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Gabius has a debut to remember

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Arne Gabius produced a superb marathon debut performance to put down a marker on the European scene in Frankfurt on Sunday.

In a race won by Kenyan Mark Kiptoo in 2:06.49, Gabius's decision to move up to this distance looks a superb choice after he finished ninth in 2:09.32.

And it was his second half of the race which really made him stand out.

After going through halfway in 1:05:08, he then had negative splits with 1:04:28 – the only runner to be quicker over the second half of the race.

It is third best time by a European this year and he is the first German to break the 2:10 barrier since the Berlin Marathon in 1990 when Jorg Peter ran 2:09:23 and Stephen Freigang ran 2:09:45.

Peter holds the German record of 2:08:47 from Tokyo in 1988 but Gabius is now fourth on that list. He said: 'It was my plan to run the second half faster than the first. I knew I could get under 2:10 here.'

The 5000m silver medallist at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki in 2012, Gabius was seventh in the final of that event in Zurich in August before taking on this long-distance challenge.

His time puts him behind just Great Britain’s Mo Farah, with 2:08:21, and Henryk Szost, of Poland, with 2:08:55, in the European Athletics rankings.

Although this great performance would indicate he should focus on road racing, Gabius intends to run the 5000m and 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing next year.

“Marathon training, including running up to 200 km per week, has made me stronger for the track, I’m certain of that. So I see no reason to give up track just because of what I’ve done in the marathon,” said Gabius.

As for the ultimate marathon test which awaits him in  Rio in 2016, Gabius remains candid about his ambitions: “The Olympic Marathon is everyone’s dream, so why not mine?”

As Ethiopian Aberu Kebede won the women’s race in 2:22:21, there were personal bests for Great Britain’s 44-year-old Emma Stepto, who was the first European home in seventh in 2:32:40, and Germany’s Mona Stockhecke, who was next with 2:33:50.

At the 8th Toulouse Marathon, Russia’s Sardana Trofimova broke her personal best time by more than seven minutes with a stunning course record of 2:28.18 as she won by almost five minutes from Kenyan Gladys Kipsoi, who was second in 2:33:00, and Hirut Beyene, of Ethiopia, who was third in 2:38:13.

Trofimova entered the race with a best of 2:35:48 but now has taken herself to a new level to move to joint 12th on the European Athletics rankings.

In Rennes, Ukraine’s Olha Kotovska won the women’s race at the 4th Marathon Vert in 2:28:47 – a personal best and a course record – as she beat Kenyans Valary Jemeli, second in 2:30:19, and Sarah Chebet, third in 2:31:09.

At the 29th Venice Marathon, Italy’s Giovanni Gualdi was second in 2:18:40 as Ethiopian Ketema Behailu won in 2:16:45, while in Montenegro, Olivera Jevtic, the Serbian record holder, won the 21st Podgorica Marathon in 2:38:22.




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