Florence, Italy NOVEMBER 27, 2011
ASHA GIG CROSSING THE FINISH LINE
Ethiopia claimed a winning sweep at the 28th Florence Marathon in both men’s and women’s races thanks to Berga Birhanu Bekele who crossed the finish line first in 2:09:52 ahead of Gela Hailu Seifu (2:10:17) and favourite Asha Gigi, who won the women’s race in 2:31:36 (OLYMPIA-ATC athlete).
Men’s race The leading group went through 5Km in 15:28 and 10km in 31:04. The eight-men pack featured Zembaba Yemanu from Ethiopia, Berga Bekele, Medhane Tekie from Eritrea, Hailu Gela Seifu from Ethiopia, Ronald Rutto from Kenya, Joseph Ngeny from Kenya, Abram Kidane from Ethiopia and Abdelkabir Saji from Morocco.Seven men remained in the lead at 15 km which was reached in 46:04. They were Tekie, Seifu, Bekele, Rutto, Kidane, Yemanu and Saji. They kept a fast pace at 21 km (1:04:38) which indicated a final 2:09 time. After going through 25 km in 1:16:49, the pace slowed down a bit (the 29 and 30 km splits were clocked in 3:18 and 3:17). Bekele and Seifu surged the pace and broke away from the rest of the field at 32 km. They managed to carve out a gap of 21 seconds on Yemanu Zembaba who led the chasing group at 35 km.At 39 km Bekele produced a decisive surge pulling away from Seifu and managed to run the final two kilometres under three minutes (2:54 and 2:56). Bekele romped home in 2:09:52 missing his PB by 11 seconds. It was his third time under 2:10 after Beijing 2011 (2:09:41) and Dubai 2011 (2:09:54).
Women’s race The Ethiopian leading duo formed by Asha Gigi and Tigist Memuye Gebeyahu set off at a very fast pace (17:28 at 5 km, 34:41 at 10 km and 51:08 at 15 km) well inside Jelena Javornik’s event record (2:28:15 set in 2002). The pace in the first half run which indicated a possible attack to the 2:25 barrier on the faster section of the new course was probably too fast and it took its toll in the second more challenging half.
Gigi and Memuye ran a neck-to-neck race until 21 km which they reached in 1:12:06. Gigi pulled away at 25 km and carved out a six-second gap over Memunye (1:25:59 to 1:26:05). She continued and increased the opened gap to more than 50 seconds at 30 km (1:44:01 to 1:44:56) but the pace faded dramatically. Gigi’s win was never threat. Moroccan Janat Hanane caught up with a fading Memunye for second place.
Gigi struggled in the final three kilometers which were run at splits over 4 minutes but she managed to defend her first place in 2:31:36 over Hanane who improved her PB from 2:38:34 (set in 2011 in Rome) to 2:34: 22.
Leading Results -
Men’s race:
1. Berga Bekele (Ethiopia) 2:09:52
2. Hailu Gela Seifu (Ethiopia) 2:10:17
3. Abdelkabir Saji (Morocco) 2:12:11
4. Zembaba Yemanu (Ethiopia) 2:14:03
5. Ronald Rutto (Kenya) 2:14:28
6. Philip Kiptoo Rutto (Kenya) 2:16:38
Women’s race:
1. Asha Gigi (Ethiopia) 2:31:36 (OLYMPIA-ATC)
2. Janat Hanane (Morocco) 2:34:22
3. Gloria Marconi (Italy) 2:34:57
4. Tigist Memuye Gebeyahu (Ethiopia) 2:36:49
-Frankfurt 11- 1.jpg)
ALBERT KIPLAGAT MATEBOR
(right side)
30 OCTOBER 2011: BMW FRANKFURT MARATHON, GERMANY
Despite a magnificent effort over the final 5km Wilson Kipsang fell just four seconds short of Patrick Makau's month-old world record of 2:03:38 set in Berlin writes Pat Butcher. His repeat victory in Germany's finance capital was a new course record, over a minute faster than his 2:04:57 last year, and his time will, alongside Makau, make hima front runner for Kenya's Olympic marathon trio for London 2012.
An early morning shower had given way to a still, slightly misty morning, with temperatures rising from 11°C to around 14°C at the finish. A group of 15 men went through 10km in 29:25, reducing to six at halfway in 61:40, four seconds faster than Makau in Berlin. Deriba Merga was still in the lee of the pacemaker, Peter Kirui of Kenya, who was reproducing his metronomic feats from Berlin last month; but so were the little known Kenyans, Levy Matebo and
Albert Matebor.
The pace was dropping when Kipsang went up onto Kirui's shoulder at around 33k, and when the defending champion saw at 35km that he was heading for a 2:04 finish, he took off by himself. If the winner had ever been in any doubt, that issue was settled right then. It was Kipsang against the clock. He sailed away from his pursuers, and clawed back two or three seconds per kilometre on the record chase, with the crowds out on the streets, and watching on the big screens at the indoor finish in Frankfurt's Festhalle willing him on. Fireworks and floodlights greeted him for the final metres on the red carpet in the Festhalle, but the world record effort was just in vain.
Matebor revised his bests by close to four minutes; pacemaker Kirui hung in to finish sixth in 2:06:33, no mean feat in itself. There were nine Kenyans in the first ten, and altogether 14 men under 2:10, the most in any marathon.
In the women's race Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia took almost a minute and a half off Caroline Kilel's course record of 2:23:25. For more than half the race, Daska was led by Merima Mohammed, but the 19-year old fell away in the latter stages, while Agnes Kiprop of Kenya rallied to finish second.
MEN:
1 Wilson KIPSANG KEN 2:03:42
2 Levy MATEBO KEN 2:05:16
3 Albert MATEBOR KEN 2:05:25 (Olympia)
4 Phillip SANGA KEN 2:06:07
5 Robert Kipron CHERUIYOT KEN 2:06:29
6 Peter KIRUI KEN 2:06:31
7 Chumba Dickson KIPTOLO KEN 2:07:23
8 Siraj GENA ETH 2:08:31
9 Duncan KOECH KEN 2:08:38
10 Henry SUGUT KEN 2:08:56
WOMEN:
1 Mamitu DASKA ETH 2:21:59
2 Agnes KIPROP KEN 2:23:54
3 Flomena CHEPCHIRCHIR KEN 2:24:21
4 Merima MOHAMMED ETH 2:24:32
5 Rita Jeptoo BUIENEI KEN 2:25:44
6 Nadia EJAFFINI ITA 2:26:15
7 Fate TOLA ETH 2:27:18
8 Biruktait DEGEFA ETH 2:27:34
9 Sabrina MOCKENHAUPT GER 2:28:08
10 Alena SAMOKHVALOVA RUS 2:28:43
May 21-2011
ANOTHER
IMPRESSIVE RESULT FROM
ALBERT KIPLAGAT MATEBOR IN GOTEBORG
Albert Matebor running alone to the Finish Line in
Goteborg half marathon 2011
Another
impressive result from our Top runner Albert Matebor last
Saturday in GOTEBORG HALF MARATHON 2011 .The Elite athlete
field was really very competitive with more than 20 invited
Top runners, all the big names in the Half marathon distance
were there!
ALBERT
KIPLAGAT MATEBOR set new PB and new CR by lowering the
time by more than 20 second and stopping the clock at
1:00:52. This is the fastest time never run in Sweden
and what it is great in this result is that Goteborg race
course is not flat….so the potential of Albert is even
bigger!
Thanks to
this result, Albert gained now a good position in the Half
marathon world ranking.
In the same
race ALEMAYEHU SHUMYE (Marathon best time 2:08:46) took the
13th position with the time of 1:03:15, but
Alemayehu is not a specialist of this distance.
Now both
Albert and Alemayehu will prepare themselves to run in the
Gold Coast Marathon in Australia on July 3. Both they will
try to beat the course record of the race and to run under
2:10 in order to secure the jackpot of 25,000 USD set by the
organizer for the winner of the race capable to run under
2:10.
Additional
5,000 USD bonus will be granted to the winner who will run
under 2:09:18, fastest time never run in Australia: both
Albert and Alemayehu have already this mark in their legs
and they will fight for the supremacy in Australia.
CONGRATULATION TO OUR UFA-OLYMPIA ATHLETES!!
August 23-2010
UFA OLYMPIA Athlete Tizita Bogale wins Gold Medal in Youth Olympic Games,
setting the first Olympic Record for 1000m.
She won the 1000m
race in 2.43.24
August 1-2010
OLYMPIA
ATHLETE IS NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD!
Tizita Bogale wins
the world Junior Championship in 1500m at the World
Championships in
Canada.
Ethiopia's Tizita Bogale duly won the race but Ciara
Mageean with a stunning performance managed to upset
the expected African domination when winning the
silver medal ahead of Nancy Chepkwemoi on the final
day of the 13th IAAF World Junior Championships at
the Stade de Moncton.
Bogale after dominating her semi final, proved the
stronger in the finishing straight to produce a PB
4:08.06 as she pulled away from the unrated Irish
athlete with Kenya's Nancy Chepkwemoi struggling
behind them clocking 4:11.04.
"This is my first time competing at the
Championships and I'm delighted to have won it,"
said Bogale. "The race was very competitive. There
was a fierce struggle for the win and I am happy to
withstood all that."
Indeed Bogale's victory the first for her country
since Abebech Nigussie's success a decade ago, was
nearly thwarted by the Mageean who ran an incredible
metric mile.
Mageean who set an unheralded National record of
4:15.46 a year ago in Finland and who only came into
contention in the last 500m of the race, reduced
that mark to a fantastic 4:09.51.
Asmerawork Bekele who came into the race as the
fastest performer but has been ill recently finished
last. The Ethiopian struggling from the beginning of
the race at least finished and her time of 4:30.02
was nowhere a true reflection of her ability for the
future.
June 14-2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLYMPIA 2ND & 3RD IN
THE WORLD
Bekele & Bogale,
Olympia athletes, hit the heady heights of the IAAF “Top
Lists” Best in the world!
They are 2nd and 3rd!!!!
female Junior category, In the world!!!!!
And here at Olympia ATC We are
celebrating the end of our second full year and the start of
our third! What a wonderful birthday gift!
Check this out… (updated
13th June 2010)
Poor No More!
Jan 29-2010
Olympia Altitude Training
Center has stepped forward with a new initiative aimed at
raising young people out of the poverty bracket by
harnessing their innate talent to run. During the past few
months the director of the center, based in Addis Ababa,
went deep into the countryside of Ethiopia where poverty
abounds with a mission to select young boys and girls who
have talent, and give them the opportunity to change their
lifestyles.
Olympia
Altitude Training Center organized a distance running event
in the villages high up in the mountains and called upon the
youth to come and run. Most of them turned up barefoot and
in a pair of old running shorts and a vest and lined up with
great eagerness to compete. About 100 young people
participated and the first three boys and first three girls
were selected to go to Addis Ababa, all expenses paid for
three years, and live in the Olympia Altitude Training
Center, which is home to International Athletes. Here the
youths are trained in running and are provided full board
and accommodation together with full coaching provided by
some of the best of Ethiopian Coaches.
The dream
for these selected athletes is to run all across the world
in major international races and to win money from their
efforts. In the meantime, as they grow and prepare, Olympia
supports and sponsors them towards achieving their dream.
Poor
No More! Is about
helping these youngster to achieve their own dream and to
inspire others towards having similar dreams. It’s all about
showing the humble villager that he or she can have a global
running career. In this highly athletic world that we live
in, it is all about giving them the chances before they have
proved themselves and encouraging them and supporting them
to become the greats of the future.
The next
phase of Poor No More! Which will be launched in the
summer of 2010, is to provide education to the youths. As
the program grows to take in more young people they will be
entered into formal education channels which will ensure
their future prospects of being employable are strong.
Olympia
Altitude Training Center believes in development of the
local community within the community as well as presenting
the finest athletes on the international stage.
For
more information email
antonio@olympia-atc.com
BREAKING
NEWS
Dec 31-2009
Olympia Altitude Training
Center is proud to announce Spira Footwear as the Technical
Sponsor for its athletes for 2010.
With races set for the first
weekend in January in Austria, Abu Dhabi Half Marathon and
after in Ras Al Khaimeh Half Marathon, Olympia athletes are
set to ‘spring’ into action. Due to the unique technology of
Spira shoes, a wave spring absorbs the impact of the
runner’s footfall and recycles the energy returning it back
to the athlete! To learn more about the shoe and its
technology check out this video
http://www.spirafootwear.com/wavespring_technology.php
Spira shoes are the first
breakthrough in running shoe technology in years, and with
Spira being new and vibrant, it is a perfect partnership.
Olympia is now on the eve of its third year and celebrates
the signing of its latest athletes who will be carrying the
Spira brand around the globe. Spira has an exciting and
charismatic look to its sports apparel, assuring eye
catching winning moments.
This exciting move propels
both brands forward to a new level and we look forward to
seeing the “Finish Line” embossed with the Olympia and Spira
Logos – together.
Olympia Altitude Training
Center is located in Addis Ababa and provides residential
training programs for athletes at 2700 meters above sea
level as well as managing elite athletes.
“The company’s by line is ‘Win
Your Race’, and together with Spira we believe that this
goal is now even more attainable”, says Antonio Nannoni,
Elite Manager and Partner.
http://www.spirafootwear.co
GOOD PERFORMANCE OF OLYMPIA ATHLETES IN 2012 SPRING MARATHON RACES ....
