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Race walker Christopher Linke (Eintracht Frankfurt) has won more than a dozen German championship titles in his career. On Sunday, he added a victory in the new half-marathon distance to his list of achievements. The 37-year-old secured a clear victory in Kelsterbach with a time of 1:28:04. After two marathons this season outdoors, this was the veteran’s first race at this newly introduced distance.
The podium was completed by a different generation of athletes: 20-year-old Frederick Weigel (OSC Potsdam) finished second with a time of 1:30:42. This was also his first half-marathon, as was Jassam Abu El Wafa (SV Halle; 1:31:35), who placed third. The two also topped the Under-23 standings. The fastest German walker ever over the half-marathon, Leo Köpp (LG Nord Berlin; 1:27:50), did not participate.
In the women’s race, the top three athletes in the overall standings were still in the U23 category. Lena Sonntag (SC Potsdam; 1:43:23) finished ahead of Kylie Garreis (LG Vogtland; 1:46:26) and Anna-Maria Gabriel (OSC Potsdam; 1:51:10).
In the men’s marathon, Jonathan Hilbert (LG Ohra Energie) maintained a steady pace, covering the kilometers in under 4 minutes and 30 seconds. However, the 2021 Olympic silver medalist in the 50 km race withdrew after about an hour and 13 kilometers. The 31-year-old had already failed to finish the race in March, at the meeting in Dudince, Slovakia. Karl Junghannß (Race Erfurt) had recorded a time of 3:04:33. He was also registered for the Kelsterbach race, but withdrew from the competition.
It was then 41-year-old Alex Schwazer (Italy) who, as an international competitor, completed the course in the fastest time, with 3:01:55. Among the women, Bianca Maria Dittrich (Spiridon Frankfurt; 3:45:46) became the German champion.
By Jan-Henner Reitze for DLV
(Editor’s note: To establish international records, the standards set are 2:56:30 for the world record, and 3:00:00 for the European record taking into account the results from this year onwards)
Photos album: by Kai Peters (GER) and Hagen Pohle (GER)
