Angela Tanui and Tamirat Tola produced the fastest ever times on Dutch soil with their victories at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, clocking 2:17:57 and 2:03:39 respectively at the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race on Sunday.
Tanui, who was a late addition to the field after her plans to compete in Boston fell through due to visa issues, bided her time for much of the race before breaking away in the closing stages to win by more than two minutes in the women's section, covering the second half in a swift 1:07:50. She covered the first 15km in 49:48 before reaching the half-way point in 1:10:07.
Tanui went on to cross the finish line in 2:17:57, smashing the previous course record of 2:19:26. She also chopped more than two minutes from her previous best of 2:20:08 set earlier this year, and now moves to 10th on the world all-time list.
Chepkemoi came through to take second place in 2:20:18, overtaking Hailu shortly before the finish. Hailu finished one second adrift in third, while Ayele was further behind in fourth (2:21:22). Ruth van der Meijden was the top Dutch finisher, placing sixth in 2:29:55 to secure the national title.
Tola, like Tanui, displayed great patience and waited until the final few kilometres before making his move in the men's race. He crossed the line in a 2:03:39, winning by 30 seconds from Koech (2:04:09). Tola's winning time took almost half a minute off the previous course record (2:04:06) and elevates him from 23rd to 16th on the world all-time list.
Gebresilase took third in 2:04:12, 20 seconds ahead of Korir. In fifth, Tewelde set an Eritrean record of 2:04:35.
( With inputs from ANI )
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