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Benita sets new Australian marathon record in Chicago
In just her third marathon, Benita Johnson has raced to the fastest time ever by an Australian woman to break the 18-year-old national record by over a minute, finishing third against an extremely strong field in the Chicago Marathon yesterday.
Racing in extremely cold conditions and facing gusty winds, the 27-year-old finished in a time of 2:22:36, breaking Lisa Martin's (Ondieki) national record of 2:23.51 which has stood since Osaka in 1988.
Johnson broke her previous personal best of 2:26.32 by nearly four minutes, which she had set in London in 2005.
For her efforts she will deposit a handy US$40,000 (A$51,000) into her bank account.
"It�s been a good year for Australian women marathon runners," Johnson said from Chicago, referring to Kerryn McCann�s emotional Commonwealth Games victory.
Romania's Constantina Tomescu-Dita, the pre-race favourite and 2005 world half marathon champion, had indicated before the race that she wanted to run a sub 2:20. Running with a group of men, Tomescu-Dita covered the first 15K in 48:14, 5:11 per mile, not far off Paula Radcliffe's world record pace. Half way through she had a lead of over two minutes from the women�s pack before the lead group started to close the gap.
By 30K, Berhane Adere from Ethiopia and Russia�s Galina Bogomolova formed the chase group and were 1:42 behind Tomescu-Dita. At 35K that gap had narrowed to 50 seconds and, more importantly, the pair could finally see the Romanian in their sights. Just past the 23 mile mark, the duo swept past her and Tomescu-Dita was unable to respond. Fearing Adere's finishing speed, Bogomolova did everything she could to attempt to break away, but to no avail. With about a half mile to go in the race, Adere, 33, who is renowned for her outstanding track performances, picked up her tempo and quickly opened up a 10 metre gap, which she was able to hold to the finish.
Adhere, first in 2:20:42, Bogomolova, the 29-year-old, second in 2:20:47 and Johnson third in 2:22:36. Race favourite, 36-year-old Tomescu-Dita finished fifth in 2:24.25.
"Dita started so fast, so I ran with the second pack and we went through the first half in 70:10 and I felt really good. I was running with Adhere and the Russian until they surged at 30k," Johnson said.
"At 30k I was thinking in my head it�s like a lap of Busy Park (her London training venue) and I was ticking off landmarks like the cricket field. I wasn�t strong enough to go with them when they surged, but it will come. It�s only my third marathon. I�m sure in my next marathon I�ll be racing with them to the finish."
In a day that was not conducive to fast times, the top four finishers in the women's race all set national records.
Victorian Kate Smyth, continued her love affair with the Chicago event, placing 14th in a time of 2:33.39. Although not able to better her place from last year, the Commonwealth Games marathon runner finished nearly two seconds ahead of her previous lifetime best.
Johnson will now return to Australia for a break before beginning her build up for 2007, which will include another marathon and an assault on the one remaining record that has eluded her to date � the half marathon.
"I'll run my next marathon next year, it will be a another big city race, not the world championships - I'll run the 10,000m at the world championships and I'll leave Nic (coach Nic Bideau) to sort out when we'll run the half marathon."
The 2003 world cross country champion hasn't decided what event she'll concentrate on at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, however she does have her aims for the major championships well defined.
"I want to win a medal at a major championship. It's on my mind (the marathon in Beijing) but it's still a long way away. Let's get next year of the way first," she added.
Finish line drama and Kenyan dominance highlighted the men's event. Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya raised his arms in victory and was just about to break the finish tape after outrunning countryman Daniel Njenga when his foot slipped on the sponsor logo mat that was glued to the pavement in front of the chip timing mat and he slid across the finish.
It was a frightening scene as Cheruiyot's head hit the ground first and he didn't move for several seconds as people rushed to his aid. More importantly, however, for Cheruiyot, was the fact that his torso landed over the finish line, allowing him to be officially recorded as the winner with a time of 2:07:38. He was kept in hospital overnight "for observation" as a result some bleeding inside his skull and a cut to his head.
Daniel Njenga finished second in 2:07:40 whilst countryman Jimmy Muindi finished third in 2:07:51.
Over 40,000 participants, representing 123 countries competed in the 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon which commenced in 1977.
The event is classified as one of the �Big Five� marathons in world athletics. Chicago joins the Boston, London, Berlin and New York marathons to form the �Big Five� � the lucrative World Marathon Majors which attract the world's best athletes.
For further media information or to arrange athlete interviews, please contact:
David Culbert - Athletics Australia Media
0417 272 641 or david@jumpmedia.com.au
Michelle Cook - Athletics Australia Media
0430 177 668 or michelle@jumpmedia.com.au
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