Chepkemoi, Tesfaye, Gezahagn target course record in Vienna

Defending champion Betty Chepkemoi of Kenya and Ethiopian duo Haftamnesh Tesfaye and Tigist Gezahagn are the favourites for the Vienna City Marathon on Sunday. Tesfaye heads the start list with a PB of 2:20:13 which is faster than Vienna’s current course record of 2:20:59 set by Kenya’s Vibian Chepkirui four years ago. It is this mark that will be targeted on Sunday. The 43rd Vienna City Marathon is a World Athletics Elite Label Road Race. Organisers registered a record total of 49,000 entries of which 13,000 will run the classic distance. The race is part of the newly formed European Marathon Classics. Rome, London, Madrid, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Lisbon and Frankfurt are the other marathons of this series.

Somehow a sub 2:20:00 women’s course record has eluded the Vienna City marathon. The weather has been a factor and it remains to be seen if conditions are favourable on Sunday to achieve a first sub 2:20 women’s time on Austrian soil. With regard to the level of the African athletes organisers were optimistic when they introduced the top women at Thursday’s press conference.

Betty Chepkemoi of Kenya ran a brilliant race last year, clocking a PB of 2:24:14 in very challenging conditions with temperatures close to freezing. „It is great to be back at this race. It is a very motivating to be able to run on the streets of Vienna again. My victory last year was an emotional experience which changed my life. It was my second marathon, I won and improved my PB by ten minutes,“ said the Kenyan. „Compared to last year I am in better shape now,“ said Betty Chepkemoi. The 26 year-old will probably have to improve considerably once more to have a chance to defend her title.

While Haftamnesh Tesfaye is the fastest in the field with her 2:20:13 PB from Dubai in 2018 it is difficult to foresee in what kind of shape she may be. Apart from a 71:53 half marathon in Trient, Italy, last autumn the 31 year-old has not raced since early 2020. „During the pandemic there were no races, so I decided to have a family. I have two boys who are now five and three years old,“ she said. Tesfaye is the sister of 2:10:51 marathon debutant Fotyen Tesfay. „We are living together and do much of the training together in Addis Ababa. However there are some track and faster sessions which we do separate,“ said Haftamnesh Tesfaye. „Back in 2020 I was faster than my sister, now it is the other way round. But I try to catch up.“

In contrast Tigist Gezahagn’s marathon career only started last year. After a 2:24:25 debut in Seville she won the races in Ljubljana and then Doha early this year, improving to 2:22:47 and then 2:21:14. The 26 year-old is the second fastest on Vienna’s start list. „I hope to once again run a personal best,“ said the Ethiopian, who has an extraordinary background. She won the 1,500 m gold medal at the Paralympic Games in 2021 and 2024 and became the first Ethiopian to win a gold medal at the Paralympics. Gezahagn is visually impaired. „But I decided to move away from the Paralympic sports because I want to live a normal life. I can only see things very near to me and in training I get help from teammates. During a race the main challenge is that I can not distinguish the bottles at a refreshment station.“ In Vienna this should not be a big problem since the organisers provide a personal drinks service for a number of elite runners. The athletes are handed their drink directly at the refreshment station by a person who then cycles to the next station to provide the service again.

Tigist Gezahagn, Haftamnesh Tesfaye and Betty Chepkemoi are likely to form an early leading group on Sunday while Lindsay Flanagan is expected to join the second group a bit further behind. The 35 year-old US runner clocked a 2:23:31 PB in Chicago in 2024. However injury prevented her from running another marathon since then. „Vienna is a great city, it has made history in running  and for me the date in April suited me well as I had enough time to prepare. That is why I chose to run here. I was already training in the Prater Park where Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59. It was great with a lot of people running there,“ said Lindsay Flanagan.

Elite women with personal bests

Haftamnesh Tesfaye ETH 2:20:13
Tigist Gezahagn ETH 2:21:14
Lindsay Flanagan USA 2:23:31
Betty Chepkemoi KEN 2:24:14
Mary Granja ECU 2:26:34
Hellen Chepkorir KEN 2:27:17
Faith Chepkoech KEN 2:26:22
Tegest Ymer ETH 2:29:11
Caroline Korir KEN 2:29:46
Abigail Jepkemboi KEN 2:29:56
Eva Wutti AUT 2:30:43
Aiwa Sakaguchi JPN 2:31:50
Hanne Maridal NOR 2:32:14
Vaida Zusinaite LTU 2:32:50
Susanna Saapunki FIN Debut


VCM News / JW