Right back at you: Paul-Henri Mathieu hits a shot to John Isner during their match at the French Open on Thursday. Mathieu won 6-7(2-7), 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 18-16. APPARIS — This, then, is who John Isner is for now: The Marathon Man of Tennis, the guy who plays and plays and plays, for hours on end, until the last set seems interminable.At Wimbledon two years ago, he won 70-68 in the fifth, the longest set and match in tennis history. At Roland Garros on Thursday, as afternoon gave way to evening, the 10th-seeded American lost 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 18-16 to Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in the second round, a 5-hour, 41-minute test of stamina and attention span.This one goes in the books as the second-longest match, by time, in French Open history."I just didn't get it done. I felt like I got caught in patterns that weren't ideal for me," said a somber Isner. "I wasn't going for my shots at certain points in the match, and that comes from a little bit of a lack of confidence."If Isner is going to become more than a novelty act, he needs to win encounters like Thursday's, and not because of the duration but because it was a first-week Grand Slam match against a player ranked 261st who got into the field thanks to a wild-card invitation from the tournament.After finally converting his seventh match point — Isner never had one — an emotional Mathieu thanked the partisan crowd in the main stadium for willing him to victory. Their sing-song choruses of "Po-lo! Po-lo!" — the French equivalent of "Paulie" — and roars of approval rang out after pretty much every point he won down the stretch."I dug deep," said the 30-year-old Mathieu, who hadn't played in a major tournament since the 2010 U.S. Open because of a left-knee injury that forced him off tour all of last year. "I was away from the courts for quite a while, and I came back to live moments like this."He helped provide easily the most intrigue on a day that featured straight-set wins for defending champions Rafael Nadal and Li Na.About 10 hours earlier in that stadium, it appeared a man seeded even higher than Isner would be on his way out of the tournament: No. 4 Andy Murray's back was so painful he could barely move, let alone play tennis at the level required to win a Grand Slam match.Or so it seemed.For the better part of an hour, the three-time major finalist looked downright miserable. He grimaced. He clutched at the small of his back. He contorted his body. He stepped gingerly, as though barefoot on a hot day at the beach. He tapped in serves at speeds so slow they'd be OK while driving on a highway. He considered quitting."Just kind of gritting my teeth," Murray said, "and (trying) to find a way of turning the match around, because I was a few points, probably, from stopping."And then, thanks in large part to a couple of massages from a trainer, Murray began to feel better. It helped, too, that his opponent, 48th-ranked Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, was incapable of taking advantage of Murray's nearly incapacitated state. So Murray managed to come back to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 and reach the third round at Roland Garros for the fifth consecutive year.What's unclear, even to Murray, is how his back will be for his next match."I have no idea what will happen in two days," said Murray."But if it's something like a spasm, it's not like you're doing major damage. You know, it's just a really, really tight muscle."The 25-year-old from Scotland had been dealing with a bad back for months. It forced him to pull out of the Madrid Open in early May.But Murray insisted that Thursday's problem was different — although might have been related, because he might have bothered a muscle by compensating for the earlier injury."It was his fault for letting me back into the match, because I didn't do anything special," Murray said. "I just tried to put some balls back in."Nieminen agreed, saying: "I feel like I had him. . . . It's not often that somebody looks that bad and can keep going."But Murray did trudge on, putting in serves at 110 kph or so, and taking big cuts at returns to try to end points then and there, until he could swing more freely.
Showing posts with label Marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marathon. Show all posts
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Isner comes up short in marathon match with Mathieu
Right back at you: Paul-Henri Mathieu hits a shot to John Isner during their match at the French Open on Thursday. Mathieu won 6-7(2-7), 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 18-16. APPARIS — This, then, is who John Isner is for now: The Marathon Man of Tennis, the guy who plays and plays and plays, for hours on end, until the last set seems interminable.At Wimbledon two years ago, he won 70-68 in the fifth, the longest set and match in tennis history. At Roland Garros on Thursday, as afternoon gave way to evening, the 10th-seeded American lost 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 18-16 to Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in the second round, a 5-hour, 41-minute test of stamina and attention span.This one goes in the books as the second-longest match, by time, in French Open history."I just didn't get it done. I felt like I got caught in patterns that weren't ideal for me," said a somber Isner. "I wasn't going for my shots at certain points in the match, and that comes from a little bit of a lack of confidence."If Isner is going to become more than a novelty act, he needs to win encounters like Thursday's, and not because of the duration but because it was a first-week Grand Slam match against a player ranked 261st who got into the field thanks to a wild-card invitation from the tournament.After finally converting his seventh match point — Isner never had one — an emotional Mathieu thanked the partisan crowd in the main stadium for willing him to victory. Their sing-song choruses of "Po-lo! Po-lo!" — the French equivalent of "Paulie" — and roars of approval rang out after pretty much every point he won down the stretch."I dug deep," said the 30-year-old Mathieu, who hadn't played in a major tournament since the 2010 U.S. Open because of a left-knee injury that forced him off tour all of last year. "I was away from the courts for quite a while, and I came back to live moments like this."He helped provide easily the most intrigue on a day that featured straight-set wins for defending champions Rafael Nadal and Li Na.About 10 hours earlier in that stadium, it appeared a man seeded even higher than Isner would be on his way out of the tournament: No. 4 Andy Murray's back was so painful he could barely move, let alone play tennis at the level required to win a Grand Slam match.Or so it seemed.For the better part of an hour, the three-time major finalist looked downright miserable. He grimaced. He clutched at the small of his back. He contorted his body. He stepped gingerly, as though barefoot on a hot day at the beach. He tapped in serves at speeds so slow they'd be OK while driving on a highway. He considered quitting."Just kind of gritting my teeth," Murray said, "and (trying) to find a way of turning the match around, because I was a few points, probably, from stopping."And then, thanks in large part to a couple of massages from a trainer, Murray began to feel better. It helped, too, that his opponent, 48th-ranked Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, was incapable of taking advantage of Murray's nearly incapacitated state. So Murray managed to come back to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 and reach the third round at Roland Garros for the fifth consecutive year.What's unclear, even to Murray, is how his back will be for his next match."I have no idea what will happen in two days," said Murray."But if it's something like a spasm, it's not like you're doing major damage. You know, it's just a really, really tight muscle."The 25-year-old from Scotland had been dealing with a bad back for months. It forced him to pull out of the Madrid Open in early May.But Murray insisted that Thursday's problem was different — although might have been related, because he might have bothered a muscle by compensating for the earlier injury."It was his fault for letting me back into the match, because I didn't do anything special," Murray said. "I just tried to put some balls back in."Nieminen agreed, saying: "I feel like I had him. . . . It's not often that somebody looks that bad and can keep going."But Murray did trudge on, putting in serves at 110 kph or so, and taking big cuts at returns to try to end points then and there, until he could swing more freely.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Ndambiri wins Fukuoka Marathon
Fukuoka — Japan-based Kenyan Josphat Ndambiri cruised to victory on his debut at the Fukuoka International Marathon on Sunday, while civil servant Yuki Kawauchi enjoyed a strong run to finish third and boost his chances of a place at next year's London Olympics.Ndambiri crossed the finish line at Heiwadai Track and Field Stadium in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 36 seconds, finishing over a minute ahead of compatriot James Mwangi, who timed 2:08:38.Kawauchi, who hit the headlines and was dubbed the "Citizen Runner" by local media after finishing third in the Tokyo Marathon in February as the fastest Japanese runner, clocked 2:09:57. Japan's Masato Imai was fourth.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Marathon legend Waitz dead at 57
OSLO — Grete Waitz, a Norwegian runner who won nine New York City Marathons and the silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, died Tuesday after a six-year battle with cancer. She was 57.Helle Aanesen, the manager of the Active Against Cancer Foundation in Norway, said Waitz died early Tuesday at the Ulleval University Hospital in Oslo.A former Oslo schoolteacher, Waitz won her first New York City Marathon in 1978, setting a world best in 2 hours, 32 minutes, 30 seconds in her first attempt at running the distance. She went on to win eight more times, with her last victory coming in 1988.She won the London Marathon twice, in 1983 and 86, and earned five titles at the world cross-country championships from 1978-81 and 1983.Waitz also won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1983 world championships in Helsinki. A year later, she took second behind Joan Benoit in the first women's Olympic marathon.Waitz competed at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in the 1,500 meters, but missed the 1980 Moscow Games because of the American-led boycott."Grete is in my eyes one of the greatest Norwegian athletes of all time," Norwegian Athletics Federation president Svein Arne Hansen said. "Not only through her performances in the sport, but also as a role model for women in sports."
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Mutai takes Boston Marathon in a run for the ages
Historic triumph: Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai breaks the tape on Monday to win the 115th running of the Boston Marathon. Mutai recorded the fastest time in marathon history of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds in the victory. AP
BOSTON — Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai ran the fastest 42.2 km in history to win the Boston Marathon on Monday. Then his claim to a world record was swallowed up by the hills.
Not the inclines of Heartbreak Hill that have doomed so many runners before him.
It was the downhill part of the race that makes his time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds ineligible for an official world record. In short: IAAF rules have deemed the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the world — long considered the one of the most difficult, too — to be too easy.
"You don't look at world records. You just go," Mutai said. "If you are strong, you push it. But if you put it in your head, you can't make it."
Mutai outsprinted Moses Mosop down Boylston Street to win by four seconds as the two Kenyans both beat Haile Gebrselassie's sanctioned world record of 2:03:59. Four men, including third-place finisher Gebregziabher Gebremariam of Ethiopia and American Ryan Hall, broke the course record of 2:05:52 set just last year by Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot.
"These guys obviously showed us what's possible for the marathon," said Hall, whose 2:04:58 is the fastest ever run by an American. "I was out there running, and I was thinking to myself, 'I can't believe this is happening right now. I'm running a 2:04 pace, and I can't even see the leaders.' It was unreal."
The IAAF must certify a world record, and it is unlikely to approve Mutai's feat. The international governing body's Rule 206 requires courses to start and finish near the same point in order to discourage downhill, wind-aided runs and the artificially fast times they can produce. (Boston has a net decline of 140 meters, though the course is dominated by hills going up and down.)
"We had a stunning performance and an immensely fast time here today," said Tom Grilk, the head of the Boston Athletic Association, after Mutai ran almost a full minute faster than the sanctioned world record.
"We in Boston are well-pleased with what has happened, and that's good unto itself. The definitions of others, I will leave to them."
IAAF officials did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Although the organization's rules clearly disqualify the Boston course from a world record, it does list Cheruiyot's time in last year's race among the best times of 2010. Joan Benoit's 2:22:53 was considered a women's record in 1983, though that was before the IAAF refined its rules.
Mutai will receive a $50,000 bonus for the world best and another $25,000 for the course record to go with the $150,000 he and women's winner Caroline Kilel earned for the win.
"This gentleman did both things, and we are honored to have played a part in his doing it," Grilk said.
Kilel won the women's race to complete the Kenyan sweep, outsprinting American Desiree Davila to win by two seconds in 2:22:36. Davila led as late as the final stretch on Boylston Street and ran the fastest time ever for a U.S. woman, five seconds faster than Benoit, who is now known as Joan Samuelson.
Kara Goucher ran a personal best 2:24:52 to add a fifth-place finish to her third in 2009. No American — man or woman — has won Boston since Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach in 1985.
"We're knocking on the door," Hall said. "I mean 2:08 last year and 2:04 this year .e_STnS . . It's going to come; it's just a matter of time."
A year after Cheruiyot lowered the course record by more than a minute, almost 27,000 runners lined up in Hopkinton with cool temperatures and a 34-kph wind at their back — perfect marathoning weather. Kim Smith, a New Zealander who lives in Providence, took off at a record pace and led the women's race for more than 32 km.
The men were more steady, and they were the ones to take down the old mark.
Mutai and Mosop ran side-by-side for the final kms before Mutai pulled ahead for good on Boylston Street. The 19th Kenyan winner in the past 21 years, Mutai raised his arms in the air and grinned.
"When I was coming to Boston, I was not trying to break the world record. But I see the gift from God," Mutai said. "I'm happy. I don't have more words to add."
Cheruiyot, who had been recovering from a car accident in Kenya, finished sixth. Defending women's champion Teyba Erkesso dropped out before reaching the halfway point.
Masazumi Soejima and Wakako Tsuchida gave Japan a sweep of the men's and women's wheelchair divisions. It was the fifth straight win for Tsuchida and the second overall for Soejima.
BOSTON — Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai ran the fastest 42.2 km in history to win the Boston Marathon on Monday. Then his claim to a world record was swallowed up by the hills.
Not the inclines of Heartbreak Hill that have doomed so many runners before him.
It was the downhill part of the race that makes his time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds ineligible for an official world record. In short: IAAF rules have deemed the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the world — long considered the one of the most difficult, too — to be too easy.
"You don't look at world records. You just go," Mutai said. "If you are strong, you push it. But if you put it in your head, you can't make it."
Mutai outsprinted Moses Mosop down Boylston Street to win by four seconds as the two Kenyans both beat Haile Gebrselassie's sanctioned world record of 2:03:59. Four men, including third-place finisher Gebregziabher Gebremariam of Ethiopia and American Ryan Hall, broke the course record of 2:05:52 set just last year by Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot.
"These guys obviously showed us what's possible for the marathon," said Hall, whose 2:04:58 is the fastest ever run by an American. "I was out there running, and I was thinking to myself, 'I can't believe this is happening right now. I'm running a 2:04 pace, and I can't even see the leaders.' It was unreal."
The IAAF must certify a world record, and it is unlikely to approve Mutai's feat. The international governing body's Rule 206 requires courses to start and finish near the same point in order to discourage downhill, wind-aided runs and the artificially fast times they can produce. (Boston has a net decline of 140 meters, though the course is dominated by hills going up and down.)
"We had a stunning performance and an immensely fast time here today," said Tom Grilk, the head of the Boston Athletic Association, after Mutai ran almost a full minute faster than the sanctioned world record.
"We in Boston are well-pleased with what has happened, and that's good unto itself. The definitions of others, I will leave to them."
IAAF officials did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Although the organization's rules clearly disqualify the Boston course from a world record, it does list Cheruiyot's time in last year's race among the best times of 2010. Joan Benoit's 2:22:53 was considered a women's record in 1983, though that was before the IAAF refined its rules.
Mutai will receive a $50,000 bonus for the world best and another $25,000 for the course record to go with the $150,000 he and women's winner Caroline Kilel earned for the win.
"This gentleman did both things, and we are honored to have played a part in his doing it," Grilk said.
Kilel won the women's race to complete the Kenyan sweep, outsprinting American Desiree Davila to win by two seconds in 2:22:36. Davila led as late as the final stretch on Boylston Street and ran the fastest time ever for a U.S. woman, five seconds faster than Benoit, who is now known as Joan Samuelson.
Kara Goucher ran a personal best 2:24:52 to add a fifth-place finish to her third in 2009. No American — man or woman — has won Boston since Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach in 1985.
"We're knocking on the door," Hall said. "I mean 2:08 last year and 2:04 this year .e_STnS . . It's going to come; it's just a matter of time."
A year after Cheruiyot lowered the course record by more than a minute, almost 27,000 runners lined up in Hopkinton with cool temperatures and a 34-kph wind at their back — perfect marathoning weather. Kim Smith, a New Zealander who lives in Providence, took off at a record pace and led the women's race for more than 32 km.
The men were more steady, and they were the ones to take down the old mark.
Mutai and Mosop ran side-by-side for the final kms before Mutai pulled ahead for good on Boylston Street. The 19th Kenyan winner in the past 21 years, Mutai raised his arms in the air and grinned.
"When I was coming to Boston, I was not trying to break the world record. But I see the gift from God," Mutai said. "I'm happy. I don't have more words to add."
Cheruiyot, who had been recovering from a car accident in Kenya, finished sixth. Defending women's champion Teyba Erkesso dropped out before reaching the halfway point.
Masazumi Soejima and Wakako Tsuchida gave Japan a sweep of the men's and women's wheelchair divisions. It was the fifth straight win for Tsuchida and the second overall for Soejima.
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