Last autumn, after the end of the traditional athletics season, there were fireworks at the marathon. First the Ethiopian Tigist Assefa broke the women’s marathon world record in Berlin on September 24 with a time of 2:11:53.
After this, the Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum cut his countryman last weekend in Chicago Eliud Kipchogen 34 seconds from ME and arrived at the finish line in 2:00:35. When the magical two-hour time limit was reached, Kiptum was only about 200 meters away from the finish line.
Kipchoge is managed by a Dutchman If HermensKiptumia Belgian Marc Corstjens and Assefaa the Italian Gianni Demadonna. This trio acts as the most influential backdoor when promoters sign contracts with athletes for the biggest marathons such as Berlin, Chicago, London or Rotterdam.
Reached by Urheilu, the founder-owner of Demadonna Athletics Promotion estimates that the record breaking will continue for the men very soon, but it will take time for the women. Demadonna’s, 69, team includes more than a hundred track and field athletes, a significant number of whom are East African street runners-marathoners.
– Kiptum ran three marathons in ten months and each one under 2:02. The London track (April 21, 2024) isn’t quite as fast as Berlin and Chicago, but Kiptum can break the two-hour mark there already if he gets an intact training season.
One and a half years
If the ghost border survives the attack while still in London, it will remain protected for a year and a half, according to Demadonna.
– The 2024 Chicago Marathon comes too soon after the Paris Olympic Games for Kiptum to have had time to recover optimally. Then the goal will move to the Chicago marathon until 2025.
The Olympic Games in Paris 2024 offer a unique opportunity to see Kiptum and the all-time marathoner Eliud Kipchoge, who will soon turn 39, at the same starting line. Both will be selected for the Kenyan team, but Demadonna does not think that the actual race for the gold medal will be seen.
– With all due respect, Eliud is still very strong, but he will soon turn 40.
Kiptum’s age is reported to be 23 years old, which would make him the youngest ME man of all time to have run below the 2.15 level. However, Demadonna’s credit to the population records of East Africa, which the man knows well, is not quite one hundred.
– Some say he is 23. But he could also be 26, 25 or 28. It doesn’t matter in itself.
There are good reasons for Assefa investing in Berlin and Kiptum in Chicago marathon. In Berlin, Assefa’s slipper brand is financed by Adidas, in Chicago by Kiptum’s shoe brand, Nike. Along with the toughest street marathons, Demadonna believes that the Olympic marathons will maintain a high status because the equipment sponsors pay substantial bonuses for the success of the five rings. The World Cup marathons, on the other hand, remain in the B series.
Women under 2.10
The women’s world record was improved by no less than 2.07 minutes in Berlin, so Demadonna does not believe in its rapid improvement. He predicts the Dutchman, who made his debut in Chicago with a glorious time of 2:13:44, to break the women’s new ghost limit. Sifan Hassania.
– Hassan or Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey will run under 2.10 in the next few years.
Demadonna is not afraid to admit that a significant part of the record improvements can be found in the expensive prototype sneakers of top brands with thick soles, equipped with carbon fiber plates, which were not even available to consumers at the time of the race. In the vernacular, these are called water slippers.
– Slippers turn a 2.06 marathoner into a 2.04 marathoner and so on. It can be seen quite clearly from the results.
Demadonna, who manages the East Africans, is also no stranger to the phenomenon of the boost to marathon pace brought by doping. At least one of his star clients is a marathoner Diana Kipyokei and steeplechase world champion Norah Jeruto has been sentenced to doping sanctions. There are Kenyan endurance runners because of doping around 60 suspended and 10 more in the doping investigation process.
Usain Bolt of his kind
– Kiptum has been tested very intensively for the past 10 months, even outside of competitions. I don’t think he invented anything that others didn’t already have. He is one of a kind Usain Bolta complete exceptional talent.
The attraction of the marathon in East Africa is very strong, and Demadonna, who was successful as a track runner herself, predicts that we have only seen the beginning of the phenomenon. The Italian’s star customers include, among others, an Ethiopian Yomif Kejelchawho ran the sixth-fastest 5,000m time of 12:41.73 in the Oslo Diamond League last summer.
– 10,000 meters have disappeared from the Games and 5,000 meters are disappearing. There’s no reason to run the track because there’s no money there. If you want to support yourself and your family, you have to go to street runs and marathons. This applies even if you are a sub-13 minute runner at 5,000 meters. What are you doing at 12:55? At least not money, says Demadonna.
At the Valencia Marathon on December 3, the ME man of the longest track distances, Olympic winner and world champion, Ugandan will make his debut Joshua Cheptegei.
– What does he get from track running? I don’t know, but I’d guess between $20,000 and $30,000. How about the night of the Valencia Marathon? I’m guessing $200,000.
Kipchoge and Hassan have been brilliantly successful on the track, as well as those who ran under 2.02 in the marathon Kenenisa Bekele. But times are changing.
– Assefa has some background in track running, but Kiptum has almost nothing.
Demadonna’s marathon stable Amos Kipruto has not competed on the track at all. With his record of 2.03.13, he is 11th in the all-time marathon statistics.
– We see that the new generations in East Africa don’t even try to come through track running.