Rebecca Tanui banking on experience to conquer Vienna
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Reading Time: 3min | Fri. 19.04.24. | 20:40
Kenyans Faith Chepkoech and Winny Kosgei, part of this year's "OPEC Fund Rookie Team" in Vienna run their marathon debuts on Sunday
Venice Marathon 2023 champion Rebecca Tanui is targeting fast times as she makes a return to Vienna on Sunday 21 April.
Tanui will have the advantage of knowing the course of the Vienna City Marathon since she was fourth last year with 2:26:34 in warm weather conditions.
“Last year I was unlucky since I was injured two weeks before the race. During training a motorcycle hit me from behind. This year I am fine," Tanui offered. "The cooler conditions forecasted are better than the warm weather we had last year so I hope to run a personal best (PB) on Sunday.”
Tanui is joined on the course by compatriot Shyline Torotich who won the Enschede Marathon last year with a personal best of 2:22:45.
The Kenyan duo, however, faces stiff competition from two women with better PB’s, Namibia’s Helalia Johannes (2:19:52) and Ethiopian Nazret Weldu (2:20:29) of Eritrea who targets a last-minute qualification for the Olympic Games in August.
Weldu broke the national marathon record at the World Championships in Eugene in 2022 with 2:20:29. She placed fourth and missed the bronze medal by just eleven seconds.
She was additionally unlucky since the qualifying period for the Olympic Games in Paris did not start until a few months later. She ran two impressive marathons in 2023 but still did not achieve an Olympic qualifier.
She was sixth in Boston with a fine 2:23:25. However, this course is not record-eligible, so World Athletics does not accept the Boston times for qualification.
Next, Weldu produced another strong performance at the World Championships, finishing eighth in Budapest - this time she was outside the 2:26:50 Olympic qualifying time with 2:27:23.
“I have the big chance to, finally, get the time here in Vienna. My goal is to run a fast time on Sunday. I will see how it goes during the race. If there should be problems then I will make sure to run just fast enough to qualify for Paris," explained Weldu, who trains in Ethiopia alongside the likes of 2022 World Champion Gotytom Gebreslase who was runner-up in Budapest last year.
Meanwhile, Johannes is the fastest woman on the start list with a PB of 2:19:52. The 43-year-old is not expected to join the first group which is likely to run roughly a 2:22 pace as she targets the Olympic qualifying time of 2:26:50.
Kenyans Faith Chepkoech and Winny Kosgei are part of this year's "OPEC Fund Rookie Team" in Vienna. They will both run their marathon debuts on Sunday.
ELITE WOMEN:
Helalia Johannes NAM 2:19:52
Nazret Weldu ERI 2:20:29
Shyline Torotich KEN 2:22:45
Rebecca Tanui KEN 2:23:09
Julia Mayer AUT 2:26:43
Jovana de la Cruz Capani PER 2:26:49
Lilia Fisikovici MLD 2:27:26
Zaida Ramos PER 2:29:49
Diana Bogantes Gonzalez CRI 2:32:09
Alina Armas NAM 2:33:09
Faith Chepkoech KEN Debut
Winny Kosgei KEN Debut
