Tune and Balciunaite to go to Frankfurt
Organizers have announced that champions Dire Tune and Zivile Balciunaite have been selected for the Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon, part of the International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) Gold Label. Tune, the former champion of the Boston Marathon, and reigning European victor Balciunaite, were selected in the hopes of breaking the current course record of 2:25:12, scored by Russia’s Alevtina Biktimirova in 2005.
The announcement is the most recent in a series of signings this season for the marathon, with Wilson Kipsang and Wilfred Kigen of Kenya listed earlier this August. Currently, the men’s course record stands at 2:06:14 and has been broken in the past few years, while the women’s milestone has remained unshaken for five years.
This could change with the added equation of Tune into the competition. The 25-year-old Ethiopian has accumulated a series of marathon achievements, including her Houston Marathon victory in 2008 with a personal best of 2:24:40, and the Boston Marathon with a time of 2:25:25 – defeating Frankfurt record holder Biktimirova by a close two seconds. After facing a few seasons of extreme disappointment due to lackluster performances at the Beijing Olympics and other high-profile marathons, Tune has flown into the 2010 season with a renewed vitality, and she is determined to return to her victorious ways with a glorious win in Frankfurt.
Facing Tune will be 31-year-old Balciunaite of Lithuania, who recently conquered the European Championships in Barcelona to claim the gold medal after a courageous run in the final stages of the marathon, scoring a time of 2:31:14. With a personal best of 2:25:15, the formidable Balciunaite will be a force to reckon with when the Frankfurt race commences on October 31, with approximately 13,000 competitors running the historic course.
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