ADAC MARATHON HANNOVER ON SUNDAY Germans Amanal Petros and Domenika Mayer favourites in Hannover

National record holder Amanal Petros and fellow-German Domenika Mayer are the favourites in Sunday’s ADAC Marathon Hannover. While Petros heads the start list with his PB of 2:04:58, which makes him the sixth fastest European marathon runner of all times, Mayer is number two on the list with 2:23:47.

Former Boston Marathon winner Sharon Cherop has a personal record of 2:22:28. However at the age of 40 it would be a surprise if the prominent Kenyan runner could still produce such a time on Sunday.

Organisers of the 32nd ADAC Marathon Hannover have so far registered over 25,000 athletes for their traditional spring race. Almost 4,000 of them will run the classic distance. The event is a World Athletics Label Race and stages the German Championships as well.

Amanal Petros returns as the defending champion and course record holder. A year ago he smashed Hannover’s record with a time of 2:07:02. In the meantime he also improved his German record significantly when he clocked 2:04:58 in Berlin last September. “I have trained for this race in Kenya since January,“ said Amanal Petros during the press conference in the town hall by the finish line on Friday. “It is my goal to improve my course record by may be 30 to 40 seconds. The temperatures seem to be fine, I just hope the wind will not be a problem.“

Asked to compare his shape to the Berlin Marathon last year Amanal Petros said: “The training for Berlin was really intense and I had two to three more weeks. But nonetheless my form is similar now.“

Elite race coordinator Philipp Kopp, who took over from his late father Christoph Kopp, expects Kenyans Amos Mitei (PB: 2:07:28), Edwin Kimutai (2:08:15) and debutant Boaz Kipkemei to follow the 2:06:30 pace of the leading group on Sunday.

A second group will target the Olympic qualifying time of 2:08:10. Sweden’s Samuel Tesfamariam, who has a PB of 2:06:53, and 2:08:14 runner Polat Arikan of Turkey hope to book a ticket to Paris on the fast Hannover course.

At the age of 40 Sharon Cherop wants to continue running strongly. It is well over ten years ago when she was among the world’s leading marathon runners. The Kenyan was the bronze medallist at the World Championships in Daegu in 2011, then won the Boston Marathon in 2012 and clocked her PB of 2:22:28 when she was runner-up in the Berlin Marathon in 2013. Last year she won the Milan Marathon and ran 2:24:56 for second place in Buenos Aires.

While it remains to be seen if Sharon Cherop might be in a 2:25 shape Germany’s Domenika Mayer seems to be ready for such a pace. The 33 year-old caused a major surprise when she smashed her PB at last year’s Berlin Marathon with 2:23:47, ensuring her place among the German Olympic team. A foot injury sustained during that race prevented her from proper training until January. But since then Domenika Mayer has already run personal bests at 10 k (31:54) and the half marathon (69:46).

“I am looking forward to running a marathon without any pressure. There is no qualifying time to chase and I don’t have to prove anything,“ said Domenika Mayer, who surprisingly won her debut marathon here in Hannover two years ago with 2:26:50. She was then sixth at the European Championships in Munich in 2022. „Returning to Hannover gives me a very good pre-race feeling. I know that the course is fast.“ The minimum goal is to break the 2:25:45 course record which was established by Croatia’s Matea Parlov Kostro a year ago.

A couple of women will try to qualify for the Olympic Games. With an entry limit of 80 runners set by World Athletics it looks like a sub 2:26:00 might be required for a possible selection. Sardana Trofimova of Kirgistan and Ukraine’s Viktoriia Kaliuzhna, who have personal bests of 2:24:38 and 2:27:05 respectively, are among those who target a trip to Paris in August.

Elite runners with personal bests

MEN

Amanal Petros GER 2:04:58

Samuel Tesfamariam SWE 2:06:53

Amos Mitei KEN 2:07:28

Polat Arikan TUR 2:08:14

Edwin Kimutai KEN 2:08:15

Victor Kiplimo KEN 2:10:56

Hammington Cherop KEN 2:10:58

Remigijus Kancys LTU 2:12:50

Boaz Kipkemei KEN Debut

WOMEN

Sharon Cherop KEN 2:22:28

Domenika Mayer GER 2:23:47

Sardana Trofimova KGZ 2:24:38

Viktoriia Kaliuzhna UKR 2:27:05

Yevheniia Prokofieva UKR 2:28:06

Nora Szabo HUN 2:28:25

Failuna Matanga TAN 2:28:57

Serser Alice Milgo KEN 2:30:35

Lilian Jebitok KEN 2:31:31

Juliette Thomas BEL Debut

Winnie Jebet KEN Debut

More information about the ADAC Marathon Hannover is available at: http://www.marathon-hannover.de

 

Please note: You may use the attached photo, showing Domenika Mayer and Amanal Petros, during today’s press conference, only in conjunction with this press release. Credit essential: Norbert Wilhelmi / Organiser