Excellent début pour Ait Salem.

L`algérienne Souad Ait Salem a réalisé une excellente performance en ce début de saison sur l`épreuve du semi marathon une spécialité sur laquelle elle n`est n`est que dans le début de son parcours.

A l`occasion de la 33eme édition du semi marathon de Roma-Ostia la petite Algérienne s`est envolée en réalisant une bonne performance 1h.10.29 a quelques centièmes de son record personnel 1h10.26 réalisé a Marrakech et ce devant la Bahraini d`origine Marocaine Nadia Al Djafini 1h10.43 et l`Italienne Anna Incerti 1h11.20.
L`athlète entraine depuis plus d`une dizaine d`années par Abdallah Mahour Bacha ne compte pas s`arrêter en un aussi bon chemin elle compte entreprendre son deuxième marathon de sa jeune carrière et ce le 18 Mars prochain a Rome ou elle sera confronte aux talentueuses Kenyannes Kimutai Jemaiyo et Cheruiyotq Lenah aux Ethiopiennes Tigist Abidi, Tafa Woynishet Girma et Kebebush Haile Lema et a la Marocaine Asmaa Laghzaoui.
Rappleons quew Souad Ait Salem detient le record d`Algerie du marathon avec 2h28.22 depuis l`an dernier en Grèce.

Tahar RIGHI.

 

Barus and Ait Salem produce fast Half Marathons
Sunday 25 February2007

 

Rome, Italy – Kenyan Benson Barus and Algerian Souad Ait Salem brought home the victories at the33 rd Roma-Ostia, Italy's biggest half marathon ( 7901finishers), today.

Both of them missed their PB by just a few seconds. Barus clocked1 :00:18, the6 th fastest in the world this year, Ait Salem closed the race with a time of1 :10:29.

MEN

“I want to run close to one hour and win”, Barus said the day before the race. He got both his goals, after a very strong run. Everything was planned: Stanley Kipleting Biwott as the rabbit, Jonathan Kipkorir Kosgei as the main rival -- both are Barus' fellow team and training mates -- a split time of28 : 40at10 km. At8 km the three were already alone at the front of the race.

They passed10 km in28 :48. In Rome Ostia the first part of the course is a lot slower than the second because of continuous up-and-downs in the route. After9 km the course goes slightly downhill until the17 km and athletes can run really fast. Barus took the lead at 13km and for a pair of kilometers just paced. At15 km he pushed and run the following2 km in5 :36. Kosgei and Biwott were not able to follow the leader and faded behind.

With two kilometres to go, Barus was expected to break the one hour but he was  slowed by the headwind. However, his final 1:00: 18was the3 rd fastest ever in Rome Ostia, after Robert Cheruiyot's 1:00: 06in 2002 and last year William Rotich's1 :00:12, and by just one second he missed his PB1 :00:17, set last year when he was4 th in Rotterdam.

"It was a very good test, I'm working hard for the Paris Marathon," Barus added. In the French capital he will run his second "serious" attempt to the marathon distance, after last year's debut in Milan, where he was2 nd with a time of2 :08:33.  He is just26 . "Today I showed I'm working well," said Barus, who trained in Eldoret with young coach Claudio Berardelli's group.

Behind Barus, Kosgei closed with a very good1 :00:59. The first Italian at the finish line was Daniele Caimmi,5 th. "I ran for the most of the race alone, I'm sure I have in my legs faster times than today1 :03," he said. Another top Italian marathon runner Alberico Di Cecco closed further behind (13th,1 :04:44), as doing a specific work for the Rome Marathon (Mar18 ). Two years ago he won in Rome with a stunning2 :08:02.

WOMEN

For more than two thirds of the women's race, there was a pack of four in the front: Ait Salem, then last year's winner Nadia Ejjafini and two Italians Anna Incerti and Vincenza Sicari. At16 km Ait Salem and Ejjafini changed the pace and the Italians were dropped. In the last2 km also Ejjafini could not resist and Ait Salem won the race for the first time.

"I'm very satisfied, I tried to drop all my rivals and got it, it is a very good win," Ait Salem said after the race. She also was very close to her PB, set last year in Marrakech with1 :10:26. She is also a national record holder on the marathon, with2 :28:22. Ejjafini closed 14 seconds behind, while Incerti got the last place on the podium.

Alberto Zorzi for the IAAF

Half Marathon - Selected results

Men's race
1. Benson Barus, KEN,1 :00:18
2. Jonathan Kipkorir Kosgei, KEN,1 :00:59
3. Stanley Kipleting Biwott, KEN,1 :01:20
4. Daniel Limo Kiprop, KEN,1 :02:59
5. Daniele Caimmi, ITA,1 :03:01
6. Cherkaoui Laalami, MAR,1 :03:12
7. Ruggero Pertile, ITA,1 :03:30
8. Denis Curzi, ITA,1 :03:30
9. Antonello Petrei, ITA,1 :03:30
10. Solomon Rotich, KEN,1 :03:36

Women's race
1. Souad Ait Salem, ALG,1 :10:29
2. Nadia Ejjafini, BRN,1 :10:43
3. Anna Incerti, ITA,1 :11:20
4. Vincenza Sicari, ITA,1 :12:02
5. Hafida Izem, MAR,1 :14:07
6. Bruna Genovese, ITA,1 :18:42