Host City: Athens, Greece |
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Dates: August 1–10, 1997 |
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Nations participating: 198 |
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Athletes participating: 1882 |
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Main venue: Olympic Stadium
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Overview by IAAF |
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The race was expected to be a duel between defending champion Machado and Olympic gold medallist Roba but the Ethiopian, leader at halfway in 1:15:42, was reduced by injury to a walk shortly afterwards and failed to finish. The Portuguese had to settle for a distant second place, the outstanding winner being Japanese 10,000m record holder Suzuki, who was contesting only her third marathon after having placed second both in Osaka in 1996 (2:26:27) and in Nagoya earlier in 1997 (2:29:36). She broke away in the 28th kilometre and despite the hot weather and a tough course she covered the first half in 1:15:46 and the second in 1:14:02 to win by some 400m and lead Japan to World Cup team victory. Although violently sick during the race, imon moved into third place at 39Km. |
The Women's Marathon at the 1997 World Championships in Athens, Greece was held on Saturday August 9, 1997, with the start at 08:05h local time. |
Records
Standing records prior to the 1997 World Athletics Championships |
World record |
Ingrid Kristiansen |
Norway |
2:21:06 |
April 21, 1985 |
London, United Kingdom |
Championships record |
Rosa Mota |
Portugal |
2:25:17 |
August 29, 1987 |
Rome, Italy |
Season best |
Tegla Loroupe |
Kenya |
2:22:07 |
April 20, 1997 |
Rotterdam, Netherlands |
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Marathon |
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9 August |
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Event Report Women Marathon
A steely display of marathon running on a tough course brought Japan’s Hiromi Suzuki the women’s marathon gold medal in a course record time of 2:29:48. With her teammates, Takako Tobise and Nobuko Fujimura in 4th and 10th respectively, she led Japan to a World Marathon Cup team title Suzuki’s strength on the hills was the key to her success. She outran the defending champion and 1993 silver medallist, Manuela Machado of Portugal on the hardest part of the course, between 25 and 35km, killing off her rivals with a decisive break. It never looked like she would be caught over the final 12km and ran faster and faster as she headed for the finish in the Panathinaikos stadium. Machada was over a minute behind at the finish at 2:31:11. Romania’s Lidia Simon survived sickness at the half way stage to finish strongly in third place, clocking 2:31:55. The early pace on one of the few flat sections of the course was swift and a large group of 20 headed the field through the first 10km in 35:08. The first significant move came from the Olympic champion, Fatuma Roba, who accelerated from the front and quickly reduced the group was to nine - Roba, four Japanese, Suzuki, Fujimura, Tobise and Mariko Hara, two Romanians, Anuta Catuna and Simon, Machada, and Estonia’s Jane Salumae. On the first climb, between 10 and 15km, Fujimura and Salumae began to lose touch. Shortly after 15km (53:05) two Germans, Biba and Oberem caught Fujimura and dragged her back to the leaders. At 20km (1:11.23) Fujimura lost touch again, but the biggest shock came at the half way stage (1:15.42) when Roba dropped out clutching her side. The lead group was now down to seven - Oberem, Machada, the two Romanians and three Japanese - although Oberem and Hara also began to struggle. By 25km (1:30.23) the group was five and within the next kilometre it was down to three - Tobise and Simon slipping back. Suzuki made her decisive move just after 26 kilometres. Working hard on the climbs, she gained 15 metres on her two rivals. By the 28km mark she had extended her advantage to 50m and was still moving away. Machada gave chase in second but at 30km (1:48:18 for Suzuki) the gap to second was 11 seconds, Catuna another 6 seconds behind in third. A 5km split of 17:13 by Suzuki on the hardest part of the course confirmed her superiority. She passed 35km in 2:05.31 and headed into Athens, speeding up still further on the descent to the finish. Machada maintained her position but Catuna was caught first by Tobise, then by her teammate, Simon, who fought back to claim the bronze. Romania was second in the team competition, Italy third.
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Final |
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1 |
Hiromi Suzuki |
JPN |
6 Dec 68 |
2.29.48 |
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2 |
Manuela Machado |
POR |
9 Aug 63 |
2.31.12 |
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3 |
Lidia Simon |
ROU |
4 Sep 73 |
2.31.55 |
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4 |
Takako Tobise |
JPN |
20 Jun 74 |
2.32.18 |
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5 |
Ornella Ferrara |
ITA |
17 Apr 68 |
2.33.10 |
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6 |
Iris Biba-Pöschl |
GER |
27 May 64 |
2.34.06 |
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7 |
Sonja Oberem |
GER |
24 Feb 73 |
2.35.28 |
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8 |
Franziska Moser-Rochat |
SUI |
17 Aug 66 |
2.36.16 |
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9 |
Yelena Razdrogina |
RUS |
25 Aug 69 |
2.36.37 |
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10 |
Nobuko Fujimura |
JPN |
18 Dec 65 |
2.36.51 |
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11 |
Anuta Catuna |
ROU |
1 Oct 68 |
2.38.38 |
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12 |
Maria Polizou |
GRE |
10 Nov 68 |
2.39.10 |
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13 |
Franca Fiacconi |
ITA |
4 Oct 65 |
2.39.53 |
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14 |
Christine Mallo Joly |
FRA |
26 Feb 66 |
2.40.55 |
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15 |
Elfenesh Alemu |
ETH |
10 Jun 75 |
2.41.00 |
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16 |
Grete Kirkeberg |
NOR |
3 Sep 64 |
2.41.05 |
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17 |
Maryse Le Gallo |
FRA |
27 Apr 60 |
2.41.08 |
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18 |
Aura Buia |
ROU |
16 Feb 70 |
2.41.45 |
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19 |
Mariko Hara |
JPN |
27 Dec 70 |
2.42.00 |
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20 |
Heather Turland |
AUS |
27 Apr 60 |
2.42.12 |
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21 |
Rocío Rios |
ESP |
13 Mar 69 |
2.42.18 |
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22 |
Judit Földing-Nagy |
HUN |
9 Dec 65 |
2.42.21 |
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23 |
Angharad Mair |
GBR |
30 Mar 61 |
2.42.31 |
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24 |
Laura Fogli |
ITA |
5 Oct 59 |
2.43.28 |
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25 |
Cheryl Collins |
USA |
8 Nov 66 |
2.43.42 |
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26 |
Volha Yudenkova |
BLR |
7 Jan 67 |
2.43.47 |
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27 |
Anna Villani |
ITA |
21 Jun 66 |
2.43.58 |
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28 |
Sally Goldsmith |
GBR |
18 Jan 61 |
2.44.20 |
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29 |
Tomoe Abe |
JPN |
13 Aug 71 |
2.45.19 |
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30 |
Nuta Olaru |
ROU |
28 Aug 70 |
2.47.12 |
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31 |
Alena Vinitskaya |
BLR |
23 Aug 73 |
2.47.57 |
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32 |
Manuela Zipse |
GER |
11 May 74 |
2.48.45 |
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33 |
Asselefech Assefa |
ETH |
12 Dec 87 |
2.48.54 |
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34 |
Evelyne Mura |
FRA |
14 Jul 62 |
2.48.57 |
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35 |
Danielle Sanderson |
GBR |
26 Oct 62 |
2.49.03 |
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36 |
Julia Kirtland |
USA |
15 Mar 65 |
2.49.43 |
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37 |
Anfisa Kosacheva |
RUS |
1 Mar 65 |
2.50.29 |
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38 |
Grace De Oliveira |
RSA |
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2.50.36 |
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39 |
Gaëlle Houitte |
FRA |
28 Feb 71 |
2.50.38 |
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40 |
Julie Peterson |
USA |
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2.51.59 |
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41 |
Irina Timofeyeva |
RUS |
5 Apr 70 |
2.53.01 |
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42 |
Panagiota Nikolakopoulou |
GRE |
64 |
2.54.03 |
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43 |
Lo Man Yi |
HKG |
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2.54.59 |
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44 |
Alemitu Bekele |
ETH |
22 Aug 78 |
2.55.06 |
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45 |
Yeoryía Abatzídou |
GRE |
19 Apr 69 |
2.56.58 |
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46 |
Marisol Vargas |
MEX |
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2.58.22 |
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47 |
Carolyn Hunter-Rowe |
GBR |
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3.01.01 |
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48 |
May Allison |
CAN |
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3.01.26 |
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49 |
Danuta Bartoszek |
CAN |
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3.01.30 |
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50 |
Rita Toto |
RSA |
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3.04.05 |
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51 |
Rosa Salinas |
MEX |
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3.12.55 |
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52 |
Gina Coello |
HON |
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3.17.33 |
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53 |
Alexandra De Snoo |
ARU |
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3.22.08 |
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54 |
Gulsara Dadabayeva |
TJK |
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3.30.45 |
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Alina Gherasim |
ROU |
10 Nov 71 |
DNF |
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- |
Rosa Oliveira |
POR |
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DNF |
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Birgit Jerschabek |
GER |
17 May 69 |
DNF |
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Fatuma Roba |
ETH |
18 Dec 70 |
DNF |
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- |
Mary Alico |
USA |
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DNF |
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- |
Flor Venegas |
CHI |
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DNF |
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Nicole Carroll |
AUS |
14 Jan 72 |
DNF |
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Sonia Maccioni |
ITA |
5 Mar 66 |
DNF |
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Alina Ivanova |
RUS |
16 Mar 69 |
DNF |
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Jane Salumäe |
EST |
17 Jan 68 |
DNF |
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- |
Gadissie Edatto |
ETH |
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DNF |
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- |
Lucia Rendon |
MEX |
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DNF |
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- |
Anita Haakenstad |
NOR |
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DNF |
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Alena Mazouka |
BLR |
30 Jun 67 |
DNF |
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- |
Paraskevi Kastriti |
GRE |
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DNF |
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- |
Angelina Mantokoane Pitso |
LES |
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DNF |
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- |
Maria Elena Reyna |
MEX |
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DNF |
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- |
Patty Valadka |
USA |
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DNF |
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- |
Galina Baruk-Kornatsevich |
BLR |
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DNF |
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- |
Josette Colomb-Janin |
FRA |
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DNF |
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- |
Spiridoula Souma |
GRE |
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DNF |
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Order / Lane | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | PB | SB 1997 |
1 |
Elfenesh Alemu |
ETH |
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1 |
Asselefech Assefa |
ETH |
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1 |
Alemitu Bekele |
ETH |
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1 |
Gadissie Edatto |
ETH |
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1 |
Fatuma Roba |
ETH |
2:26:05 |
2:26:23 |
2 |
Tomoe Abe |
JPN |
2:26:09 |
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2 |
Nobuko Fujimura |
JPN |
2:26:09 |
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2 |
Mariko Hara |
JPN |
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2 |
Hiromi Suzuki |
JPN |
2:26:27 |
2:29:36 |
2 |
Takako Tobise |
JPN |
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3 |
Jane Salumäe |
EST |
2:27:04 |
2:27:04 |
4 |
Aurica Buia |
ROU |
2:31:39 |
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4 |
Anuta Catuna |
ROU |
2:28:18 |
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4 |
Camelia Alina Tecuţă-Gherasim |
ROU |
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4 |
Nuta Olaru |
ROU |
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4 |
Lidia Simon |
ROU |
2:27:04 |
2:27:04 |
5 |
Ornella Ferrara |
ITA |
2:28:01 |
2:28:01 |
5 |
Franca Fiacconi |
ITA |
2:28:22 |
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5 |
Laura Fogli |
ITA |
2:27:49 |
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5 |
Sonia Maccioni |
ITA |
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5 |
Anna Villani |
ITA |
2:46:44 |
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6 |
Iris Biba-Pöschl |
GER |
2:33:48 |
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6 |
Birgit Jerschabek |
GER |
2:28:02 |
2:30:30 |
6 |
Sonja Oberem |
GER |
2:28:02 |
2:28:02 |
6 |
Manuela Zipse |
GER |
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7 |
Maria Manuela Machado |
POR |
2:27:42 |
2:28:12 |
7 |
Rosa Oliveira |
POR |
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8 |
Halina Karnatsevich |
BLR |
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8 |
Alena Mazouka |
BLR |
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8 |
Alena Vinnitskaya |
BLR |
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8 |
Volha Yudenkova |
BLR |
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9 |
Alina Ivanova |
RUS |
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9 |
Anfisa Kosacheva |
RUS |
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9 |
Yelena Razdrogina |
RUS |
2:29:10 |
2:29:10 |
9 |
Irina Timofeeva |
RUS |
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10 |
Franziska Moser-Rochat |
SUI |
2:27:44 |
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11 |
Judit Földing-Nagy |
HUN |
2:28:50 |
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12 |
Nicole Carroll |
AUS |
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12 |
Heather Turland |
AUS |
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13 |
Anita Håkenstad Evertsen |
NOR |
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13 |
Grete Kirkeberg |
NOR |
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14 |
Josette Colomb-Janin |
FRA |
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14 |
Gaelle Houitte |
FRA |
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14 |
Maryse Le Gallo |
FRA |
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14 |
Christine Mallo |
FRA |
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14 |
Evelyne Mura |
FRA |
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15 |
May Allison |
CAN |
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15 |
Danuta Bartoszek |
CAN |
2:31:46 |
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16 |
Mary Alico |
USA |
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16 |
Cheryl Collins |
USA |
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16 |
Julia Kirtland |
USA |
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16 |
Julie Peterson |
USA |
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16 |
Patty Valadka |
USA |
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17 |
Lucía Rendón |
MEX |
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17 |
Maria Elena Reyna |
MEX |
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17 |
Rosa Salinas |
MEX |
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17 |
Marisol Vargas |
MEX |
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18 |
Sally Goldsmith |
GBR |
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18 |
Carolyn Hunter-Rowe |
GBR |
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18 |
Angharad Mair |
GBR |
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18 |
Danielle Sanderson |
GBR |
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19 |
Flor Venegas |
CHI |
2:34:57 |
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20 |
Yeoryía Abatzídou |
GRE |
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20 |
Paraskevi Kastriti |
GRE |
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20 |
Panagiota Nikolakopoulou |
GRE |
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20 |
Maria Polizou |
GRE |
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20 |
Spiridoúla Soúma |
GRE |
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21 |
Grace De Oliveira |
RSA |
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21 |
Rita Toto |
RSA |
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22 |
Gulsara Dadabaeva |
TJK |
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23 |
Alexandra De Snoo |
ARU |
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24 |
Rocío Ríos |
ESP |
2:28:20 |
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25 |
Yi-Lo Man |
HKG |
2:59:39 |
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26 |
Gina Coello |
HON |
2:59:54 |
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27 |
Angelina Mantokoane Pitso |
LES |
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