Date: Thursday, 18 April 2019
LINZ WINNER KESETE (CENTER) IMAGE: APA / EXPA / REINHARD EISENBAUER
LINZ. All elite runners reached the finish line in Linz, the winner dreams of the Olympus
When Merhawi Kesete got on the shuttle bus to Vienna yesterday in the late afternoon in Linz, he moved a bit out of line, but still wore the broad grin on his face with which he went to bed the night before. The alleged 33-year-old from Eritrea (in the athlete database is his year of birth 1993, in the passport 1986) has ascended with his surprising victory at the Oberbank Linz Danube Marathon on Sunday in a higher league.
Anyone who has a marathon time under 2:10 hours on his business card, gets a decent upgrade what the "mileage" relates. In this sense, Kesete's winning time (2:09:06 hours) is worth more than the four-figure win, it will carry hefty interest rates. "It's not part of the Champions League yet, but I've heard that it's now a candidate for an international running team, where it can earn quite a bit," says Linz Marathon Race Director Günther Weidlinger. Kesete had dreamed of Mond on Monday maybe from Olympus. A start at the Summer Games 2020 in Tokyo seems possible. Weidlinger: "He is now Eritrea's third fastest marathon runner, and if he confirms his time in the fall, it might work." Anyway, the Linz Marathon did have a very special story on Sunday, even though the course record (2:07:33 hours) remained untouched. A victory podium with three different nations (Eritrea, Uganda, Kenya) has - especially in this order - rarity value. And about the fact that all nine elite runners reached the goal, Weidlinger was particularly happy. "This speaks for the morale of the runners we have committed."
