On 26^th of July CASTELBUONO, Italy had an amazing line up of Olympic Marathon gold medallist Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya against four-time world road running/half-marathon champion Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea. But less than three kilometers into the 85th Giro Podistico Internazionale de Castelbuono where Wanjiru was reduced to a walk, Tadese had an insurmountable lead, and the race was essentially over.

Wanjiru, as like Tadese was running this 11.3 km road race over a snaking and hilly 1130m cobblestone circuit for the first time, who later felt a little tightness in his chest. After the first lap, in which Tadese had already established a lead over primary chasers Vincent Kipruto and Abreham Cherkos, Wanjiru had already fallen well behind. He did not appear amongst the leaders in the Piazza Margherita (where the race starts and finishes) on the third lap, but later jogged slowly into the piazza before being helped to the sidelines by race officials.

Wanjiru Later said “I feel (something) in my breathing,” coughing and pointing to his chest. “Yesterday, I noticed a problem.”

Tadese looked like he had no problems. The world half-marathon record holder was leading by 19 seconds after the fifth of ten laps. Race announcer Paolo Mutton rallied the crowd every time Tadese rounded the fountain in the piazza to head out on another lap. Tadese did his best to put on a good show.

Tadese was crowded and cheered on by a group of Eritreans that had came to see him. He added by saying. “The course is very hard” “Its good its the first time I run here, I win and I’m very happy.

Behind Tadese there was Kipruto of Kenya and Cherkos of Ethiopia who were working together to catch up Tadese. But the pair were unable to gain any ground. Tadese was able to slow down on the final lap, enjoy the cheers of the crowd, and even high-five several fans before breaking the long blue finish tape in 34:20. Cherkos was able to pull away from Kipruto, the defending champion, in the final meters finished second in 34:31. Kipruto got third, who was seconds behind.

For Tadese, his next challenge is the Bogotá International Half-Marathon next month in Colombia, then he’ll train to defend his IAAF World Half-Marathon title in Nanying, China, in October. He said he had no plans to run a marathon in the fall.

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