Karl Aumayr celebrates his greatest success in his last marathon at a competitive level. At his home race, the Salzburg Marathon, the 32-year-old triumphed in a time of 2:26:08 hours. Ethiopia's Shewaye Gemechu Debelu wins the women's race. 6,545 runners from 67 nations took part in the "get active days" of the 12th Salzburg Marathon.
Overwhelmed by his emotional feelings, Karl Aumayr (CLUB RunAustria) could not hold back his tears immediately after crossing the finish line. "Thank you for giving me the most beautiful finish of my life!" he thanked organizer Johannes Langer, his family, who hugged him a few seconds after crossing the finish line, and the enthusiastic audience at Residenzplatz.
Early preliminary decision, emotional finale
Having started the race as the big favorite for his first victory at the Salzburg Marathon, Karl Aumayr pulled away from the rest of the marathon field early on. After ten kilometers he was already around three minutes ahead of the second-placed. Aumayr, who had enjoyed the company of the half-marathon leaders up to that point, passed the half-marathon mark in a time of 1:10:48 hours. He completed the entire second round as a soloist and kept his rhythm constant. “An incredibly emotional race! The people carried me to the finish for the last ten kilometers. That pushed me a lot, but at the same time I became very humble.” The fact that his personal best was 2:23:25, run when he became Austrian marathon champion in Salzburg in 2012, was for the 32-year-old only worth a side note: "Time didn't matter to me today. You should stop when it's most beautiful. And that was definitely today!” Even if Aumayr is saying goodbye to competitive sport, Karl Aumayr will continue to run in the future: “I will always remain connected to running and will continue to take part in competitions, but no longer at this level. I'm already looking forward to the Salzburg Marathon 2016, which I'm sure I'll be there again in some way."
Great comeback from Michael Simmer
An exciting battle for second place developed behind the superior winner Karl Aumayr. Still in fifth place at halftime, Michael Simmer (Union St. Pölten) shifted into a higher gear and caught up three places. In a time of 2:42:17 hours he relegated Luigi de Franceschi from Germany, who was second at half-time, to third place. The time of the 50-year-old: 2:43:12 hours.
Favorite victory also for the women
The women's marathon also ended with a favorite victory. Ethiopia's Shewaye Gemechu Debelu broke away early from the rest of the field to single-handedly win in a time of 2:45:09. She was a good three minutes faster than Nancy Joan Rotich in her victory last year, but missed her own best time by a good four minutes. "I am very happy. It was a great experience here in Salzburg. It's my first international win. It got tough for me in the second half,” summarized the 28-year-old Ethiopian after the biggest win of her sporting career. As the best Austrian, Sabine Hofer (LAC Salzburg) from Salzburg crossed the finish line in a time of 3:00:28 hours and was happy with second place. The 53-year-old local hero won the Salzburg Marathon in 2006 and 2008. "I didn't think I could run another marathon. I'm extremely pleased that it went so well," said the experienced Salzburg native. Third was the Hungarian Fruzsina Bakonyi in a time of 3:01:42 hours.
Marthe Katrine Myhr wins Sparkasse half marathon
The Norwegian Marthe Katrine Myhre lived up to her role as favorite in the Sparkasse half marathon and finished first with a clear lead in a time of 1:19:17 hours. “I really like the atmosphere and the spectators here. It was great to run here, even if I wanted to get a faster time," said the 30-year-old former cross-country skier, who was coached by Jack Waitz, husband of the Norwegian running legend Grete Waitz, who unfortunately died far too young and nine-time winner of the 1980s New York City Marathon being trained. An even faster time by the winner prevented a cold that had affected her preparation for the Sparkasse half marathon in Salzburg last week.
Behind Myhre, Angelika Tafatsch (bikepalast.com), last year's winner of the 10km run as part of the Salzburg Women's Run, finished second in a time of 1:28:52 hours. The Bavarian Sonja Brandl completed the podium in a time of 1:29:20 hours.
Exciting duel for the men
The men's winning time was also significantly better than in previous years. The Czech David Pelisek prevailed in an exciting duel with the Austrian Stefan Linseder (La Sportiva Mountain Attack Team). Pelisek won in a time of 1:10:53 hours ahead of Linseder in a time of 1:11:07 hours. "I am very happy. It's the first time that I'm in Salzburg, a very nice event!” David Pelisek rejoiced. The top three was completed by Hans Mühlbauer from Germany in a time of 1:13:43 hours.
Home win for Innerhofer over 10 kilometers
There was a Salzburg home win at the Salzburger Nachrichten 10k City Run. The young Manuel Innerhofer (LC Oberpinzgau) dueled eight kilometers with Peter Herzog (3 Team Saalfelden) before he was able to break away and, due to the external conditions, reached the finish line as the fastest in a remarkable winning time of 33:20 minutes. “I ran for victory and it worked. I've only been able to train again for four weeks now because of a muscular overload in the hip area. That's why I'm very satisfied," said the two-time cross country champion in the juniors after the race. Second-placed Peter Herzog (3 Team Saalfelden) finished just 21 seconds behind the 2013 World Cup third-place finisher in the U20 age group, while Philipp Bachl finished third in a time of 36:22 minutes. Due to a misdirection, the entire field ran an additional loop of around 700 meters, with the exception of the men's top duo, and therefore completed a 10.7 km run.
International podium for women
Yvonne Kleiner from Bavaria won the women's race in a time of 40:03 minutes. For a long time she was second behind the Norwegian Synnove Brox, after seven kilometers she closed the gap and overtook Jack Waitz's 56-year-old partner. “It was a great feeling and a nice finish. I ran for the first time today in Salzburg. The conditions were good, a bit windy at times, but it was okay,” said the happy winner. Brox was second in a time of 40:37 minutes ahead of the fastest Austrian, Sandra Rehrl (Power Sport Team), who clocked a time of 42:46 hours.
Fantastic mood
All runners were enthusiastic about the excellent atmosphere in Salzburg. Tens of thousands of spectators lined the course of the 21.1 km long course and loudly cheered on the participants. And that although light rain repeatedly tried in vain to spoil the great atmosphere. Already at 9:00 a.m. at the start at Residenzplatz, numerous spectators gathered to witness the beginning of the spectacle. The runners enjoyed almost ideal conditions: high humidity and temperatures of around 12°C at the start, which rose slightly later on.
A total of 6,545 participants registered for the 12th running festival in the city of Mozart. This meant that runners from 60 nations and all continents were united in the Salzburg Marathon. 1,388 children and young people took part in the Coca-Cola Junior Marathon on Saturday evening.
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