FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

       Weidlinger eyes London Olympic qualification and Mohammed 
                  targets course record in Duesseldorf

A close race with a targeted time of sub 2:10 in the men's race and a chase 
for the women's course record are expected at the METRO Group Marathon 
Duesseldorf. Germany's upcoming spring marathon will be staged on 8th May. 
Günther Weidlinger (Austria), Stephen Kiogora (Kenya) and Chala Lemi 
(Ethiopia) are among the leading contenders in the men's race while the big 
favourite for the women's crown will be Merima Mohammed (Ethiopia), who 
features a personal best of 2:23:06. The METRO Group Marathon Duesseldorf
is an IAAF Bronze Label Race.

A year ago Moldavia's Iaroslav Musinschi caused a huge surprise when he ran 
away right from the start. His pacemaker dropped out at half way but he 
kept going and clocked a course record of 2:08:32. This year European 
athletes could again play a strong role in the METRO Group Marathon 
Duesseldorf. "The course is fast and I am sure that I will be supported 
very well from the organisers regarding pacemakers," said Günther 
Weidlinger. The 33 year-old intends to qualify early for the Olympic Games' 
marathon in London 2012. If conditions are fine Weidlinger will go for his 
personal best which stands at 2:10:47. He had achieved this time when 
finishing tenth in Frankfurt in 2009. "We are proud that an international 
athlete of the calibre of Günther Weidlinger has decided to run in 
Duesseldorf. This is proof of the great development of the METRO Group 
Duesseldorf Marathon in recent years. The race becomes more and more 
attractive for elite and fun runners," said Race Director Jan Winschermann.

One of the favourites in Duesseldorf will be Stephen Kiogora. The 36 
year-old Kenyan is an athlete with plenty of experience in the marathon. He 
has achieved a number of great results at major marathons in the past seven 
years. In 2004 Kiogora was fourth in Boston and seventh in Chicago, in 2006 
he was second in New York and a year later he took third in Boston. 
Additionally he won the Las Vegas Marathon in 2005. His personal best 
stands at 2:09:21. The fastest runner in the field so far comes from 
Ethiopia: Chala Lemi clocked 2:08:49 when he finished second in the Toronto 
Marathon in 2009. 

In the women's field Merima Mohammed is by far the fastest runner in the 
field. The 18 year-old Ethiopian features a personal best of 2:23:06, which 
makes her the fastest woman ever entered into the METRO Group Marathon 
Duesseldorf. Mohammed ran this time when finishing third in the Toronto 
Marathon 2010. This year she has already shown fine marathon form, when she 
took second place at the Mumbai Marathon in India in January with 2:26:57. 
It was only in the final strides of the race that she was beaten in Mumbai. 
Her fellow country-woman Koren Yal snatched victory by just one second! 

With Merima Mohammed in the race, who has a half marathon personal best of 
68:36 minutes, a new course record is a real possibility. It is the first 
time in many years that the mark of Germany's Luminita Zaituc could be 
under severe threat. Zaituc had won the METRO Group Duesseldorf Marathon 
with 2:26:44 back in 2005. 

Negotiations with further elite athletes are ongoing and more competitors 
are to be released before the race.

More information and online entry is available at: 
www.metrogroup-marathon.de 

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