Zakharova back on top
POSTED: Monday, December 14, 2009
Defending Honolulu Marathon women's champion Kiyoko Shimahara knew former winner Svetlana Zakharova's likely strategy for this year's race. She predicted that Zakharova, a Russian who won here in 1997 and 2002, would try to stay close through the first half of the 26.2-mile course and then power her way through the second half.
Unfortunately for Shimahara, 32, she was uncannily prophetic. After biding her time in a four-woman pack for the first 13 miles, Zakharova pulled away from Shimahara in the 17th mile and quickly ran away with the 37th Honolulu Marathon title yesterday morning.
“;The race actually went as I planned because I wanted to run in a group in the beginning and a little bit conservative,”; Zakharova said through a translator. “;And around the 30K mark, I saw that I could speed up a little bit and make a breakaway. I did that, and it was successful.”;
The 39-year-old Zakharova finished in 2 hours, 28 minutes, 34 seconds, not far from the course record of 2:27:19 set by Lyubov Denisova of Russia in 2006. Shimahara crossed the Kapiolani Park finish line with a big smile in 2:29:53. Kenya's Pamela Chepchumba was third at 2:34:41.
“;Svetlana is very good at preparing for races and having a race strategy, and what she did today matches what Kiyoko said she knows about her past,”; said Shimahara through a translator after the race. “;At 30K (about 19 miles) is where she likes to start to pick it up. She executed her race plan very well.”;
WOMEN'S WINNERS
The last 20 women's winners in the Honolulu Marathon:
2009: Svetlana Zakharova, Russia, 2:28:34 2008: Kiyoko Shimahara, Japan, 2:32:36
2007: Alevtina Biktimirova, Russia, 2:33:07
2006: Lyubov Denisova, Russia, 2:27:19*
2005: Olesa Nurgalieva, Russia: 2:30:24
2004: Lyubov Morgunova, Russia, 2:27:33
2003: Eri Hayakawa, Japan, 2:31:56
2002: Svetlana Zakharova, Russia, 2:29:08
2001: Lyubov Morgunova, Russia, 2:29:54
2000: Lyubov Morgunova, Russia, 2:28:33
1999: Irina Bogacheva, Kyrgyzstan, 2:32:36
1998: Irina Bogacheva, Kyrgyzstan, 2:33:27
1997: Svetlana Zakharova, Russia, 2:33:14
1996: Ramila Burangulova, Russia, 2:34:28
1995: Colleen De Reuck, South Africa, 2:37:29
1994: Carla Beurskens, Netherlands, 2:37:06
1993: Carla Beurskens, Netherlands, 2:32:20
1992: Carla Beurskens, Netherlands, 2:32:13
1991: Ritva Kaija Lemettinen, Finland, 2:40:11
1990: Carla Beurskens, Netherlands, 2:33:34
*—event record
Source: honolulumarathon.org
|
Racing under near perfect weather conditions—cool with little humidity and no wind—a pack of five women separated themselves by the second mile of the race. Shimahara was slightly in the lead, followed closely by pace setter Yuko Manabe, Zakharova, Chepchumba and Kaori Yoshida. The group quickly became smaller when Manabe, who looked in pain the first few miles, grabbed her left side and pulled off to the side of the race just after the 3-mile mark.
Not having a pace setter—the previous two marathons, the pace setters finished second each year—didn't faze Zakharova, who said later that she didn't even notice Manabe's absence.
But Shimahara is a teammate of Manabe and had been relying on her to push the pace early to sap Zakharova's legs late.
“;After she fell off so quickly at 5K, she had to then switch over and just run her own pace, not that of a pacemaker,”; said Shimahara's agent, who translated for his client.
Without Manabe, the pace was still quite fast as the pack of four women reached the midway point at 1:14:49. After dropping Yoshida along the long open stretch of Kalanianaole Highway, the remaining three often ran in a straight line, with Shimahara looking comfortable in the lead, followed by Zakharova and Chepchumba.
But Zakharova, despite her herky-jerky stride and the constant look of pain on her face, was just biding her time until she made her move. And just after the 18-mile mark, the Russian gritted her teeth and pulled away from Shimahara as she clocked four straight miles of about 5:30, 5:35, 5:40 and 5:48.
By the 22nd mile, Zakharova had earned a nearly insurmountable 30-second lead as Shimahara, who ran the Yokohama Marathon in early November, didn't have the legs to keep up with the Russian.
“;(Shimahara) said she wasn't strong enough to go with (Zakharova) today,”; her agent said as he translated.
Zakharova's finish was the fourth-fastest time in Honolulu Marathon history. She ran that pace despite a recent injury to her left knee that also affected her hamstring, which she covered with light tape and said never really bothered her too much during the race.
Shimahara's finishing time was nearly 2 minutes faster than last year's winning run, although conditions for that race were less than ideal.
But the day belonged to Zakharova, who plans to take a month off to spend with her 3-year-old daughter before starting her training for the London Marathon in March.
With the victory, the Russian became just the fourth female to win at least three Honolulu Marathon titles. This is also the eighth time a Russian has won the Honolulu Marathon in the past 10 races.
TOP WOMEN
Name | Age | Country | Time | |
1 | Svetlana Zakharova | 39 | Rus | 02:28:34 |
2 | Kiyoko Shimahara | 32 | Jpn | 02:29:53 |
3 | Pamela Chepchumba | 30 | Ken | 02:32:41 |
4 | Kaori Yoshida | 28 | Jpn | 02:35:46 |
5 | Eri Hayakawa | 28 | Jpn | 02:44:33 |
6 | Satoko Uetani | 28 | Jpn | 02:45:19 |
7 | Akemi Ozaki | 32 | Jpn | 02:48:24 |
8 | Mina Ogawa | 34 | Jpn | 02:50:20 |
9 | Kozue Saito | 27 | Jpn | 02:51:59 |
10 | Amy Wilson | 33 | Usa | 02:57:59 |
11 | Fusai Narita | 34 | Jpn | 03:00:55 |
12 | Ady Ngawati | 32 | Nzl | 03:03:3 |
13 | Misako Hamaguchi | 32 | Jpn | 03:11:46 |
14 | Jessica Tranchina | 32 | Usa | 03:12:30 |
15 | Yoko Yamazwa | 41 | Jpn | 03:13:54 |
16 | Sara Verga | 29 | Usa | 03:13:59 |
17 | Rani Tanimoto | 34 | Usa | 03:15:38 |
18 | Mariko Nakajima | 35 | Jpn | 03:16:18 |
19 | Takako Oi | 45 | Jpn | 03:16:46 |
20 | Shoko Toshima | 31 | Jpn | 03:17:45 |
21 | Shie Yamada | 36 | Jpn | 03:19:40 |
22 | Janna Hinz | 26 | Ger | 03:21:04 |
23 | Mayumi Fukunaga | 41 | Jpn | 03:20:34 |
24 | Alison Dunn | 29 | Usa | 03:22:22 |
25 | Tae Nomura | 33 | Jpn | 03:23:29 |
26 | Keiko Nagasaka | 41 | Jpn | 03:23:41 |
27 | Kumiko Kobayashi | 34 | Jpn | 03:23:37 |
28 | Joanna Bilancieri | 36 | Usa | 03:23:48 |
29 | Mai Ishida | 24 | Jpn | 03:26:18 |
30 | Kimberly McLean | 33 | Usa | 03:25:09 |
31 | Ritsuko Iizuka | 32 | Jpn | 03:25:52 |
32 | Kirsten Kolb | 34 | Usa | 03:28:22 |
33 | Jessica Mowder | 24 | Usa | 03:28:10 |
34 | Masako Nakajima | 40 | Jpn | 03:27:00 |
35 | Kei Onzuka | 44 | Jpn | 03:27:14 |
36 | Miho Suzuki | 28 | Jpn | 03:28:20 |
37 | Toyoko Maeda | 62 | Usa | 03:28:05 |
38 | Sarah Peterson | 39 | Usa | 03:34:14 |
39 | Barbara H Forsyth | 34 | Usa | 03:28:29 |
40 | Sharon Moran | 36 | Usa | 03:29:31 |
41 | Patricia Havey | 26 | Usa | 03:28:40 |
42 | Seleena Harkness | 29 | Usa | 03:31:47 |
43 | Emiko Iwasaki | 44 | Jpn | 03:30:12 |
44 Riko Aso | 34 | Jpn | 03:31:51 | |
45 | Mayumi Nakagawa | 34 | Jpn | 03:31:55 |
46 | Lia Bosch | 46 | Usa | 03:31:26 |
47 | Hiroko Masumoto | 22 | Jpn | 03:34:12 |
48 | Atsuko Yamada | 52 | Jpn | 03:31:20 |
49 | Yumi Fuchiwaki | 36 | Jpn | 03:36:03 |
50 | Akemi Ueda | 31 | Usa | 03:32:05 |
51 | Yoshiko Katakura | 52 | Jpn | 03:31:35 |
52 | Ayaka Shiozaki | 21 | Jpn | 03:33:51 |
53 | Rina Iwamoto | 41 | Jpn | 03:33:33 |
54 | Jessica Vivers | 25 | Usa | 03:33:46 |
55 | Setsuko Amano | 55 | Jpn | 03:34:26 |
56 | Rosario Pawelczak | 31 | Can | 03:35:18 |
57 | Ruiko Kotaki | 44 | Jpn | 03:34:37 |
58 | Kristen Campbell | 27 | Usa | 03:34:44 |
59 | Sheila Van Cuyk | 40 | Usa | 03:36:51 |
60 | Tammy Bautista | 30 | Usa | 03:34:34 |
61 | Sharon Carbone | 43 | Usa | 03:52:28 |
62 | Asako Shimada | 33 | Jpn | 03:38:2 |
63 | Hayley McGowan | 28 | Can | 03:35:06 |
64 | Miyako Ikuhara | 33 | Jpn | 03:37:57 |
65 | Hiroko Matsuki | 39 | Jpn | 03:37:56 |
66 | Mami Urabe | 21 | Jpn | 03:37:56 |
67 | Nami Sakamoto | 28 | Jpn | 03:35:16 |
68 | Karen Finnerty | 27 | Usa | 03:38:32 |
69 | Yukie Yoshiyama | 37 | Jpn | 03:38:35 |
70 | Rebecca Williams | 29 | Usa | 03:36:43 |
71 | Mayumi Kuroyama | 30 | Jpn | 03:39:07 |
72 | Misako Nishiyama | 32 | Jpn | 03:39:28 |
73 | Michelle West | 37 | Usa | 03:38:35 |
74 | Nancy Coles | 51 | Can | 03:39:43 |
75 | Midori Kato | 53 | Jpn | 03:37:55 |
76 | Eriko Asai | 50 | Jpn | 03:38:02 |
77 | Miyuki Fujii | 36 | Jpn | 03:38:51 |
78 | Mineko Kojima | 52 | Jpn | 03:39:19 |
79 | Heather McGee | 39 | Usa | 03:39:05 |
80 | Linda Thiesen | 45 | Can | 03:40:42 |
81 | Alison Andrews | 32 | Usa | 03:40:04 |
82 | Akiko Ofuchi | 27 | Jpn | 03:38:45 |
83 | Rumi Nakazaki | 28 | Jpn | 03:39:41 |
84 | Kaori Yamada | 43 | Jpn | 03:40:32 |
85 | Tamaki Matsuda | 62 | Jpn | 03:39:38 |
86 | Meaghan Morrissey | 30 | Can | 03:42:55 |
87 | Angie Sremba | 25 | Usa | 03:42:35 |
88 | Ayumi Yamamoto | 38 | Jpn | 03:41:1 |
89 | Sachiyo Yagi | 59 | Jpn | 03:40:39 |
90 | Mami Yamada | 35 | Jpn | 03:41:1 |
91 | Lily Cheung | 57 | Usa | 03:40:44 |
92 | Kazuyo Itagaki | 35 | Jpn | 03:41:48 |
93 | Mariko Morita | 28 | Jpn | 03:41:09 |
94 | Endo Atsuko | 43 | Jpn | 03:42:47 |
95 | Mihoko Ide | 36 | Usa | 03:40:57 |
96 | Mie Kasuga | 34 | Usa | 03:40:57 |
97 | Michelle Watson | 31 | Usa | 03:44:43 |
98 | Rie Hasegawa | 36 | Jpn | 03:41:24 |
99 | Takako Matsumoto | 46 | Jpn | 03:44:4
|
100 | Teresa Sanchezarias | 28 | Usa | 03:42:13 |