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Jeff Adams and Lioudmila Kortchaguina highlight record day at Canadian marathon championships
May 28 2006, OTTAWA - Jeff Adams of Toronto and Lioudmila Kortchaguina of Thornhill, Ont., posted record performances in victories in the wheelchair and women’s races on Sunday at the Ottawa Marathon which also served as the Canadian championships.
In the women’s marathon, Kortchaguina was in remarkable form as she charged to the finish line in two hours and 29 minutes and 42 seconds in hot morning conditions in the nation’s capital. That was course record eclipsing the previous mark of 2:30:37 set by another Canadian Sylvia Rueggar in 1984. The Russian-born Kortchaguina also pockets $15,000 as the race winner and another $5,000 as the top Canadian.
The 34–year-old celebrated her victory with her husband and young daughter. She was also the top Canadian last year just a couple of days after receiving her citizenship.
‘’I just go out and run,’’ she said. ‘’I push myself as fast as I can. I tried to run both halves equal. I was a little slower in the second half because of the heat. I don’t like running in hot weather. I’m tired but happy. You’re always happy when you win.’’
Moges Zebenaye of Ethiopia was second in the women’s race in 2:36:14 and Helena Loshanyang Kiprop of Kenya third in 2:37:43.
In the men’s wheelchair race, Adams overcame a spectacular spill at the 10 kilometre mark to win the inaugural Canadian wheelchair marathon title in 1:33:48.4. It was the fastest time by a Canadian in Canada. Alan Bergman of Cobble Hill, B.C., who accidentally caused Adams’ mishap, was second in 1:33:50.1 and Josh Cassidy of Oakville, Ont., was third in 1:33:50.5.
Bergman helped Adams get back in the race after his fall.
‘’It was great race between the three of us (Bergman and Cassidy) and I’m thrilled to win this first nationals,’’ said Adams. ‘’This has been a long time coming to have the wheelchair racers integrated in the national marathon championships. It’s so good to be here. My hope is we can get an international field here as well in the future.’’
In the quadriplegic division, Dean Bergeron of Quebec City wheeled to the gold in 1:57:55.6 finishing four minutes ahead of Clayton Gerein of Regina. Bergeron’s time was also the fastest clocking by a Canadian at home.
Bergeron has taken a year off his job as an actuary to train full time in preparation for the world championships this fall.
‘’This is the best shape I’ve been in this early in the season,’’ said Bergeron, 37, who gets $1,500 for the win. ‘’I have more time now to recuperate from my training and I’m paying a lot more attention to the little details. This was a fantastic course and I expect it will become a popular venue for wheelchair racers in the future.’’
In the men’s marathon, Charles Bedley of Toronto was the top Canadian placing fifth in 2:27:58. Jason Loutitt of Banff, Alta., was sixth in 2:29:37 and Richard Cartier of Ste-Adèle, Que., seventh in 2:31:48.
‘’I’m a little surprised to win but I thought I could challenge for a top-three among the Canadians,’’ said Bedley, 32, who works as a personal trainer and has run marathons for eight years. ‘’I paced the race properly. I knew it would be hot and tried to run conservatively at the beginning. I passed quite a few runners in the second half and it felt good. My ultimate goal is to go to the Olympics and I feel I have the potential to do that.’’
Bedley pockets $5,000 as Canadian champion.
Abderrahime Bouramdane of Morocco won the men’s race in 2:12:18. The top 14 runners were disqualified for accidentally cutting the course by 400 metres.
source Athletics Canada
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