During his first marathon participation, Richard Douma ran the limit for the European Championships in Munich. De Zaankanter finished eleventh in the Rotterdam marathon this afternoon in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 21 seconds. Abdi Nageeye grabbed the victory in a new Dutch record.
For a long time, Douma, originally a middle-distance runner, formed a couple with Björn Koreman. The North Hollander had to stop after 35 kilometers and let Koreman go, who ran in 2 hours and 9 minutes. Douma recovered well and ran his first marathon anyway. Koreman also struggled in the final kilometers but finished in ninth place in 2:10.39. He also stayed well below the European Championship limit of 2:13.00. The limit for the World Cup (2:10.00) was just too high.
Historic victory Nageeye
The win in Rotterdam went to Abdi Nageeye in 2:04.56. In a blistering sprint after a neck-and-neck sprint on the Coolsingel, he beat Leul Gebreselassie. With that, the winner of Olympic silver smashed his Dutch record (2:06.17). Moreover, Nageeye is the first Dutchman in its 41-year history to win the Rotterdam marathon.
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In the women’s race, Nienke Brinkman again showed an excellent performance in her second marathon. After her sensational debut in Valencia (2:26.34) at the end of last year, she erased Lornah Kiplagat’s 2003 national record from the books in Rotterdam. The 2:23.43 has been tightened to 2:22.51. With that, the number two in Rotterdam conceded less than a minute to the winner in the women’s Haven Hailu.