Abraham Eager to “Bounce Back” in Vienna
Swiss marathon record holder Tadesse Abraham will be eager to bounce back from a recent sub-par outing when he lines up for the 36th edition of the Vienna City Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on April 7.
In 2016, Abraham broke the Swiss record over the distance in Seoul, where he clocked 2:06:40 to finish fourth. Last summer, he raced to silver at the European Championships in Berlin and was hoping to challenge his lifetime best in his follow-up in Dubai in January. But that didn’t come to pass.
Instead, he had to be content with a 2:09:50 performance and a tenth place finish. He’s hoping to put both that performance and finish behind him in the Austrian capital.
“My main aim will be to win,” said Abraham, who will spend most of the next five weeks at a training base in Ethiopia. “However I want to run a good time as well.”
It’s too soon to set a target time, he added, “but I want to run faster than in Dubai.”
Despite his standing as the fastest man in the Vienna field, he’ll need to.
One man he’ll face is Kenyan Robert Chemosin who beat back fiercely windy conditions in 2016 to take the title in 2:09:48. The 30-year-old also has strong half marathon credentials with a 59:19 personal best.
Another strong contender is 22-year-old Kenyan Kenneth Keter, who made a strong debut in Frankfurt last October, finishing fifth in 2:07:34 despite windy conditions.
The race record is 2:05:41, set in 2014 by Getu Feleke of
