Inga Abitova

INGA ABITOVA
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

BIRTHDATE:
6 March 1982

PERSONAL BEST:
2:25:55

WORLD MARATHON MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS:

London: 2007- 9th 2:34:25, 2009- 6th 2:25:55

ADDITIONAL CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

Belgrade: 2005- 1st 2:38:20
Moscow: 2004- 6th 2:43:48
Mumbai: 2006- 2nd 2:33:55
Osaka: 2007- dnf
Yokohama: 2009- 1st 2:27:18

CAREER NOTES:

Better known as a 10,000m runner, Inga Abitova has
steadily improved as a marathon runner since her
debut in Moscow in 2004 when she ran 2:43:48 at the
Russian championships.

She won her second marathon in Belgrade the
following spring, improving by more than five
minutes to run 2:38:20. In January 2006 she made
another big improvement to 2:33:55 in Mumbai,
India. That was good for second place, just 40
seconds behind winner Mulu Seboka.

Abitova was part of the Russian team for the Yokohama
International Women’s Ekiden in 2006 and
ran the fastest fourth leg of 6km in 19:32. Turning
to the track she won the All-Russia Meeting 3000m
in 9:03.42, recorded a big 10,000m personal best of
31:32.24 at the Russian championships and won the
Russian Cup 5000m in 15:15.05.

The finest moment of Abitova’s career came at
the 2006 European Championships. With two laps
to go in the 10,000m final she was in a pack of
more favoured competitors, but with 500m left she
unleashed a sustained kick and finished first in
30:31.42.

“I surprised myself,” said Abitova of her gold medal
winning performance, a full minute faster than her
previous best. “I was very afraid of the fast pace
of the race.” In fact she ran the second 5000m in
15:15.06, just 0.01s slower than her best time for
that distance.

Later that month she lowered her 3000m PB to
9:02.88 at the Norwich Union International in
Birmingham, although she ended 2006 on an offnote,
fading to 31st at the European Cross Country
Championships in December.

In 2007, she finished ninth in London, her first World
Marathon Majors race.

In 2008 she was sixth in the Olympic 10,000m final,
in 30:37.33, the second European home behind her
compatriot Mariya Konovalova.

In London last year, she made a big marathon breakthrough,
lowering her PB by eight minutes to finish
sixth on a great day for the Russians.

She seemed to enjoy running in the UK for she
returned to London in September to set a PB of
15:23 over 5km when finishing fourth at the adidas
women’s run in Hyde Park. She then ran 69:53 for
half marathon at the World Championships in
Birmingham in October.

She ended the year in good form, winning the
Yokohama marathon in 2:27:18.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Abitova is married to a former Russian steeplechaser
and is the mother of a five-year-old boy, Yegor. She
comes from Novokuibyshevsk in the Samara region of
Siberia, a town of just 150 inhabitants.

She has a tattoo in Japanese lettering embossed on
her shoulder, referring to an inspirational motto
calling for high achievement.

UPCOMING MARATHONS:

Virgin London Marathon 2010