A record of more than 7,100 runners will compete in the 2007 Athens Classic Marathon on Monday held for its 25th consecutive year.
Some well known international participants along with the best Greeks will start the race at the ancient Marathon village and run to the Athens Stadium where the first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in 1896.
A strong Kenyan team is expected to dominate men's race with Cheruyiot Willie Kipkurui among the best known of them.
The winner of the Eindhoven Marathon in 2003 and 2004 has a personal best at 2:08:48, the fastest among all participants who are due to line-up on Sunday.
Other favorites include Steven Loruo, winner of 2006 Brussels Marathon and Hong Kong Marathon this year, and Kiptanui Kimutai, the 2006 Philadelphia champion.
Women's pool were spearheaded by Russia's Svetlana Ponomarenko, who won a series of events in 2006 including marathons in Dallas and Frankfurt.
The main rivals of the 37-year-old will be her compatriot Viktoriya Zuyeva, third in the 2006 Moscow Marathon, Kenyans Rose Chepkmpoi Chipchir and Cheroko Chemareg, and Ethiopia's Gurmu Mulyie Lema, who was second in Barcelona last year.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article