Victor Röthlin takes a stunning victory in Japan – Tokyo Marathon

Switzerland's Marathon man has struck it lucky again in the Orient, with a stylish 2:07.23 win, that improved his own Swiss record by nearly one minute and  set a  new course record for the Tokyo Marathon, Japan.

The World bronze and European silver medallist again made use of what is fast becoming his trademark killer finish. At the World Championships in Osaka last year, Röthlin had caught up from sixth to third position during the last 2km. Now, half a year later, he was back in Japan, and again the race was won in the final few kilometers.

Röthlin ran the first 35km at a faster pace than ever before, but then managed to accelerate even further. He outpaced his last two pursuers, Arata Fujiwara (JPN) and Julius Gitahi (KEN), and stormed towards the finishing line.

During the last 7km, Röthlin clocked an average pace of less than three minutes, a pace that took its toll on his competitors who finished 1.17 minutes (Fujiwara) behind the ever-improving Röthlin.

"It is just incredible to win this race here in Japan, where people are such Marathon enthusiasts", Röthlin explained after the race.

The race started in a biting cold 2 degrees Celsius, but this did not phase the Swiss star, who has benefited from a wide range of training conditions,

"I got warm quickly as the pace was brisk right from the beginning"

After 31km, he took the lead for the first time,

"I wanted to show that I was interested in running a fast time and I realized that I was in for a sensational result, for a win, and for a further milestone in my running career."

A milestone it was, as within less than a year, the 33 year old athlete has improved his personal best by more than two minutes from 2:09.56 to 2:07.23, despite the fact that his preparation was interrupted due to the need for a premature exit from Kenya. This triumph is extremely motivating for Röthlin,

"I am now benefiting from many years of consistent work. This is my tenth year in Marathon running. I have developed, and I have gained experience. After some success in the last two and a half years I tackle races in a more relaxed and confident manner."

Whatever the cause, his 2:07.23 result represents a World-class time that puts Viktor Röthlin on rank 10 of the European All-time List, just behind Olympic Champion Stefano Baldini (2:07.22).  Only two Swiss athletes are ranked better: the two World Champions Werner Günthör (shot put / 3) and André Bucher (800m / 4).

In the 2008 World top list, Röthlin currently ranks third, behind World record holder Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) and Isaac Wanjohi Macharia (KEN), while in 2007, only ten athletes ran faster than Röthlin did in Tokyo on Sunday.

This excellent result leaves Viktor Röthlin very optimistic about Beijing,

"I think I am on the right track, but Beijing will be a new, entirely different race. There will be other, fast athletes. About 20 to 25 athletes could win an Olympic medal. I am sure, I am one of them".

Source: European Athletics – EAA