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Women's Marathon-Marathon femmes |
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Romania's Lidia SIMON finally mastered the art of alchemy. After a total of seven silvers and bronzes from Olympic or world championship marathons and half marathons, to slightly turn a phrase, she managed to turn base medals into gold.
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SIMON's tactics were masterful. She ignored a doomed attempt, by fellow Romanian Constantina DITA, to run away from the field. Then she stayed with the main pack and when the race got serious, covered every increase in tempo, until entering the stadium complex, she sprinted clear for an emphatic victory. Japan's Reiko TOSA took silver and Russia's Svetlana ZAKHAROVA, the bronze.
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In a do or die move just after the start of today's women's marathon, Romania's Constantina DITA took up the pace and pulled away from the entire field.
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Nearly a minute ahead by 5km, DITA stretched the gap to over one and quarter minutes by 10km and just under two minutes by 15km, in an audacious attempt to win from the gun.
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However, it was roughly at this point that the main chasing pack first halted the growth of the gap, and then started slowly to eat into the lead.
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The challenging pack of about 15 runners, contained the main favourites. 1996 Olympic champion Fatima ROBA and her Ethiopian team mates Elfnesh ALEMU and Shitaye GEMECHE, Romania's Sydney silver medallist Lidia SIMON, and three of the strong Japanese squad led by Reiko TOSA, who was running her first marathon of the year.
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Helping this pack to start reeling the leader in was, Germany's Sonja KROLIK and Russia's Lyubov MORGUNOVA.
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By 25km the gap had reduced down to just over half a minute. DITA was being caught rapidly. At 30km her lead was halved and at precisely 1:52:08, the group, now headed by TOSA caught and immediately swept past DITA who quickly fell away.
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Once in the lead, the large pack soon got down to real business. TOSA was obviously determined not to be headed and immediately forced the pace, with just SIMON, Russia's Svetlana ZAKHAROVA, and her Japanese team mate Yoko SHIBUI for company.
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KROLIK, MORGUNOVA and Kenya's Florence BARSOSIO were off this group but still running well.
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TOSA's drive was relentless and one by one, with the exception of Lidia SIMON she put pay to her challengers. Though they were running strongly, ZAKHAROVA was the first to fall away, and SHIBUI was the next to drop back, and these two were left to battle for bronze.
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So approximately two and a quarter hours into the race, it was just down to two women. TOSA, always keeping the thickness of a vest in front, was matched stride by stride by SIMON.
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Significantly, in stadium road, it was SIMON who stuck her head in front for the first time. Suddenly, there was light between the two leaders which quickly developed into a five metre and on entering the stadium, a ten metre gap.
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SIMON's break was decisive and by the time she crossed the finish, to huge applause, she had established a 20 metre margin, such was the strength of her sprint. Her winning time was 2:26:01hrs, TOSA was just six seconds behind (2:26:06)for silver and ZAKHAROVA won the battle for bronze (2:26:18).
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Nine runners went under 2:30. Ethiopia's Shitaye GEMECHE's 2:28:40 was a personal best (7th place). Early leader DITA finished in 10th place in a new personal best, 2:30:38. 1996 Olympic champion Fatima ROBA was back in 13th, 2:31:10.
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| Sydney 6th placer Elfenesh ALEMU of Ethiopia did not finish. |
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