Amare wins Singapore Marathon, Gebrselassie finishes third in 10km race
Singapore – Waganesh Amare of Ethiopia won the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore women’s race while fellow compatriot and running legend Haile Gebrselassie finished in the men’s 10km race here today.
The young Ethiopian was only enlisted for the race as a last moment replacement. Underlining a theory that you come down from altitude either several days or none before a race, Waganesh only turned up the night before, barely slept, due to the early start, then coped with everything the well-matched field threw at her before running away from her last rivals after 39 kilometres.
She quickly accelerated over the final three kilometres and won by close to a minute in 2.46.54, with the Kenyan pair of Elizabeth Chemweno and Pauline Wanganui second and third respectively, in 2:47:50 and 2.48:59.
“I wasn’t expecting it be this hot,” said Waganesh, via top-class interpreter, a certain Haile Gebrselassie, “so that’s why I waited so late to make a move to win”.
As for Gebrselassie himself, he simply wasn’t expecting the competition to be so hot.
He had spent the majority of the two previous days, fulfilling speaking and coaching engagements, and thought he might get an easy ride in the 10km race, but Solomon Keter had other ideas.
Fresh from a personal best of 29.04 for a Hong Kong all-comers record one week earlier, and fully acclimatised to the region, Keter ran away from his Kenyan colleague, Thomas Maritim, and Gebrselassie in the final stages of the race, at which point temperatures had topped 30 degrees.
“That’s the worst humidity I’ve ever experienced” said Gebrselassie. “I came here to enjoy myself, I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t expect the Kenyans. Next year, I’ll come just to run, and I’ll be prepared”.
Leading results:
Marathon – men
1. Kenneth Mungara KEN 2:16:42
2. David Tarus KEN 2:19:07
3. Charles Kanyao KEN 2:19:18
Marathon – women
1. Waganesh Amare ETH 2:46:54
2. Elizabeth Chemweno KEN 2:47:50
3. Pauline Wangui KEN 2:48:59
10km – men
1. Solomon Keter KEN 29:47
2. Thomas Maritim KEN 29:53
3. Haile Gebrselassie ETH 30:00
Source: IAAF.org
