Third fastest marathon run

Press, 23 April 1986, Page 33

Third fastest marathon run

NZPA-Reuter Boston

The Australian world champion, Rob de Castella sliced a full minute off the course record and became the third fastest marathoner on record yesterday in winning the ninetieth Boston Marathon.

Castella, aged 29, led from start to finish and was unchallenged as he finished the hilly 26-mile 385-yard course in 2hr 7min 51s. De Castella, now ranks behind the world record holder, Carlos Lopes of Portugal, who ran 2:07.12 last year in Rotterdam, and Britain’s Steve Jones, who clocked 2:07.13 in the 1985 Chicago Marathon. He collected $53,400 for winning the race, which offered prize money for the first time this year. For the Australian, it was his first victory since he won the world title at the 1983 championships in Helsinki. He was more excited by winning than by the record-breaking time, he said. “The most satisfying was to win. It’s nice crossing the line first.” In second place was the unheralded Canadian Art Boileau, who finished strongly in 2:11.15. Third was Orlando Pizzolato of Italy, winner of the last two New York City Marathons, in 2:11.43. Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway, the world’s fastest female marathoner, topped the women’s field in 2:24:55. Kristiansen, who collected $53,400, finished nearly 3.5 minutes off her world mark of 2:21:06 set last year in London.

The second placed

woman was Carla Buerskens, of the Netherlands, followed by the Canadian Lizanne Bussieres. New Zealand’s Lorraine Moller faded to eighth after running second until around the half-way point. Her time was 2:35.06. Kristiansen said she was disappointed with her time because she had wanted to become the first woman to break the 2:20 barrier.

“I had some problems with my stomach about half-way,” she said.

Weather conditions were favourable on an overcast day. De Castella took advantage of the cool 13 deg by setting a strong pace from the start, and keeping it up all the way to the finish.

A light drizzle was falling by the end as de Castella broke the tape with arms waving to the roaring crowd. "I was feeling relatively comfortable, and I said to myself, ‘What the hell, I might as well stay in front

and' keep the pressure on,” de Castella said.

The first Australian to win the Boston race, he looked ahead to even better performances. “I am still improving,” he said. “This gives me an indication this could be a good year.”

De Castella said his next race would be this summer at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, where he will defend his title.

Also pleasing to the crowd was the showing of the hometown favourite Bill Rodgers, who finished fourth with a time of 2:13.36.

Rodgers, aged 38, who won his fourth Boston marathon in 1979, was running here for the first time since 1983. Kristiansen and de Castella, in winning the oldest American marathon, became the first victors of Boston’s new prize-money era.

Race organisers broke with the tradition of giving nothing more than a laurel wreath and a medal this year after accepting corporate sponsorship from a large insurance company. De Castella and Kristiansen both received $53,400 and a MercedesBenz car for winning the race. De Castella received an additional $44,500 for breaking American Alberto Salazar’s 1982 course record of 2:08.51. De Castella has now won seven of his 13 career marathons, and has never finished lower than tenth. His previous personal best was 2:08.18, set in 1981 in Fukuoka, Japan.