For the 14th time in a row, an African wins in Vienna. The initially victorious Ethiopian Hurisa had too thick a shoe sole.
Hurisa was disqualified
With warm temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius, there were no new marathon record times in Vienna on Sunday morning (the ideal temperature is 7 degrees, note).
The victory went – initially – to the Ethiopian Derara Hurisa in an official race in an official 2:09:22 hours ahead of the Kenyan Leonard Langat (2:09:25) and his compatriot Betesfa Getahun (2:09:42) he decisively separated himself on the Ringstrasse.
About an hour after crossing the finish line, however, the message came: because the sole was too thick, the winner Hurisa was disqualified and Langat was declared the new winner.
Record seven years ago
The course record at the Vienna City Marathon by Getu Feleke (ETH / 2: 05: 41 hours) from 2014 was not in danger.
The first group of the men's elite formed after the start at 8:58 a.m. on Wagramer Strasse in a larger number of people than planned. The passage time of ten kilometers with 30:05 minutes was promising, and the 1:03:41 half marathon laid on the asphalt by pacemakers also promised a lot. After that, it quickly became clear that Feleke's course record would no longer work out.
Result 38th VCM Men – Top 3:
1. Derara Hurisa (ETH) 2:09:22
2. Leonard Langat (KEN) 2:09:25
3. Betesfa Getahun (ETH) 2:09:42
– Vienna City Marathon (@Vienna_Marathon) September 12, 2021
On the Prater Hauptallee around eight kilometers from the finish line, the top men had shrunk to a quartet. The Kenyans Edwin Kosgei, Langat and the Ethiopians Getahun and Hurisa ran their pace and apparently had not expected the attack of the Japanese Kento Kikutani, who made the connection again at 40 km.
He probably overwhelmed himself with his attack, because he stopped shortly before the finish on the Ringstrasse, but finished the race in fifth.
Getahun, with the personal best time of 2:05:28 the athlete with the fastest personal best time in the field, had no chance against his compatriot on the last kilometer. The 23-year-old Hurisa clearly missed his best time of 2:08:09.
Austria's marathon record holder Eva Wutti took part in the half marathon this time. She wasn't satisfied with her performance, but praised the fantastic atmosphere on the track. “Today you can see how important running events are for society as a whole. A highlight! ”Pic.twitter.com/hPJD6jlU3V
– Vienna City Marathon (@Vienna_Marathon) September 12, 2021
The Swiss Tadesse Abraham, who had the second fastest entry time with 2:06:40, had to give up hope of a top spot early on. After forty minutes he could no longer keep up with the high pace of the fastest and ran a lonely race for a long time, bit his way through and finished in seventh place.
The half marathon victories went to Austria. Among the men, Andreas Stöckl prevailed in 1:12:14 hours ahead of Peter Herzog (1:12:33) and Valentin Pfeil (1:12:33), both of whom were short-term – without ambition for a top time, but rather heading for it Training purposes – had decided to compete. As expected, Eva Wutti won in the women, in 1:16:14 she won ahead of the Slovenian Anja Fink (1:16:26) and Cornelia Stöckl-Moser (1:22:03).
“It was a great race, the finish line was very emotional. For me it was a bit too warm, but indescribable, ”said Stöckl, who was not satisfied with the time.
