Media Centre >> Professional Athlete Bios and Start List
Professional Athlete Bios and Start List
Elite Start List »
Who to watch for?
With Odds from our illustrious Professional Athlete Coordinator, Ian Ladbrooke.
Men
Kenneth Mungara. KEN. Odds 7-2
THE man from Limuru has now won STWM THREE years in a row, with the fastest marathon ever run on Canadian soil (2:07:58) last year in front of a deep field, where 5 men ran under 2:08:30. He was 2nd in Prague this Spring in a PR of 2:07:36. Kenneth OWNS Toronto. Can anyone beat him?
Nixon Machichim. KEN. 6-1.
A developing talent, who was 4th at STWM2010 in a PR of 2:08:22. He ran 2:09:08 in Rome last year and won Linz this Spring in 2:09:37. How much faster can he go this year?
Deresa Chimsa ETH. 8-1.
Has run 2:07 twice, including a 2:07:39 for 8th in that remarkable Boston race this Spring. Could he be the first Ethiopian Men's winner at STWM?
Dino Sefir ETH. 12-1.
Great odds here for a “flutter” on a great prospect. Just 23 years old. This Spring, Dino won the Pun en Valey 15K in France in 43:57; then the Humarathon Half in Vitry-sur-Seine the next weekend in a 59:42 CR; travelled back to Addis to run the National trials where he was 2nd in the 10,000m race; then dashed to Spain for the IAAF World X-C Championships in Punta Umbria (12th); then flew to Ottawa and ran his 2:10:33 marathon debut!
Stephen Kibiwott KEN. 10-1.
An experienced veteran (31 yrs) who ran 2:07:54 in Prague 2 years ago. Last year he ran 60:38 at the Ras Al Khaimah Half, then 61:58 at the Paris Half this Spring.
Tadesse Abraham ERI. 10-1.
Won his marathon debut in Zurich in 2009 in 2:10:09, then took that down to 2:09:24 in Berlin last Fall, Tadesse is looking to break the Kenyan dominance at STWM.
Robert Mwangi KEN. 15-1
The next generation from Limuru? Kennth Mungara's young (24 yrs) training partner, who ran 2:09:03 for 5th behind Kenneth in Prague this May.
Bellor Yator QAT. 25-1.
Rounding out the always-dominant African pack, Kenyan-born Bellor Yator has a 2:09:21 PR from Barcelona in 2009, was 4th in Hamburg this Spring, and is dreaming of a breakthrough performance at STWM 2011.
Women
Koren Yal ETH 5-1.
Fourth (PR 2:24:33) in last year's incredible STWM Women's race that saw the top four run the 4 fastest times ever in Canada, and the 6th, 7th, 8th & 21st fastest times in the WORLD in 2010. Koren has since won Mumbai in January and placed 3rd at Paris Marathon in April. Can she beat an in-form Mare Dibaba?
Mare Dibaba ETH 9-2.
A super young talent, will be 22 years old on October 20th. The Ethiopian women's Half marathon record holder with a 67:13 run at Ras Al Khaimah in 2010; she ran 68:57 at RAK this year. Now taking on the marathon, she ran 2:25:27 at Frankfurt last Fall, and was 3rd in Los Angeles this Spring. Is coming off an impressive 2nd place 73:54 in the Media Maraton de Bogota at 2,600m altitude on July 31st.
Tatyana Arysova RUS. 8-1.
Can Tayana take the STWM title back to Russia after 4 years of African victories? She certainly knows how to win, with first-place finishes in Dublin (2:26:12) last October and Tokyo in February (2:27:29).
Silvia Skvortsova RUS. 15-1.
Like Tayana Arysova, Silvia lives and trains in Cheboksary, the capital of the Chuvash Republic and epicentre of Women's marathon power in Russia, 600k east of Moscow on the Volga. An experienced vet with a 2:26:24 PR from Berlin 2009, Skvortsova and Arysova should make a powerful pair to take on the formidable Africans this year.
Diana Chepkemoi KEN. 12-1.
Another exciting new talent coming to STWM — off of her marathon debut of 2:26:53 in Dubai in January. She also ran 70:40 at the Lisbon Half in March and was 2nd at the Big Berlin 25k in 1:26:14 in May.
Sado Fatumo ETH. 15-1.
A developing talent who won her Start place at STWM 2011 with a 2:28:30 victory in Hamburg in May.
Netsanet Abeyo ETH. 25-1.
At only 23 years old, Netsanet is another exciting talent — a former steeplechaser who ran 9:28.03 for 3000 sc in 2007, then 15:23.03 for 5000m at DN Galen, Stockholm in 2009, before missing 2010 with injuries. She moved to the marathon with a 2:28:28 debut, good for 4th in Rome this March.
Information on the Canadians
DREAM BIG..... are the streets of Toronto's Waterfront paved with gold and the road to Olympic Glory?
2:11:29. Olympic Dreams.
The qualifying standard for men to run for Canada in the Olympic Marathon at London 2012 is sub-2:11:30. Canada hasn't sent anyone to an Olympic Marathon since 2000, and then we sent only one. Today, our country has the best marathoners in a generation — perhaps the best ever. Reid Coolsaet. Eric Gillis. Dylan Wykes. Simon Bairu. Plus outsiders still in with a strong chance, Rob Watson & Matt Loiselle. On October 16th, they'll be going head-to-head. One morning on Toronto's Waterfront. Six men. Three Olympic places. 2:11:30 to beat. Share the dream.
2:10:09. $36,000 bonus. Dreams of Chasing Drayton.
On December 7th, 1975 Toronto Olympic Club's Jerome Drayton ran 2:10:09 at the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan, for a new Canadian Men's National Marathon Record. It's a record that still stands today, 36 years later. Will it EVER be broken? As an added incentive to immortality in the record books, Scotiabank have put up a bonus of $1,000 for every year the record has stood, to go to the first person to break it. Those same 6 men: Coolsaet (2:11:23 PR), Gillis (2:12:08), Wykes (2:12:39), Bairu (27:23 national 10,000m record last year), Watson (2:16:17) and Loiselle (2:19:03) are all dreaming they can do it. Will we see history being made?
