I did look up the course map. The course largely runs from the N to S over the final 2.195km and the wind was coming out of the S/SW at 7-11 mph so they would have a tail wind.
Do you believe the splits or was the 40k mark in the wrong spot?
I did look up the course map. The course largely runs from the N to S over the final 2.195km and the wind was coming out of the S/SW at 7-11 mph so they would have a tail wind.
Do you believe the splits or was the 40k mark in the wrong spot?
I did look up the course map. The course largely runs from the N to S over the final 2.195km and the wind was coming out of the S/SW at 7-11 mph so they would have a tail wind.
Do you believe the splits or was the 40k mark in the wrong spot?
I think at the 2006 Tokyo Marathon. One of the Asian Runner either Japanese or Norwegian ran the last 2.195km in 4:57 or something. His name Som Yung Dewd or Dhat Yung Gye
I've come up with the explanation. This soon will be in our WTW.
Demise ran her final 2.195 km in 6:32. That's 4:47.4 mile pace, or 2:05:36 marathon pace. Crippa ran his final 2.195 km in 6:01. That's 4:24.7 mile pace, or 1:55:40 marathon pace.
That's super quick.
Is it possible they are legitimate?
In the men's race, there were still four guys together at 40k. So expecting a hard finish is reasonable. But 4:24 is super quick. In watching the race replay, it certainly doesn't look like Crippa is going sub-4:25 pace the whole time.
And in the women's race, Demise already had a 10-second lead at 40k. Yes, she'd be motivated to get a course record (she was on 2:19:16 pace at 40k), but it's unlikely that someone who ran 16:40 from 30 to 35k and then 16:28 from 35k to 40k would then close on 14:53 pace for the final 2.195km.
And much like the Australian 200m results, what makes it much more suspicious is that multiple athletes had historically fast closes. In addition to Crippa and Demise, the runner-up in the men's race, Bayelign Teshager of Ethiopia, split 6:07 for his final 2.195km, which would be 5th fastest in history.
If the splits are legitimate, I know one thing -- they were wind-aided. The Paris Marathon course goes largely from south to north over the final 2.195 km, and the wind was coming out of the south.
The Paris course drops significantly over the final kilometer -- roughly 20 meters (65 feet) -- which is worth 10+ seconds. Wind plus a nice downhill could explain why the closes were historically fast on Sunday.
Yes, there was a huge downhill in the last km (I ran my fastest k of the race by almost 10 seconds). I also think the end was slightly mis-measured, at least going on the signage. I crossed the 40km mat at 40.50km on my watch (so I was expecting a finish around 42.7 or 8). Then there was a huge “500m left!” sign that I hit at 41.8 on my watch. I think it still ended up being 6-700 meters after that, but since I only ended on 42.5km on the watch, I am guessing the last segment was probably 150-200 meters short of the posted signage (and likewise timing mat) distance.
I did look up the course map. The course largely runs from the N to S over the final 2.195km and the wind was coming out of the S/SW at 7-11 mph so they would have a tail wind.
Do you believe the splits or was the 40k mark in the wrong spot?
