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Last years winner, Raymond Kipkoech, returns

Janne Holmen will run his first marathon since his European Championship triumph

2003-09-18

The unexpected champion of the 29th real,- BERLIN MARATHON 2002, Raymond Kipkoech, will be back at the start of the 30th real,- BERLIN MARATHON. With his victory in a world-class time of 2:06:47, Kipkoech became a shooting star in the marathon scene. In a dramatic final sprint, the then-22-year-old runner from Kenya was able to prevail against two of his fellow countrymen. The last few meters of 42 very fast kilometres were tremendous.

This year Kipkoech will not only have to get used to a new course, but also to strong competition. The organizers of SCC RUNNING were able to commit the second fastest marathon runner of all times, Paul Tergat (2:05:48, London 2002). The two Kenyans, together with an excellent pace maker, will be looking to make a world record finish. This will be Kipkoechs first marathon race since Berlin 2002. He had to withdraw from the London Marathon in the spring due to an injury.

Like Kipkoechs unexpected victory, Janne Holmen from Finland won at last years European Championships in Munich. He was able to take an early lead on a rainy day, and on a difficult course under poor conditions, he ran 2:12:49 with no direct danger to his victory. He has made it his goal for 2003 to achieve a significantly better best time for the marathon, which he hopes to finish well under 2:10. He ran the Bewag BERLIN HALF MARATHON in preparation in April 2003, which, however, under poor conditions was not so convincing with a time of 1:04:20. He left a much better impression in Turku with a 10,000m best time of 28:09:94 this past June.