Copenhagen 2014 | World Half Marathon Championships

well good afternoon and welcome to the stunnish stunning danish capital copenhagen for what promises to be a very special 21st edition of the iwaf world half marathon championships this is an event which has grown in size and stature over the last two decades and today sees its return to a springtime place on the distance running calendar for only the second time in its history one of the reasons for the change from the usual autumn slot was the desire to merge the two male and elite female fields into an existing big city half marathon which is why the two world championship races will be followed in by a mass of color and energy with 30 000 club runners and fun runners the elite women will be the first out onto the course and they'll be followed by the men some 25 minutes later as usual we expect to see a great duel unfold between the two east african nations separated by the vast rift valley but always locked together at the top of the world's distance running podiums kenya and ethiopia will expect to dominate the team event and the quest for the individual titles but watch out for a very strong lineup of japanese runners their women have taken six of the last 17 bronze medals this is going to be a fascinating race and the sense of anticipation is growing well we've just had uh a wonderfully moving opening ceremony where the president of the iwaf lamian diac declared things underway here and there you get a glimpse of some of the mass of fun runners and club runners many of whom going for personal best sub 130 that's not too shabby at all for 13.1 miles in old money it really is emerging as a great race this copenhagen half marathon and what a stunning backdrop for the two elite fields that's the old stock exchange there the distinctive green roof and the start and finish area just towards the left-hand side of your picture as you're looking so we're all set in what is virtually perfect conditions it's quite fresh here a tiny tiny little breeze [Music] and these races take on a very different dynamic to some of the usual big city races no pacemakers here this is about gold silver and bronze and it's about who gets here first to add their name to a rich list of champions the women coming first and i know many people will be very excited about the men's race a certain zernator dese who arguably is already the greatest half marathon runner in history five times he's been the champion he's going for six of the best here and he's up against the last man to beat him in a world half marathon championship wilson kiprok the kenyan so we have to wait some 40 minutes or so for the start of the men's race to get underway along with the masses here but the women should be on the course in around about 10 minutes time [Music] the atmosphere has been growing slowly and steadily over the last couple of days here in copenhagen and you can see here just by the number of people lining the edge of the route at the start and the finish area we've been told and this is a realistic expectation we've been told that there could be upwards of a hundred thousand people lining the route here because that's the advantage of amalgamating these two elite races in with the mass participation there are tens of thousands of people here to support their relatives and friends and they will also be treated to the rare site here on scandinavian land of two of the very best elite fields in the world going toe to toe for these prestigious titles i can assure you it really isn't that cold it's a little bit fresh but uh one or two of these athletes just keeping warm with the blankets but the conditions for the elites are as close to ideal as you could possibly expect just heard the stadium announcers on the pa system here in this uh historic square telling us and confirming that we now do have just less than 10 minutes to go before the start of the elite women's race people tuning in all over the world to watch this certainly there's great interest in the elite women's race lucy caboo goes for kenya she's been winning titles for that famous nation since 2006. commonwealth gold in melbourne and she's the joint sixth fastest in history with 6609 at the very fast rack half marathon course last year gladys cirono her compatriots also in this one and then two or three very very useful ethiopians so the uh the race hasn't got underway they're just uh being allowed a little warm up here confirmation of that from our aerial shot just the last few minutes ticking down it's amazing to think how quickly the quality of female elite distance running has grown the first sub 70 minute half marathon by a woman was the legendary greta vates back in 1982 the first sub 68 minutes came from alana meyer the south african in 1991 and although we are only into the 11th week of competition here in 2014 32 women have already gone under 70 minutes the standard in female distance running is just getting better and better and better for those of you who are fans of your history when it comes to the big names three women have won multiple titles in this competition tegla larupay three golds in 97 98 and 99. paula radcliffe 2000 2001 and 2003 and then lorna kiplicat born in kenya now flying the flag for holland in 2006 2007 and 2008. let lamin diack is making his way across to the start area as the clock ticks down always anxious moments [Music] whether you're an elite or whether you're a fun runner you just want to get going 102 dressy of algeria got a season's best of 72 minutes so we will expect a great battle to unfold between the kenyans and the ethiopians but who else will be able to put themselves right in the mix in this women's race much interest from the italians here in valeria straneo she was just absolutely superb at the world championships last year in moscow proving that you don't need to be an east african to get yourself on the podium she tore the field apart in the elite women's marathon in fairly tough conditions and was rewarded with a great silver medal she's uh on good form here straneo the italian and she was in the press conference yesterday in one of the stunning municipal buildings talking about how much she's reinvigorated in the latter part of her career there's a wider glimpse of the start area and you can just see the flash of yellow just beyond the bridge as the helicopter just moves around towards the right hand third of your picture there that's where the finish area will be they head out towards fredericksburg the steepest part of the course and then the last two kilometers we'll see them past the world famous tivoli gardens copenhagen town square and then back here towards the finish area in front of christiansborg castle so who will be responsible for setting the early pace the world half marathon championship for women is just moments away from starting here a mass of color and energy will be expected on the streets of copenhagen the danish capital resplendent in this late spring crisp sunshine lorna kipligant has won this title three times she has the women only world record florence kiplegat who's not here today has set a new world record this year that's awaiting ratification 65-12 what a time that is well the organizers have assured us this is a very fast flat one loop course so we have 90 women representing 40 countries here in this race and what great battles are about to emerge on the streets watch out for strangeo as i was mentioning the italian and the japanese what a record they've got in this event their women have taken six of the last seven team bronze medals in this competition interesting to see how elvan aveligazi gets on the turkish woman she's a double olympic medalist that was back in beijing she's taking time off to have a baby and has since posted a sub 2 30 marathon so clearly coming back to some kind of form and fitness and there's plenty of interest in her here in copenhagen so almost time for the talking to stop and the action to start we've had all the press conferences we've felt the build up here in the danish capital over the last few days and now it is game time for the world's leading elite women grove dahl will be getting a lot of support from the scandinavians she's a former european junior cross country steeplechase and 5000 meter champion she was 13th in the moscow 5000 meter final last year so she's flying the flag for the scandinavians although she's uh norwegian there's a great camaraderie amongst all the scandinavian nations the danes the swedes the finns but there is lucy caboo she's a tiny figure with a huge reputation she's the joint sixth fastest woman in history at this distance and she's also a former commonwealth champion over ten thousand meters and she's a sub 220 marathon runner as well valeria brilliant silver in moscow last year there she is in the familiar deep rich blue of italy kabu alongside her being introduced to the crowd cirono third from the left-hand side she won the prague half marathon last year and was a silver medalist in the ten thousand meters drastical petterson a best of uh 73 and a half minutes there being introduced to the crowd [Applause] so [Music] we are waiting to hear the gun [Music] [Applause] and for this great race with a brilliant history to get underway so here just outside christian sport castle just alongside the old stock exchange here in the heart of a city that really is in love with distance running we are just seconds away now from the start of this women's world half marathon championship and it's underway truly world-class field out onto the streets of copenhagen and you can see there just how many people have turned out to support these elite runners the masses to come [Music] and the elite men still some 20 25 minutes away from taking their place on the course but a wonderful sight here for any distance running fan and it must be great for these elite women to be roared on by such a large and vociferous crowd [Applause] [Music] [Applause] gudeta just towards the right of picture she won the great north run last year and there's a rene calmer just on the right hand side 14th in the world half marathon championships back in 2009 and we already have uh one or two casualties i did notice as we look at the south african karma leading with gudeta just alongside a caboo tucked in behind i just noticed uh one or two walkers there at the back of that elite group and gudeta just had a little look over her shoulder there and if you're a fan of distance running you may recall not too long ago in the new york half marathon great britain's double olympic champion mo farah was tripped and fell in the early to middle part of the race and it's a a different dynamic running in a pack on the roads to that which you experience on the track so these women all totally comfortable at this pace in the early couple of minutes they just need to make sure that they keep their heels clear and they don't end up getting clipped as farrah did in the early stages of the new york half [Applause] [Applause] salem of algeria is uh tucked in there ewade just on the left of picture just 19 years of age [Music] japanese as i said just before the start with a really really rich history in this event our guard of denmark director just showing us the homegrown talent there she's got a best of uh 75 minutes and he met our guard so uh no disrespect to her we probably won't be seeing her in the mix for the medals come the closing stages but i'm sure all the danish competitors here in the male and female elite races will get a great reception as they move their way round the streets of their capital [Music] city [Music] lisa stublick is up there for croatia very very nice runners dublin 12th in the new york half marathon last year as we just look at the two danish women just getting a little bit detached balmiester well her best is 76 and a half so she's keeping her compatriot our guard company but they're uh a little way detached in these early stages from the elite leaders what a story that was for valerie straneo last year at the world championships a woman reborn after having a gallbladder removed she said it was like giving birth again and uh she's certainly been rejuvenated we're talking about the italian in the deep blue strip there she ran away from a world-class field in moscow last year and she's one of these instinctive athletes who when she feels good she just goes to the front and she's not afraid of reputation or context and it almost took her to the world title in moscow last year and she richly deserved her moment on the podium with that great great silver medal [Applause] running past the famous naval barracks here in copenhagen copenhagen started out as a viking fishing village founded in the 10th century and then became the capital of denmark unreliably informed early in the 15th century [Applause] the algerian 225 marathon runner she's a second from the left there with the lime green shorts and the white top she's also towards the front but you can see here blom 166 from norway see he has a best of outside 75 minutes so it's not too surprising that we see quite a few women adrift of this lead group but the interesting thing here is that all of the big names are still right there at the front the casterlet star fortress one of the reasons why this is such a uh such a great city to visit in summer all winter and we've actually been very lucky with the weather here because we were reminded yesterday at the pre-race press conference by the organizers that this time last year towards the end of march on the streets of copenhagen there was a fairly a fairly significant layer of snow so that would have put a different dynamic on the race if that had been the case this year but they were delighted that we've been greeted by nothing but clear blue skies and relatively warm weather here for these last couple of days towards the end of march but there is malaria not afraid to lead backed up the silver medal in moscow last year she's not just a one hit one of the italian she was eighth in the olympic marathon in london the year before so there was perhaps a hint that that performance was within her reach at some stage that she did surprise a few people last august in russia [Music] such a fine mix of old and new architecture here in copenhagen everywhere it's within walking distance and we certainly enjoyed our stroll from the hotel to the commentary box just a couple of hours or so ago walking the the empty course [Applause] and it looks as though it's been a good decision by this race to move to a springtime format and come to a well-established big city half marathon next time round it's cardiff in great britain in 2016 and that too is a very well established half marathon so a new twist in the two decade history of this event and how refreshing is this from a european distance running perspective it's great to see that there are athletes here not afraid to lead and we have an italian and a croatian followed by a japanese athlete in the form of the teenager reya iwade and the kenyans and the ethiopians and the eritreans just quite happy to sit in this pack at the moment and lets traneo lead just as she did last year so the lead group 10 minutes on the clock good to see uh lisa christina's dublin she was ninth in berlin back in 2010 12th in new york last year as i said with a pb of 225 and she was fourth in the new york half marathon this year as well so she's clearly got some form to bring alongside her marathon strength and speaking of marathon strength on the left of picture christel dornay of france just running behind lucy caboo but dorney has been around for such a long time brilliant runner great longevity from the french woman and once again she's up here in the mix in yet another world-class distance race so a slightly different dynamic to the one which we were anticipating it's strange and lisa stublick leading for italy and croatia and we're still waiting for a move to be made by the talented group of kenyans who are in this race i haven't spoken a great deal about the uh ethiopians in this race watch out for gannet yalao she's just there third from the left-hand side world junior cross country silva back in punta umbria in 2011 a really quality runner and she won the addis half in just inside 71 minutes but when you think that addis is set two and a half thousand meters above sea level sub 71 minutes is a very good effort indeed so there she is just making her presence felt towards the front of that lead group and she certainly could be featuring come the business end of this race quite good when the cameraman panned down and give you a glimpse of the feat because it reminds you that these athletes are very definitely running and they're not jogging finish a half marathon inside 70 minutes is very very good running indeed male or female denmark with a rich history in distance running on an elite and club level but there won't be too many men here from denmark who run inside 70 minutes such is the quality of that barrier you may just be hearing a little bit of sound from one or two of the bands who are gamely lining the route they'll be entertaining some of the 30 000 or so will be out onto the course very shortly behind the elite men so alison dixon of great britain one three seven [Applause] just uh with the ponytails there good runner dixon she had 231 in the brighton marathon last year but the field have been split as we would have expected and i know the cameras are quite keen to show us caroline grove dart there she is just moving through shot one six seven 140 is christina pat pat the hungarian who was 20 in the world half back in 2007 but now we return our attention to the leaders and we have three kenyans side by side at the front among them lucy caboo who on paper for many people was arguably the favorite for this race but there is still a long long way to go just 15 minutes on the clock very comfortable looking athlete 6609 last year in the rack half marathon cirono just on the left of picture silver in the 10 000 meters in moscow last year behind tyranish de barber there's cabarrus she was fourth in the paris half marathon this year and she won the venice marathon last year so great strength here among the kenyans at the front and just a reminder if you're tuning into a world half marathon championship for the first time we're not just concerned here with the individual gold silver and bronze there are also team medals available each nation are allowed to start with a maximum of five runners the times of the leading three are added together and it's the cumulative time of the three best runners from each nation which go towards deciphering gold silver and bronze now just tucking in behind the uh quartet of kenyans i beg your pardon quintet because captainch is uh there and so too isn't googie so all five of the kenyans right at the front and we did have stublick and steleneo leading for croatia and italy but normal service has been resumed in this early part of the race with the kenyans dominating proceedings at the front and it remains to be seen at what stage they just begin to think about winding up the pace and trying to stretch away from the ethiopians face is there she was third in the addis ababa half marathon earlier this year remember that's uh two and a half thousand meters above sea level so has to be taken into account when you're looking at season's bests as to where they were posted and at what altitude [Applause] laurent clipping american personal best of 72 minutes good to see a resurgence of american distance running over the recent years but the benchmark has been set by the east african nations over the last two decades and it's been brilliant actually to see kenyan and ethiopian women producing races as thrilling as their male counterparts took a little while longer the kenyan dominance sort of began in the 1960s the likes of kipchoge kano gold medals in mexico and munich and then the kenyan women didn't start coming along to win towards the latter half of the 90s but my goodness me they've made up for it ever since national football stadium if you've ever been privileged enough to watch an international football match there you'll know what a great atmosphere the stadium generates i watched northern ireland play denmark there some five or six years ago and it was so noisy in the stadium you could hardly hear yourself think a city with a huge amount to offer and there are a lot of families staying in the uh iwaf hotel as well so plenty of club runners and fun runners have come from overseas not just to watch but to run on the same course on the same day as the two world championship fields and there aren't many sports where you can say that if you're an amateur that you've competed at the same time on the same course as those vying for world titles and we certainly hope and expect if we get good weather that there'll be as much support in cardiff in a couple of years time when they host the next edition of the iwaf world half marathon championships as we're very much enjoying here in copenhagen does seem to have been a great decision by the organizers to merge these two races the men's still to come of course into a pre-existing big city half marathon so we started with a sizable group as is always the case and slowly and surely the move to the front by the quintet of kenyan women has resulted in that very big group being whittled down to some dozen or so and i wonder if we will see the same dynamic in the men's race or whether the five-time world half marathon champion cerseinata dese will go hard from the front as he did on route to his fifth title in cavanaugh in bulgaria two years ago so the ethiopians and the kenyans at the front in the women's race cristal dornay was there for the french and i do believe valerie straneo was still in contention for italy as well so while the elite women are out onto the course we turn our attention to the men's race and the big question everyone is asking can the greatest half marathon runner in history zerzanet odesse of eritrea make it six of the best here in copenhagen five times he has conquered all in this the event in which he also happens to be the reigning world record holder his first win came back in 2006. as we just get a reminder as to how many nations are taking part here 113 entrants from 47 countries and today had his first win in 2006 and then one every year up to but not including 2010 because a calf injury contributed to him losing for the first time since 2003 he finished second to the kenyan wilson kiprop tedesse regained that title in the sweltering heat of bulgaria in 2012 but significantly kiprop wasn't there to defend his gold but he's here and he's up for it and he's in form so what a story here in this elite men's world half marathon championship today is without doubt there he is in the centre picture he's without doubt the greatest of all time and he's the defending champion but he's up against the only man to beat him to this title in the last eight years wilson kiprop who's just been introduced to the crowd and jeff whiteman the uh city center announcer here has just given zerzaneta dese cv an airing for the crowd there is no doubt he's the greatest of all time as murayama the leading non-african on the world standings this year i think he's 26th just inside 61 minutes it remains to be seen with tedesch whether he has maintained the form that took him to that quintet of titles kiprop has run inside 60 minutes this year today hasn't gone under the hour since 2012 he is usually the master of peaking at exactly the right time can he do so once again today and seal an unprecedented sixth global title at this distance we are about to find out so the elite men's race is underway here in the sunshine of copenhagen and along with it begins the journey of 30 000 club runners and fun runners they may well finish quite some distance behind the likes of zerzanet odesse and wilson kibrot but a wonderful sight here and great to see these world-class distance runners benefiting from huge crowds out here enjoying the atmosphere and the spectacle on a sunny saturday lunchtime [Music] well it will be fascinating to see what type of race emerges here i spoke to wilson kiprop as we look at some of the fun runners bounding along the streets here following some of the best in the world and what a great privilege and what a great additional motivation for them as they wind their way through the streets of copenhagen for what for some will be a run that takes close to and in some cases in excess of two hours as opposed to the one hour that many of these elite males are capable of running wilson kiprop arguably the best of the kenyans competing here today who very much wants his title back from 2010 he said yesterday to me after the press conference that he felt it might be a little cagey here today but certainly none of the eritreans and today would necessarily feel like they would want to put themselves out there today went straight to the front two years ago in cavanaugh but with all respect to the field that he took on in bulgaria there wasn't an athlete of the caliber of wilson kiprop so he felt possibly a little more liberated in terms of hitting the front [Applause] but uh what a great race is in the process of unfolding here meanwhile we will keep rocking and rolling between the men's and the women's race because you can see here that the elite women have something close to half an hour on the clock and i just saw in the back of shot the last time we saw the elite women only chris del dornay and at that time valerie stroneo of europe were still in the mix no sign of strine and there is valeria estraneo and she is just having to work hard alongside chris del dornay she just glances over so the italian and the french woman have been dropped and so too ale mayu of ethiopia they're not completely detached you can see them just in the back of shot as we look at the front of the elite group in this women's race but three have become detached the french woman the italian and ali mayu who was six in the great ethiopian run last year she has also dropped off the back of this lead group and we're now approaching the second half of this elite women's race and the familiar duel between the bright red and the bright green the kenyans and the ethiopians is unfolding [Music] [Applause] meanwhile the elite men just smoothly negotiating the first kilometer interesting to see two of the japanese athletes up at the front of that uh big group inui was second in the tokyo half marathon a couple of years ago [Music] but no sign yet of zerzaneta dese or wilson kiprot on paper the two favourites for this race and if we are expecting it to turn into a duel perhaps both of them quite happy to just sit in the pack in these early stages let the first few kilometers tick along [Applause] 30 000 out onto the streets [Music] and you can see how many are still yet to even cross the start line it's heartening to see the extent of the enthusiasm for distance running here and uh the team tactics here by the japanese athletes just uh dominating things in the early stages and at the very least i guess keeping out of trouble lamda sam is tucked in behind the uh three canyons of the three japanese athletes i beg your pardon interesting competitor lam de sam representing spain now he's got a best of just inside 61.5 minutes and he certainly has the reputation and the talent to get in amongst the mix here towards the end of the race [Applause] kikuchi just on the left of picture second in the yamaguchi half marathon this year and the japanese athletes just heading things along now this is a glimpse of the league group in the women's race straneo and dornae for italy and france have become detached and look at the quality here 32-14 at 10k and that is around about 68 minute pace which is pretty good going we may expect to see that increase in the second half of the race and what a race we have in prospect because it's not just about the gold silver and bronze it's also about the team title as well the top three finishers for each nation have their times added together and that determines gold silver and bronze for each of the leading nations a source of huge pride to go alongside the quest for the individual glory here in copenhagen murayama the best of the non-african performers over the half marathon distance so far this year [Music] lovely and light on his feet and if you are a club runner or a fun runner it is just amazing to watch how easy these athletes make this fast-paced look for the mere mortals among us it would almost be flat out but it just looks so smooth when you're watching athletes of this caliber natural talent yes a huge number of miles have been put into making it look as easy as it appears on our television screens here [Applause] so murayama leads i'm just looking back down this big group and you can see today he's just uh slightly obscured he's actually running behind kiprop tedesch bounces a little bit from side to side from left to right and that's somehow sometimes how you can pick him out in a big group of athletes so the two favorites sitting in taking their time and we're yet to see a move from the eritrean or from wilson kiprok the kenyan and let's not rule anyone else out in this league group it may not be today or kiprop who take the honors towards the end of the race a long long way to go for these elite men [Applause] sixth in the world junior 10 000 meters back in 2012 and lambda sam is just nicely tucked in behind him [Applause] very very good athlete lambda sam former moroccan switched to spain in 2007 [Applause] just tucking in behind the japanese athlete at the moment 10th in the london marathon last year although he didn't finish the marathon in moscow lamda sam so he's in second it's muriyama leading at the moment and here we're looking at some of the better club runners heading out uh on to the very early stages of this half marathon one of the japanese athletes veering across to his left hand side to make sure he's collecting plenty of liquid and it's a it's a funny day temperature wise here because it's a glorious uh glorious sunny lunch time but it is quite fresh in the shade here almost you suggest ideal conditions for a distance race maybe some of the east africans might argue they'd be happy with another couple of uh a couple of centigrade on the uh on the thermometer but um it's a lovely uh lovely clear day not too much wind and we have been assured it's uh quite a fast course so it'll be interesting to see what sort of times they're capable of generating we got a glimpse of the women's clocking at 10k which was just inside i think was about 32 15 32 14. which had them on course for a roundabout or just inside 68 minutes which is very good going joseph at points representing the united states the former kenyan he was cleared for u.s citizenship in 2012 third in the honolulu marathon three years ago and uh kenyan and ethiopian expertise not just represented by their own national flags here the world's a very small place these days and the talent from the rift valley sometimes represented by new adopted nations and done proudly as well contrast in the noise there as the cameras just head back down the [Applause] course are plenty of clapping and plenty to look at [Applause] for those watching the leaders and look who's moved through on the right hand side zerzaneta dese the world's greatest half marathon runner was content to sit in the pack and with almost 14 minutes on the clock it's almost as if he couldn't resist himself so often he's a front runner he's not necessarily going to go straight off the back but i wonder whether this is just a little declaration of intent from zerzaneta dese he hasn't raced much in the last 18 months he didn't finish the chicago marathon last autumn which he was disappointed about and i just wonder whether he's sending a little reminder a little punctuation mark to the rest of the field i'm still here i'm the world record holder when it comes to this distance i'm the number one and you are really going to have to produce your best to deny me an incredible sixth world title tedesce has moved through the field and put himself right at the front of that lead pack [Music] so fascinating positioning here three or four eritreans just over to the right of picture with that quite distinctive pale blue vest and the kenyans are watching and waiting and tracking wilson kiprot just almost looking across to his right hand side there he is second from the right he's among the tallest of the kenyans in this race and he's absolutely tracking to dese right behind him on the far right hand side and if this is to turn into a fascinating jewel then kiprop is absolutely determined to regain the crown he stole from today in the sweltering humid conditions of nanjing in china back in 2010 so the women now into some of the crucial parts of this race and what a great performance this is by the kenyans all five of their women right up there yalu is there for ethiopia and she could definitely win this race so world junior cross country silva she's just there third from the left hand side gudeta is trying to hang on for ethiopia as well and crystal dornae the evergreen french woman has just become a little bit detached she's in a a battle for the best of europe with valerie straneo who's just chucking along behind her but this is about kenya versus ethiopia at the front of this [Music] [Applause] field and this is certainly looking good as far as the team competition is concerned for the kenyan women first three to score now i think one of the kenyans has just begun to be dropped by this group so we've got lucy caboo we've got captic and googie so they are beginning to wind things up here in this women's race meanwhile we're back with the men they've gone through 5k in 1430 which equates to around about 61.5 minutes by mere mortal standards that is incredible but all of these men in this league group will be fairly comfortable with that kind of pace and you suspect it will take a little injection at some point to really start to whittle this sizeable field down camera raw the world junior cross country champion back in punta umbria leeds he's got a not too shabby pb of 206 for the marathon he's twice finished third in berlin so he's at the front at the moment and we have a fairly unusual situation we've got this lead pack split across the road running in two different groups now the reason this is quite interesting is that if you're uh a regular runner of half marathons and marathons you'll be aware that you follow the blue line it's the uh most uh economic route to the finish line but a fair number of those athletes who've now redone that rejoin that main group were over on the left-hand side of the course not taking the tightest line so wilson kiprok the champion from 2010 said the early stages of this race might be kg there he is in the center of your picture and that certainly looks as though it has transpired to be the case today tucked in behind the three kenyans who are leading at the moment a few little palms in the bases of the backs there just as they went round that corner [Applause] [Music] a big big group kiprops looking over his shoulder just to see who's there and most of the big names are right there in that group so when will we see a move and who will it be from these men are so fast that even with only 20 minutes on the clock we're uh we're over a quarter quarter of the way through this race kiprok right at the front chimosins there as well first in the eudean half marathon a couple of years ago [Applause] kiprop so confident yesterday in the press conference i did put it to him that one of the reasons to dese was beaten by him in nanning in 2010 was because he had a calf issue and he said yes but a race is a race and i know what it takes to beat him so the men's race still a long way to go now we rejoin the elite women and gudeta has become isolated she won the great ethiopian run last autumn third in the rome to ostia half marathon this year but she is in no man's land as it were she has become detached and that means we have four kenyans away and clear at the head of the field [Music] so barring disasters or a late uh attack of cramp it looks as though the team title will be heading towards kenya but which of these four women will join that rich list of champions lucy caboo arguably the most decorated of the quartet a former commonwealth champion a sub 220 marathon runner but captic is there seventh in the 10 000 meters last year at the world championship wilson kiprop trapped by zerzinay todesse [Applause] well there were three japanese men leading in the very early stages of this race and the east africans were quite happy to sit off the pace but now the two main protagonists are right at the front of that lead group and they are watching each other with intent is just over on the left hand side first in houdini then then camera raw really classy performer sixth in tokyo this year jeffrey camera just glancing over effortlessly to his left-hand side where he sees cersenator dese and wilson kiprop and they keep looking at each other kiprop antadese as if to add a little more to the to the mental games that are going on i got the feeling yesterday at the press conference that there isn't too much love lost between the the two men who fought so gallantly for the title in 2010 but odessa feels as though the calf issue was a major factor in him losing that race and kiprop said that was irrelevant i'm a champion he's a champion we both have what it takes to win this race [Applause] just on the right of picture there kiprop now happy to set back in the pack looks as though there has been a little bit of an injection there [Applause] joseph at boyd is alongside chimos in at the front point the kenyan who now represents the united states [Applause] czech rock just in that group as well 15th in the world this year over the half marathon the ethiopians perhaps not with the individual big names that you may hope in fact interestingly enough only highly gabriel selassie has won this world half marathon title for uh ethiopia that was a little while back now i think it was in 2001. so the ethiopians arguably with their best chance in this race coming if they managed to secure yet another team medal a safer five two nine and alongside him 520 zerzine today in that lead group aiming for his sixth title over the half marathon distance watch out for the two south africans in this race as well lusarfo april and stephen makoka both very very capable performers april i just noticed was in that group he was third in the new york marathon last year and makoka has got an incredible range 338 for the 15 and 208 for the marathon so the two south africans are adding a touch of intrigue to these races but we're still waiting to see when the move will come from either of the big two not everyone going across for a drink it is quite cool as i've said a couple of times but uh i noticed one or two of the japanese athletes making sure they picked up plenty of liquid respecting the uh distance here just making sure that they keep those hydration levels up [Applause] well a lot of excitement to see whether tedese can go for the sixth title but there's real quality in that elite men's field and he may well not have it all his own way and as i say that today has gone to the front once again alongside camera and on the near side wilson kiprop he does have a habit of enjoying going to the front zerzine to dese he was leading the olympic 10 000 meters in london and then drifted out of the medals in the sprint although he was the first eritrean to get an olympic medal that was when he finished third behind ken anisa beca in 2004 oh and there there's been some stumblers there one or two of the kenyans i just noticed camera raw motion to zerzine to dese to move across so that one or two of the athletes could go and get their drinks now nobody went down but there were definitely some stumblers there and it looked as though it was the rich red strip of kenya so no problem for wilson kiprop he's there i'm just watching for camera i think he's on the left-hand side just now behind cersei today and it just shows you how careful these world-class athletes have to be mo farah took a tumble in the new york half marathon some month or so ago [Music] and camera raw was definitely motioning to tedesse to give him a little bit of space so that he could get across to his right hand side and pick up some liquid [Applause] now 156 is lucy caboo and she has been dropped so chirono is still there sotu and gooey and sally chip yeago so kabu arguably the strongest of the five kenyans in this race is just struggling here a little bit godetta desperately trying to hang on for the ethiopians and she really does have to make sure she can give it everything towards the finish because the ethiopians will be hoping to get on the podium in the team competition but we're into the last what 12 or 13 minutes or so of this elite women's race they went through 15k in 48.08 so that's around about what 68 maybe just inside 68 minute pace and with lucy caboo having been broken by this lead trio we are at the moment looking at a kenyan one two three but at this stage it doesn't look as though lucy caboo will be among the medalists but what will the order be here captainch seventh in the ten thousand meters last year cirono on the far side she got the silver and googie won the san juan world's best 10k by over a minute in puerto rico this year so each of those three women with the credentials to take this title but it would be a step up in class for each of the three of them you can see kabu in the background but she's been detached and it would take a real real effort for her now to rejoin this lead trio and i think they know that one of the big danger women even though they are compatriots they're fierce individual competitors as well i think they know that that's a big danger gone with caboo having been dropped [Music] the avenue of spectators and danish flags forms a great backdrop for this last 10 minutes or so are this elite women's race sally kaptic based in japan alongside marion googie and googie has taken a step up in class this year to win that world's best 10k in san juan what an opportunity for these three women lucy caboo is doing her level best to stay with them in fourth place [Applause] these three at the moment are away and clear and it doesn't look as though anybody will be catching them so the question will be what order will they finish on that podium is there a dollar for ethiopia and has wilson kiprok being dropped no there is kip rock was just out of camera range there he is in this group but tedesce is winding this pace up and trying to assert his dominance on this race as they're now over the halfway stage 596 is stephen makoka he can't be ruled out five three two to kaylee sixth in the at his half marathon gabriel selassie not highly but gourmet 519 the eritrean [Applause] eritrea aiming for yet another team silver azerzine today is at the front and he's starting to ask the questions of the ethiopians and the kenyans who are in this race [Applause] kamwar is right alongside him just sending him a little message that he's ready to mount a challenge and he certainly has the class over cross country and the marathon jeffrey camera to get himself on the podium but what a second half of the race we have in prospects [Applause] and there is absolutely no doubt this is a definite injection of pace there from cersei to dese now i'm not sure there whether he was motioning to the crowd to respond to an eritrean flag or whether he was sending a message to samuel segay his compatriot is running just behind him but cersenator desse the world cross country champion from 2007 the world silver medalist over ten thousand meters behind kennedy mckayle in 2009 and the five-time world champion over this distance in this event is really pushing the pace and one by one this big lead pack of athletes is dropping away well he hasn't won inside 60 minutes there's a later desert in a half marathon since 2012 but he is the master of peaking at the right time especially when it comes to this race [Music] [Applause] so kiprot is definitely still in that group but he's now towards the back and it's arguably his compatriot jeffrey camera with the white trainers who looks slightly more comfortable perhaps than kiprop back to this women's race sally captic is in second place within googie in third but out front it's the moscow silver medalist gladys cirono this is lucy caboo she's in fourth place she's just off the back of the pace but out front is gladys cirono can she upgrade her moscow silver over 10 000 meters to gold here on the streets of copenhagen some wonderful kenyan athletes have gone before her on this podium not least of which the legendary czech rupee she's won this three times so too the kenyan-born lorna kipligan who now represents holland and can gladys girono add her name to a rich list of kenyan champions she has now as long as they haven't slowed down certainly judging by the last checkpoints gladys cirono now has some four minutes of running possibly even less and it's in googy who's moved into second place away and clear from sally kaptic well it will be the team title for kenya of that there is no doubt and we will return to that women's race shortly the elite men with almost 40 minutes on the clock zerzaneta dese has once or twice gone to the front and the last time we saw him there was a definite bid to break this group of athletes kiprop was off the back of that lead group but it's got back on terms kanwaror is now leading and sega has his compatriots samuel segay in that group for company what a glorious moment this is going to be for gladys cirono double gold in the african championships in 2012. silver last year over 10 000 meters behind the legendary ethiopian tyranish to barber on the track but as ungoogie and captic battle for the silver and bronze the gold is destined to go the way of gladys cirono coming in now to huge applause from the crowd [Applause] it has been a race that she has timed to perfection she gave us a glimpse as to what she can produce on the roads over the half marathon winning the prague race last year inside 67 minutes but this has been a masterful masterful performance here from gladys cirono we saw her class on the track in moscow last year when she got on the podium but now she's doing it over a different distance on a different surface and it very much looks as though she's going to upgrade that silver from moscow to gold here in copenhagen a hundred thousand people lining the roots of the danish capital [Applause] their flags are waving in respect of a great great athlete and a new global champion gladys cirono has without a doubt taking a step up in class here today many thought that her compatriot lucy caboo would be the one to potentially take this title for kenya but it's chirono who's going to come away with the honours brilliant run from mary and googie to come through for second place we knew that she was in form after she won the world's best 10k in san juan early this year by over a minute [Applause] but the applause will now rise again because gladys cirono has entered the last few hundred meters she's tired she's arguably slowing down just a fraction but it doesn't matter this has been a brilliant performance and gladys cirono the silver medalist in the 10 000 meters in moscow last year upgrades to gold here in copenhagen a wonderful performance a great silver for mary and coogie a wonderful embrace for the two compatriots and in a moment they will complete and celebrate the kenyan one two three captic coming home for the bronze well brilliant performance there all three kenyan women coming home inside 68 minutes they've taken the team title and they've once again demonstrated their dominance over the rest of the world including their great ethiopian rivals gold silver and bronze to the kenyans and how will it turn out in the men's race [Applause] [Music] so jeffrey camera for kenya big strong powerful performer world junior cross country gold in punta umbria [Music] and zerzaneta dese is really having to hang on here it looks as though kiprop's challenge has faded camera leads samuel segay the eritrean is in second place a dollar who won the marrakech half marathon earlier this year he's in third for ethiopia today is not beaten yet but he is clearly going through a bad patch and he's in fourth [Applause] well jeffrey camel raw has got great great range he's a 206 marathon runner twice he's finished third in berlin as well as being a world junior cross country champion but he's got samuel segay for company and how amazing it would be for sega to finally get himself an individual global medal he's had world half marathon team medals before with eritrea but twice he's finished fifth in this race in 2009 and 2010 fifth in the world cross in 2010 as well but here he is in a podium position at the moment and there's a definite injection of pace there by jeffrey camera the kenyan is trying to pull away from the rest of the field and now it's going a dollar of ethiopia who just allows one or two meters to open up between himself and the eritrean and the kenyan out front today's in fourth place and maybe if a dollar starts to tie it to desay can try and wind him in and get himself back towards the lead duo wilson kiprop appears as though he's going through a little bit of a bad patch [Music] so the duel that many people were expecting and predicting at the moment has not transpired to be between wilson kiprop and cersenator d'essay it is a duel between a kenyan and an eritrean but it's kamwa raw against segay two big strong men as a dollar still hangs on in third place at the moment and when you look at the physique of these two leaders camera and sega you could mistake them for four or eight hundred meter runners quite big strong men muscly upper bodies different physiques to that of the likes of hailey gabriel selassie the legendary ethiopian and there's the side on view of cersei today he is a five-time champion of this distance he's the reigning world record holder but there's the distance from him up to the lead trio he absolutely cannot be ruled out at the moment but tedesse is now going to have to draw on all of his strength and belief and experience over this his premier distance if he is to once again get himself on the podium in these world half marathon championships [Applause] he's working so so hard to try and close the gap [Applause] five goals and one silver he is already the greatest half marathon runner in history and we haven't necessarily seen today's best in the last 18 months but if he could somehow work his way back up to this group and get himself a medal it would be a performance almost equal to those five individual titles [Applause] he's not making an inroad on that gap at the moment and it would seem the way the race is panning out at this stage as though maybe his best opportunity for getting on the podium is if a dollar the ethiopian in third begins to tire and tedesse just starts to smell an [Applause] opening they're on course at the moment i've just got the split for the 15k marker they went through in 42-26 that is inside the hour so this is a really strong piece of running by jeffrey camaro they're on course for a time inside one hour and samuel segay just looked over his shoulder there to see where zerzaneta dese was and the answer is he's still driving still trying and still attempting to close the gap and successfully defend this title and we know of course that the [Applause] individual medals have all been taken by the kenyans and they've won the team competition but there's a real chance here for the eritreans to secure their first team title in this event sega is right up there with camera zerzaneta dese is in fourth place and there's another eritrean just in the distance behind cersenite odessa so this great team competition that has been dominated by the kenyans over the years two titles for the ethiopians two for south africa and one each for italy and tanzania the eritreans have had seven successive team silvers could this be an opportunity for them to finally be on top of the team podium but jeffrey camera seriously means business here he's managed to get away from a dollar and also samuel segay and the dynamic for silver and bronze has changed because where it looked as though a dollar was struggling he now has moved into second place and it's samuel segay who's in third [Applause] well inside the last 10 minutes now for the leaders a look at the effort and the drive from cersei to dese you have to admire his determination [Applause] he hasn't given up here this race has not panned out as he would have hoped and maybe expected but he's giving it absolutely everything here it is the performance of a champion if not in terms of the position he's occupying but by the heart with which he is really having a go camera sixth in the tokyo marathon this year 206 12 his best twice he's been on the podium at the berlin marathon [Applause] he just takes on the slight incline there [Music] guy a dollar in second place for ethiopia but there's the gap from zerzanet to dessa's perspective up to his compatriot samuel segay who occupies third and whereas it looked as though dese was going to have to close down a dollar maybe there could be heartache once again for today's compatriot samuel segay because if cersenator dessa is going to get on the podium he's going to have to relegate segate to fourth and so many times the other eritrean has missed out on an individual medal but he's got to keep driving and focusing here and forget about the fact that zerzaneta dese his highly decorated compatriot is attempting to close him down from fourth to third cannot be ruled out of a podium finish at this stage look at the cadence and the speed of his turnover has he left himself enough to try and come back to get yet another medal [Applause] well jeffrey camera has proven himself on two surfaces here [Applause] a brilliant world junior gold in cross country at punta umbria back in 2011. we've seen him on the roads of berlin and tokyo producing very very good times in the marathon and could he be joining gladys cirono as a world half marathon champion here in copenhagen all credit to gaia a dollar he hasn't been completely detached yet the ethiopian [Applause] and there's the gap from todesa in fourth up to segate and a dollar in third and second is there a chance that cersenator dese can somehow close the gap on his compatriot wilson kiprok was hugely confident coming into this race that he's become detached from the lead group today's had a go but when the real injection of pace came from jeffrey camera today was not able to respond [Applause] as he did so well in the previous five editions of this race in which he has taken the title [Applause] the last time split we had gave us an indication that this is going to be a sub 60 minute performance it is possible that camera has tired in the closing stages we've seen him looking over his shoulder just to check where [Applause] guy a dollar is and whether he's closing [Applause] [Music] 56-13 at 20k this is really really quick an excellent performance it is going to be well inside 60 minutes for jeffrey camera still looking over his shoulder he's getting tired he knows he's closing in here unarguably the biggest win of his career yes he is a global junior champion at cross country but this is a senior title one that his highly decorated compatriots have taken in the past turgot's won it twice paul koski has been victorious martin lal paul kurui some great great names in kenyan distance running have conquered this race and jeffrey camera at just 21 years of age looks as though he is joining them what a battle there's going to be for the silver and the bronze between gaia dollar and samuel segay but it's jeffrey camera who is now moving through some of the back markers in the female elite race [Applause] and he now is reinvigorated by the noise the reception and the applause from the crowd gladys cirono took the women's title just a few moments ago and it looks as though it is going to be double gold and double delight for kenya as jeffrey camera [Applause] comes round to receive the adulation and the applause of everyone who's gathered here at the finish line what a huge huge talent this young man is his second global title the junior cross country crown [Applause] but this is a senior performance and this announces his arrival as one of the greats a brilliant brilliant performance just outside 59 minutes he has demolished a world-class field and finally after twice finishing fifth in previous editions of this race samuel segay gets the silver a dollar hung on gamely for the bronze and as jeffrey camera bounds back down the course cersei today passes him fourth this time for the greatest half marathon runner in history he's produced an effort of real class there the first time he's run inside 60 minutes for almost two years he gave it absolutely everything and he may not have finished first this time but he's once again demonstrated to dese that he's got the heart and the drive of a champion he's lost that with dignity but i'm sure he'll be delighted for his compatriot samuel segay and i just wonder whether the eritreans have taken their first global team title after seven successive silvers jeffrey camaro at 21 years of age has just shown us there is a glittering career ahead of him on the roads of global distance running well still waiting for confirmation of the team competition but i'm pretty sure the team title has gone to the eritreans and what an achievement that would be [Music] well it's been a great race here some very very fast times being set jeffrey camera it looked as though it was going to be sub 60 and instead of slowing down he actually sped up sega was in second place with 59-20 a dollar given the same time to dese 59-37 no disgrace there for the eritrean wilson kiprop came home exactly on the one hour mark so some very very fast times but the eritreans are waving their national flag there will be a gold today for cersei to dese but it's not an individual title it's the team gold well a wonderful race all the talk before today was about a duel between the men who took gold and silver in china in 2010 wilson kiprop and cersenator d'essay but it's jeffrey camwaro who has finished here as the champion 21 years of age the fastest time in the world this year that was sheer sheer class he was so strong camera it certainly looked from the body language perspective as though he did have something special today at the halfway stage kiprok was tracking to dese in the early part of the race but when kamwar started to put the hammer down there were very very few who could respond [Music] kenya take the silver and ethiopia yet another bronze for them christiansborg castle the site of the start and the finish what a wonderful race it's been only the second time this event has been moved to a springtime slot as opposed to its normal running in the autumn and it really seems as though this has paid off by the number of people who've lined the route the quality of eritrea's performance they only missed the kenyan team record by two seconds jeffrey camwar is the world half marathon champion what a performance so strong so determined and still only 21 years of age samuel segay finally gets a silver after twice finishing fifth a dollar the bronze and it's fourth this time for zerzaneta d'essay makoka finished just outside the top ten but look at the number of personal vests being recorded down that field and a national record for arikan of turkey yet more pbs joseph at boy the expatriated kenyan now representing the united states he's finished with a personal best just outside 61 and a half the organizers promised us a fast course and a fascinating race and that's exactly what we got [Music] as we come up still athletes coming across the finish [Music] line gladys girono silver medalist in moscow last year she's a global champion now what a great finish from her in the elite women's race and googie following up that great 10k victory in san juan earlier this year she takes the silver captain the bronze and kabu surprisingly the biggest name of the quintet of the kenyans finishes in fourth [Applause] yet more personal bests here yalu inside 70 minutes clapping good performance from her the american a national record there for gladys to jada of peru finishing in 26th place one or two of the elites still making their way towards the finish line in a moment we will be treated to the presentations but the interviews and the accolades are starting to come now jeffrey cam were all when he made that break only a dollar and sega managed to go with him so strong in the upper body looked over his shoulder he was tired but he was away and clear and he now has a global senior title to go alongside his world junior crown in cross country jeffrey camera shaking his head a little bit of disbelief there as the interviews come in thick and fast and he'll be on the front page of the kenyan national newspapers tomorrow of that you can be sure hopefully there'll be one or two people toasting his great success i think there might be one or two tuskers opened in uh jeffrey camaro's hometown great performance and still at the tender age of 21 quite some accolades so we're just waiting for the presentation which is due in the next few minutes and some of these athletes are very very tired indeed the elites make it look fairly easy running inside the hour [Music] but it takes a great deal out of these men to try and come home inside 70 minutes world-class medical treatment here confirmation that after so many successive silvers the global team title belongs to the eritreans beating the kenyans and it's the bronze for ethiopian 15th for the host nation denmark finishing just behind the rwandans that's what it takes to become a champion the kenyan victory absolutely assured with their individual one two three silver for ethiopia and yet another bronze medal for the japanese women no individual medalists for them but as a team they are so so strong well that wraps things up here from the danish capital we appreciate your company over the last couple of hours the latest edition of the iwaf world half marathon championships has been an overwhelming success the second time it's revisited scandinavian shores and only the second time the male and female elite races have been joined on to a mass participation big city half marathon and hopefully this is a pattern which will be repeated with success when this great competition re-gathers in cardiff in two years time in the meantime thanks very much for your company we'll see you very soon

Channel: World Athletics

Views: 27,472

Keywords: World Athletics, worldAthletics, IAAF, Athletics, World Championships, track and field, copenhagen, denmark, marathon, half marathon, running, runner

Id: xrYwjL7B3hM

Length: 111min 27sec (6687 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 05 2020