Supremacy battle between Kenya, Ethiopia in running continues (2)

ROAD RACING

With the “Big Five” marathons of London, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and New York in addition to the World Championships being the barometer of road racing, Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes drew top billing.

At April's London Marathon, Olympic champion, Samuel Wanjiru set the course record of 2:05:20 to beat a field including Ethiopia's bronze medallist from Beijing, Tsegay Kebede (2:05:20) who was second. In the women's race, Ethiopia's Berhane Adele (fifth) dipped ahead of twice world champion, Catherine Ndereba in seventh.

Over to Boston a week, the honours were shared when Ethiopia's Deriba Merga and Kenya's Salina Kosgei won the men and women races. Next was August's World Championships where Kenya's Abel Kirui and Emmanuel Mutai raced to gold and silver medals in the men's race at the expense of Kebede who settled for bronze.

In the women's event, China's Bai Xue and Japan's Yoshimi Ozakitook the top medals with Ethiopia's Aselefech Mergia taking bronze where Kenyans were not even in the picture.

Shortly after at the Berlin Marathon, Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie and Atsede Besuye made it a men's and women's double for their nation. However, four-time winner Gebrselassie failed in his bid to lower his 2:03:59 world record he set at the same race in 2008 in the event organizers denied Wanjiru the chance to chase the Ethiopian's mark.

The Olympic champion got some form of retribution at October's Chicago Marathon where he ran the 2:05:41 course record in the men's race to be confirmed as his country's third winner of the 500,000 U.S. dollar World Marathon Majors men's title after Robert Cheruiyot and Martin Lel.

The November 7 New York Marathon witnessed Eritrea born American Meb Keflezighi's burst was enough to compel Cheruiyot to accept second where no Ethiopians were among top 50 finishers. Ethiopia's Derartu Tulu topped the women's race with Kenya's hope Salina Kosgei ending fifth.

At the World Half Marathon championships in Birmingham on October 11, Kenya's Mary Keitany and Philes Ongori took gold and silver with Ethiopia's Aberu Kebede in bronze position. The men's event was won for a fourth time by Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese with Kenya's Bernard Kipyego accepting silver.

<i>Source: Xinhua </i>
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