With the second air to triumph

• Here are the results

His pacemaker Evans Kiprono had already sped off at 28 kilometers after work and looked like the winner of the Linz marathon. But then the “man with the hammer” so feared by runners came for the Kenyan and the German Simon Boch, actually already left behind, sprinted past his training partner again with the second air in the final. The man from Regensburg, who celebrates his 29th birthday tomorrow, gave himself an early birthday present with the win and a personal best of 2:09:25 hours.

“I see it with mixed feelings,” said Boch after the running work was done. It was only the second victory of a European in Linz after that of the Ukrainian Alexander Kuzin in 2007. But up to the half-marathon mark, Boch was also on course to undercut the Olympic limit for Paris 2024. In the end, the 2:08:10 was out of reach, but the consolation was the ticket for the World Championships in Athletics in Budapest.

threatened with disqualification

In the first half of the race, a discussion broke out on the track about the leading field. Relay runner Dominik Jandl kept up with the fastest long-distance runners. According to the regulations, as the second man in the fitness quartet, he is not allowed to intervene in the races of the marathon leaders. Otherwise, there is a risk that any best times could lose their official validity because the pacemakers did not run from the start. Jandl was hesitant to see things through during the race, and the 25-year-old first got into a discussion – at around 20 kilometers per hour, mind you. “I’m a bit angry,” said race director Günther Weidlinger, because he had to threaten disqualification before Jandl dropped back from the top group.

• OÖN TV: That was the Linz Danube Marathon 2023

Consolation for Jandl and Co was the surprising victory in 2:09:52 hours in front of the Hyundai relay put together by Austria’s marathon top man Peter Herzog, which also included Valentin Pfeil and Kevin Kamenschak.