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From David Monti
© 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com
OSAKA (24-Aug) -- The 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics kicks off early tomorrow morning at Nagai Stadium with the men's marathon which, according to forcasters, may be as memorable for the warm and sticky weather as it will be for exciting head-to-head racing.
According to the website Weather.com, the 94 men slated to start the race will face temperatures at the 07h00 start of 28°C (83°F) rising to 31°C (87°F), accompanied by 56% humidity. There is also a chance of thundershowers.
No matter what the weather, a new world champion will be crowned because Jaouad Gharib of Morocco, who won the world titles in 2003 in Paris and 2005 in Helsinki, will not defend his title. He lost too much training time after the Flora London Marathon last April due to an injury, and has decided to prepare for a fall marathon, according to his manager, Gianni Demadonna.
Gharib's absence sets the stage for a spirited team battle between Ethiopia, Japan, Kenya, and Spain who have lined up the most powerful squads. The race also serves as the IAAF Marathon World Cup, with team placings determined by the combined time of the top-3 finishers for each team. The Japanese are the reigning World Cup champions, and the pressure on them to repeat that feat will be great.
The Ethiopian squad is led by Gashaw Melese Asfaw (2:08:03 PB), Dejene Birhanu (2:08:46) and Ambesse Tolossa (2:08:56). Melese won Paris in 2006, and Tolossa won Tokyo, San Diego, and Honolulu last year.
The bronze medalist from Helsinki in 2005, Tsuyoshi Ogata, leads the Japanese team and has a 2:08:37 career best. Toshinari Suwa (2:07:55), Satoshi Osaki (2:08:46), Tomoyuki Sato (2:09:43) and Mitsuru Kubota (2:12:50) make up the rest of the team. These men will surely be reminded by their coaches that the last time these Championships were held in Japan (Tokyo, 1991) a Japanese athlete, Hiromi Taniguchi, won the gold medal.
The top Kenyans entered are the veteran William Kiplagat (2:06:50 PB) and Laban Kipkemboi (2:08:38), who prepared for this race in Boulder, Colo., under German coach, Dieter Hogen.
The Spaniards have three top guys entered who could all win medals. Julio Rey, with a 2:06:52 PB, is the fastest man in the race. José Ríos is no slouch with a 2:07:42 personal best, and Chema Martínez (2:08:09) recently showed good form with a big win at La Corsa Piu' Antica in Castelbuono, Italy, where he trounced a strong field.
Although he doesn't have the support of a strong team, Qatar's Mubarak Hassan Shami, the former Kenyan Richard Yatich, has an excellent chance of winning the individual gold medal. He has a 2:07:19 personal best and is undefeated in five marathons. Shami is particulary good in hot weather; he walked over the field in Paris last April by about two and one-half minutes while his rivals wilted in the unexpectedly warm and humid conditions.
Other individual medal favorites include Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri (2:07:44), second at the Flora London Marathon; Switzerland's Viktor Röthlin, a.k.a., the "Swiss Clock" for his even-pacing style (2:08:20 PB); Tanzania's Samson Ramadhani (2:08:01) and South Africa's Hendrick Ramaala (2:06:55). Two Americans, Fernando Cabada (2:12:27 PB) and Mbarak Hussein (2:08:10) have an outside chance at earning a medal. The former Kenyan Hussein, 42, has won the warm and humid Honolulu Marathon three times, and his patient approach could pay dividends here.
The out-and-back course, which passes Osaka Castle twice, has two significant hills. The first is between 14 km and 15 km (8.7 mi. and 9.3 mi.) which climbs 20m (66 ft.) in little more than 800m (half a mile), then descends immediately. The second is between 24 km and 25 km (14.9 mi. and 15.5 mi) which also climbs 20m (66 ft.), but plateaus for more than 800m (half a mile) before descending. Crowds lining the course are expected to be huge.
Given the conditions, the World Championships record of 2:08:31, set by Gharib in Paris in 2003, is not likely to be threatened. Prize money will be awarded to the top-8 individual finishers: $60,000-30,000-20,000-15,000-10,000-6,000-5,000-4,000. In the World Cup, teams are rewarded 6-deep: $20,000-15,000-12,000-10,000-8,000-6,000.
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