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September 2, 2007
World Championships in Osaka: Melanie Kraus 20th in marathon
Ingo Schultz and German quartet finish eighth after collision
The fact that former 400m …
… world championship runner-up Ingo Schultz showed the quickest reaction at the start and was in fifth place when he handed the baton to Saarbrücken’s Simon Kirch did not help the German 4x400m relay quartet in the end. Kamghe Gaba’s (LG Eintracht Frankfurt) collision with a Polish athlete after the second exchange and the resulting fall destroyed all hopes of a place in the top six. The distance to the other countries was too big for Bastian Swillims (TV Wattenscheid) and he could not prevent Germany finishing in eighth place in 3:07,40 minutes.
“It is a real shame because we could have challenged for fourth of fifth place. However, the Pole cannot be blamed,” said a disappointed Schultz. It is the third blow for Schultz in a relay race this season. Schultz was in the German team that was pipped to victory by Poland in the European Cup which cost Germany first place and he was also a member of the quartet that won at the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham before being disqualified.
Melanie Kraus finishes 20th
Elsewhere, Melanie Kraus put on an almost perfect display to finish 20th in the world championship marathon. The TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen athlete finished the “sightseeing tour on foot”, as she referred to the race, in 2:37:20 hours.
“I had set my sights on a top 20 finish and I achieved just that,” said Kraus before thanking coach Paul Heinz Wellmann. “He was out there on the course and had prepared me perfectly.” The 32-year-old started the race slowly and was 35th halfway through the race before climbing up the rankings. Kenia’s Catherine Ndereba won the gold medal in 2:30:37 hours and became the first woman to win a second gold medal in the marathon.
“It is a real shame because we could have challenged for fourth of fifth place. However, the Pole cannot be blamed,” said a disappointed Schultz. It is the third blow for Schultz in a relay race this season. Schultz was in the German team that was pipped to victory by Poland in the European Cup which cost Germany first place and he was also a member of the quartet that won at the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham before being disqualified.
Melanie Kraus finishes 20th
Elsewhere, Melanie Kraus put on an almost perfect display to finish 20th in the world championship marathon. The TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen athlete finished the “sightseeing tour on foot”, as she referred to the race, in 2:37:20 hours.
“I had set my sights on a top 20 finish and I achieved just that,” said Kraus before thanking coach Paul Heinz Wellmann. “He was out there on the course and had prepared me perfectly.” The 32-year-old started the race slowly and was 35th halfway through the race before climbing up the rankings. Kenia’s Catherine Ndereba won the gold medal in 2:30:37 hours and became the first woman to win a second gold medal in the marathon.
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