NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 17 – Kenya’s Angela Tanui shaved off one minute and 29seconds off the previous mark to set a new Course Record at the Amsterdam Marathon, cutting the pate in 2hrs, 17mins, 57secs in winning the race.
Tanui dedicated the victory and the effort to fallen teammate Agnes Tirop whose life was taken early this week in a gruesome murder in Iten.
Tanui who was a last minute entrant into the race ran with a white ribbon, dedicating the entire race to her fallen teammate.
I am remembering my friend Agnes Tirop who died a terrible death. This ribbon was for me to remember Agnes. I came here, ran a course record and my new personal best. This is my dedication for Agnes Tirop,” Tanui said after the race.
Running as part of a lead group of six, Tanui covered the first 10km in 33:00.
Shortly after, Ethiopia’s Shasho Insermu dropped back from the lead pack, leaving Tanui, fellow Kenyan Maureen Chepkemoi and Ethiopia’s Haven Hailu, Gabiyanesh Ayele and Worknesh Alemu out in front.
They covered 15km in 49:48 before reaching the half-way point in 1:10:07, suggesting a sub-2:20 finish was possible with a slightly faster second half.
Alemu was the next to drift off the pack, and she trailed the leaders by 24 seconds at the 25km point, which was covered in 1:23:02.
Tanui, Hailu, Ayele and Chepkemoi stuck together through 30km (1:39:37), but Tanui then put in a surge and covered the next five-kilometre section in 15:51, giving her an 11-second lead over her opponents at 35km.
She continued to pull away from her pursuers in the closing stages and went on to cross the finish line in 2:17:57, smashing the previous course record of 2:19:26.
She also chopped more than two minutes from her previous best of 2:20:08 set earlier this year, and now moves to 10th on the world all-time list.
Chepkemoi came through to take second place in 2:20:18, overtaking Hailu shortly before the finish. Hailu finished one second adrift in third, while Ayele was further behind in fourth (2:21:22).
-Additional reporting by World Athletics
