Bernard Koech won the 37th Hamburg Marathon. The Kenyan prevailed on Sunday in 2:04:09 hours – a course record! European champions Richard Ringer and Fabienne Königstein broke the Olympic standard for Paris 2024 with strong performances.
Ringer, who sensationally ran to the European Championship title in 2:10:21 hours last year at the European Championships in Munich, ran a race that was as controlled as it was phenomenal and set a house record of 2:08:08 to the thunderous cheers of the spectators Hours finish sixth. “I had to fight the last few meters, but I’m happy to have checked the personal best and the norm once,” said the 34-year-old from LC Rehlingen to NDR.
While Ringer ran like clockwork and landed on target, Haftom Welday had adopted a very different strategy in just his third marathon. The man from Hamburg went “all in” and ended up eighth in 2:09:39 hours, missing the target for Paris (2:08:10). “I had stomach cramps after 15 kilometers and just wanted to run after 30 kilometers,” reported the 33-year-old, who once fled Ethiopia: “I’ve never run to the limit and have given everything. Next time I won’t go that big Risk.”
Koech had needed 26 hours to get here because of the airport strike in Hamburg – but there was no sign of the imponderables on Sunday. The Kenyan ran a smooth, easy race and set a personal best. He was over half a minute faster than Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut when he set the course record last year (2:04:47).
Königstein boldly runs to the norm for Paris
In the women’s race, Fabienne Königstein sensationally smashed her personal best of 2:32:34 hours, which she set in 2018, after a courageous race of 2:25:48 hours. The reward: Olympic standard (2:26:50) and first place in the German best-of-the-year list.
Surprisingly, Dorcas Tuitoek won in 2:20:09 hours. The Kenyan passed Ethiopia’s Tiruye Mesfin in the last few meters, who experienced drama. The favourite, who was aiming for the course record, lost her strength on the home stretch, stumbled and fell, saw Tuitoek running past and finally fought her way to the finish in second.
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sports club | 04/23/2023 | 09:00 a.m
