was also her personal best. The 34-year-old has the 
potential to target a sub-2:20 time for her latest appearance in Frankfurt. 
She may well have company in this challenge since the Kenyan Valary Aiyabei 
has a best of 2:20:53, only 17 seconds slower than Meskerem's course record 
in Frankfurt.
 
Sylvia Kibet can also be expected to produce a considerable improvement on 
her fastest time. The 35-year-old won in Rabat in Morocco in April, setting 
a personal best of 2:25:52. Her pedigree for the marathon includes 
impressive speed over shorter distances on the track which helped her win 
two silver medals over 5,000m in the 2009 and 2011 World Championships and 
an Olympic bronze for the same distance in 2008.
 
Another newcomer to the women's race in the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon is 
Fabienne Königstein, better known as Fabienne Amrhein. The 26-year-old made 
her breakthrough last year, improving to 2:32:34 to win the women's title 
in Düsseldorf, followed by becoming the top German finisher in 11th place 
in the European Championship Marathon in Berlin. Injuries have prevented 
her from racing in the early part of 2019 but she is likely to be aiming 
for the Olympic qualifying time of 2:29:30 in Frankfurt.
 
Tsegaye Mekonnen is a runner with enormous potential. In 2014 the Ethiopian 
was the shooting start of the international marathon scene, running, as an 
18-year-old, an unofficial junior world record in Dubai on his debut at the 
distance of 2:04:32 (the IAAF does not record official marathon world 
records for juniors). Since then Tsegaye Mekonnen's progress has been 
restricted by a succession of injuries. He also suffered misfortune when 
making his Frankfurt debut in 2014, recovering from a fall during the race 
but subsequently dropping out. In 2017 Tsegaye Mekonnen won his second 
marathon with 2:07:26 in Hamburg. He has not raced internationally this 
year but the flat and fast course in Frankfurt should give him the 
opportunity to show what he can do.
 
More Information and online entry is available at: 
www.frankfurt-marathon.com 

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