Gete Wami to compete in the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON

The deadline for registering for the 33rd real,- BERLIN-MARATHON, which will take place on September 24, is this coming Monday at midnight for the last 500 entries. The limit of 40,000 runners will be reached by then. After that, the only additional runners will be runners who register through tour-operators or are running for charity and a few top athletes. Race director Mark Milde today announced the commitment of Gete Wami. The 31-year-old Ethiopian will face last year’s champion and Olympic gold medallist, Mizuki Noguchi (Japan), in Berlin.

After the commitment by Mizuki Noguchi, who won the Sapporo Half Marathon last Sunday with a course record of 68:14, Gete Wami is the second top woman runner to commit to the race. Following a very successful career on the track, the Ethiopian is now concentrating more on the marathon. At the 1996 Olympics she won bronze and in 2000 silver in the 10000m race. She was world champion in the same distance in 1999, and two years later she took third at the World Championships. The multiple cross-country world champion ran the second fastest marathon debut for a woman in 2002. She won in Amsterdam with a world-class time of 2:22:20h. That time remains her personal best for the 42.195 km distance.

“With Gete Wami at the start it could be an exciting race for the women. She is a great opponent for Mizuki Noguchi“, says Mark Milde. Commenting on the mass appeal of the real,- BERLIN MARATHON he exclaims, “The interest in the real,- BERLIN MARATHON remains high. Like last year, due to the great demand, we have to close the registration several weeks before the official registration deadline.” Those who would still like to register have until noon on Sunday to do so at the website: www.berlin-marathon.com.

The real,- BERLIN MARATHON is part of the new series of the World Marathon Majors (WMM). In Berlin and at the BAA Boston Marathon, Flora London Marathon, LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and ING New York City Marathon, the top marathon runners in the world collect points over a two-year period. The marathon races at the Olympics and World Champions count towards their totals, as well. The best male and best female runner then share the one-million dollar prize money for points gathered at a maximum of four races.