Among those striving for the trip to Rio will be the fastest man in the world at the distance this year, Tesfaye Abera. The 24 year old triumphed in Dubai in January with his lifetime best of 2:04:24. His key rivals should include compatriots Feyisa Bekele and Abayneh Ayele, the latter having finished fourth in the Word Half Marathon Championships in March. In the women's field, Meseret Hailu returns to defend her title and this looks a tough task with her fellow Ethiopian Meseret Melkamu in the field, whose best of 2:21:01 is eight seconds faster than Hamburg's 2015 champion. This contest looks capable of putting the women’s course record of 2:24:12 under severe pressure while the quality of the men's field also suggests their course record could be threatened. The current holder is Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge who ran 2:05:30 three years ago. Taking into account various events held in conjunction with the main race, approx. 23,000 runners have entered the 31st edition of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg.
„We are proud to welcome the athlete with the fastest time in the world this year. It is the first time in the history of our event that the world leader will run the Haspa Marathon Hamburg. However the women’s field is also strong. If weather conditions will be good then we expect some fast times on Sunday,“ said Event Director Frank Thaleiser during the press conference with the international elite runners.
Meseret Hailu’s plan to retain the title in Hamburg has taken on a more demanding aspect with the addition of her compatriot Meselech Melkamu to the start list. Melkamu is the African record holder for 10,000m with 29:53.80 and her impressive marathon best of 2:21:01 was achieved on her debut at the distance in Frankfurt in 2012. The 30 year old has already showed excellent form this year with third place in Dubai in late January in 2:22:29. Such is the strength of competition for Ethiopia’s Olympic Marathon team, Melkamu is likely to have to improve on that level of performance in Hamburg to remain in Olympic contention.
“I have big motivation to run in Hamburg because of my hopes for Olympic selection. My goal is to go to Rio,” said Meselech Melkamu while Meseret Hailu explained that the prospect of possible Olympic selection drives her on as well: „If I run well then I can go to Rio!“
For that reason the Ethiopian women can be expected to set a fast pace from the start with a half marathon split of 71 minutes as the target. They may well have company in the form of the Kenyan Sarah Chepchirchir who will run after dropping out of her marathon debut in Nagoya last month. After disappointment in Japan, she’s making a renewed effort in Hamburg.
Favourites and personal bests:
Men:
Tesfaye Abera ETH 2:04:24
Feyisa Bekele ETH 2:06:26
Abayneh Ayele ETH 2:06:45
Hendrick Ramaala RSA 2:06:55
Philemon Rono KEN 2:07:07
Ezekiel Chebii KEN 2:07:18
Josphat Kiprono KEN 2:09:34
Yekeber Bayabel ETH 2:09:39
Benedict Moeng RSA 2:10:21
Jeff Hunt AUS 2:11:00
Moses Kipsiro UGA Debut
Nicholas Bor KEN Debut
Merhawi Kesete ERI Debut
Women:
Meselech Melkamu ETH 2:21:01
Meseret Hailu ETH 2:21:09
Madai Perez MEX 2:22:59
Beata Naigambo NAM 2:26:57
Adriana da Silva BRA 2:29:17
Monika Stefanowicz POL 2:29:28
Megertu Ifa ETH 2:32:31
Kellys Arias COL 2:32:32
Sarah Chepchirchir KEN DNF Nagoya
More information about the Haspa Marathon Hamburg and online entry is available at:www.haspa-marathon-hamburg.de