Sisay Lemma Kaseya, winner of this year's Vienna City Marathon, and his Ethiopian compatriot Koren Jelela Yal are two high quality late additions to the elite field for the Frankfurt Marathon on Sunday, October 25. Both athletes will be contenders for top honours in the race beside the River Main. Entries for the Frankfurt Marathon, which has an IAAF Gold Label, the highest category awarded to an international road race, are still open and can be accessed at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com. The race organisers expect approximately 15,000 participants.
All
the signs from his career so far are that Sisay Lemma can produce a
special performance in the Frankfurt Marathon. The Ethiopian, who began
his career at the age of 17 running barefoot for lack of running shoes,
achieved a breakthrough this year after he had already impressed by
winning the Warsaw Marathon with 2:09:02 in 2013.
He began 2015 in fine style with a fifth place and a big improvement on his personal best with 2:07:06
in the traditionally high quality Dubai Marathon in January. This was
just the beginning to a year which has already indicated his ability for
the big occasion. Vienna in April was the setting for the biggest
victory of his career so far. "If it hadn't been windy and had I been
put under more pressure from my rivals, I could have run 2:05," reflected Sisay Lemma after he broke away from the field at 27 kilometres and won by almost five minutes in 2:07:31.
Frankfurt could mark a major step forward as Lemma targets Olympic
qualification for Rio next year. He'll certainly have plenty of African
rivals to spur him on in Frankfurt as well as Arne Gabius, who will be
aiming for the German record of 2:08:47.
Another
addition to the elite start list is Koren Jelela, a proven performer of
world class, who has returned to top flight competition after maternity
this year. The goal in Frankfurt for the 28-year-old Ethiopian will be
to regain the level of her past performances where her best stands at 2:22:43
in winning the Toronto Marathon in 2011. This performance ranks her as
the fastest woman in the field. Other notable successes include winning
the 2011 Mumbai Marathon and the Istanbul title a year later. She also
finished third in Paris in 2011.
More Information and online entry is available at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com
Photo source: www.photorun.net