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9 days ahead of 2015 Seoul International Marathon

Posted March. 06, 2015 07:31,   

한국어

The 2015 Seoul International Marathon, also known as the 86th Dong-A Ilbo Marathon, is just around corner with only nine days left. The marathon competition, which has been establishing itself as the Asia’s best race, is also a stage of challenges to achieve better records.

○ Setting a new record for men’s race

Winner of the competition will receive 80,000 dollars of prize money and 100,000 dollars of bonus prize for breaking the competition record of 2:05:37. If setting a new record of two hours and four minutes, the bonus prize will be increased to 150,000 dollars.

Berhanu Shiferaw Tolcha (aged 22, Ethiopia) has the best record among participants with 2:04:48 set in the 2013 Dubai Marathon. Levy Matebo Omari (aged 26, Kenya), who came in second with the record of 2:05:16 in the Frankfurt Marathon in 2011, and Yacob Jarso Kintra (27, Ethiopia), who won the 2014 Seoul International Marathon by setting a record of 2:06:17, are expected to be in competition to decide a winner. Another favorite to win is Wilson Loyanai Erupe (27, Kenya), the winner of the 2012 Seoul International Marathon who set the competition record of two hours and five minutes.

○ Hope for a new record setting in women’s race

Kim Seong-eun (aged 26, Samsung Electronics) mounts a challenge to women’s national record (2:16:12) set by Kwon Eun-joo in 1997. Kim’s record in the 2013 Seoul International Marathon was 2:27:20, the third best record among Korean marathoners, drawing much attention as a rising star. Afterwards, Kim challenged to set a new national record but failed due to lack of physical endurance. In the Gyeonggi International Half-Marathon held on last Saturday, Kim won the race with 1:13:27, raising a possibility to set a new record. Although the latest record is below her personal best of 1:11:34, it is evaluated as an excellent performance after the winter training.

○ Breaking the wall of 2 hours and 10 minutes in Korean male marathoners’ race

Since Jeong Jin-hyeok (aged 25, KEPCO) set the record of 2:09:28 in the 2011 Seoul International Marathon, there has been no Korean athlete to set the record within the two hours and 10 minutes at all domestic competitions. Attentions are being paid to the records to be set by Shim Jong-seop (24, KEPCO), who topped the domestic race by setting a record of 2:14:19 in the 2014 Seoul International Marathon, and Yoo Seung-yeop (23, Gangwon Provincial Office), who came in second with a record of 2:19:37 at the National Sports Festival in 2014.



yjongk@donga.com