HONOLULU - (December 10, 2006) - Ambesse Tolossa of Ethiopia broke away from defending champion Jimmy Muindi around the 23 mile mark and won the 34th Honolulu Marathon on Sunday morning, ending a 10-year domination of the race by Kenyan men. Tolossa's time was 2 hours, 13 minutes and 42 seconds. Muindi, who was seeking a record sixth Honolulu victory, was almost a minute behind in 2:14:39.

Eric Wainana of Kenya was third in 2:16:08, Araya Haregot of Ethiopia was fourth in 2:16:59, followed by Eric Nzoiki of Kenya (2:17:10). After running with a pack of five, Muindi made a move at the 20 mile mark, but Tolossa followed, with Wainana dropping behind.

Mindi and Tolossa ran together, with the Ethiopian on the Kenyan's shoulder and then on his heels. At 23 miles, Tolossa made his move, constantly looking over his shoulder until he opened a comfortable lead. Muindi said after the race that he was annoyed by Tolossa's tactics, and told him several times to back off. Finally, Muindi pushed Tolossa away. "The Ethiopian way of racing is very bad," Muindi said after the race. "He was trying to mess with me. It was unfair."

Muindi said he wasn't feeling well, and has been suffering a cold the past few days. He said if he had been in top shape, he easily could have pulled away from Tolossa. Muindi was aiming for a 2:10 finish, hoping to break his 2004 course record of 2:11:12. He said Tolossa's finish time was slow for a winner.

Tolossa, running in his Honolulu debut, said he was hanging close behind Muindi because the defending champion was familiar with the course. He also said he and Muindi were helping each other to improve their time, and that he was trying to get a sense of his breathing pattern to get an idea if he could make a move. Both runners said they were comfortable with the very fast opening pace, with the lead pack reaching the 10K mark at a sub-five minute mile pace.

It was Tolossa's third marathon victory this year (worth $43,000). He also won the Tokyo International Marathon in February and the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in June. Today's win was the first time since Josiah Thungwane of South Africa won in 1995 that a Kenyan has not won the race, and Tolossa became the first Ethiopian to win the Honolulu Marathon.

Tolossa and Muindi both said they will be back next year.

In the women's race, Lyubov Denisova of Russia met her goal, winning the Honolulu Marathon women's title and setting a new record.

Denisova's time was 2:27:19, beating fellow Russian Lyubov Morgunova's 2004 mark of 2:27:33 by 14 seconds. Morgunova did not compete this year because of an injury.

Alevtina Biktimirova of Russia was runner-up in 2:29:42, followed by 2003 champion Eri Hayakawa of Japan in 2:32:31, defending champion Olesya Nurgalieva of Russia, 2:36:02 and Albina Ivanova of Russia, 2:39:44. Nurgalieva's twin sister, Elena, was sixth (2:41:15).

"I was not invited, and wanted to show that I could win," Denisova said. Race officials said Denisova was not among original invited runners, but was given elite status after she entered the race. The winner told a reporter several days before the race that she intended to win and break the record.

Denisova was the 2002 pacesetter, but said she doesn't remember much about that experience and that it didn't help much. The women's pacesetter was slow, Denisova said, so she passed her at the two-mile marker and went on her own pace. Biktimirova caught up with Denisova at the eight-mile mark and the two ran together until Denisova moved out at 15 miles and ran solo to the finish line. Denisova said preparing for the marathon was not just physical. "Mental preparation was about 90 percent and physical preparation was 10 percent," she said. Last March, she was third in the Los Angeles Marathon.

The record-breaking victory gave Denisova $67,000 in prize money and time and course record bonuses. The 6th largest marathon in the world had race day temperatures in the 70s with partly cloudy skies for the over 28,500 entrants.

34th Honolulu Marathon
Honolulu, HI, Sunday, December 10, 2006
MEN
1) Ambesse Tolosa, ETH, 2:13:42, $43,000
2) Jimmy Muindi, KEN, 2:14:39, $18,000
3) Eric Wainana, KEN, 2:16:08, $11,000
4) Araya Haregot, ETH, 2:16:59, $7000
5) Eric Nzoiki, KEN, 2:17:10, $4000
WOMEN
1) Lyubov Denisova, RUS, 2:27:19*, $67,000
2) Alevtina Biktimirova, RUS, 2:29:42, $26,000
3) Eri Hayakawa, JPN, 2:32:31, $13,000
4) Olesya Nurgalieva, RUS, 2:36:02, $7000
5) Albina Ivanova, RUS, 2:39:44, $3000
6) Elena Nurgalieva, RUS, 2:41:15
*Course record (previous record, 2:27:33, Lyubov Morgunova (RUS), 2004)
Complete results and more at: HonoluluMarathon.org


 

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