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SPORTS Thursday 10 OcTOber 2019

In this Tuesday, April 30, 2019 file photo, marathon world record
holder Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge poses for photographers at the
Iffley Road Track, in Oxford, England.
Associated Press
Eliud Kipchoge

chases sub 2-hour Team Russia celebrates winning the gold medal in the men's team final at the Gymnastics World

marathon in Vienna Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. Associated Press

By ERIC WILLEMSEN cals company backing the Russia beats China to win men's
Associated Press attempt is headquartered.
Kipchoge's family finally attempt to become the team world gymnastics gold
VIENNA (AP) — When Eliud The world-record holder's

gets to see him at a mara- first person to complete the
thon, it will likely be the fast- 42.2 kilometers (26.2 miles) By JAMES ELLINGWORTH China's very next routine. had tears in their eyes and
est one the Olympic cham- in less than two hours will AP Sports Writer Sun Wei fell on a release, started to remember my-
pion has ever run. be witnessed by his fam- STUTTGART, Germany and suddenly the competi- self a year ago," he said. "I
The 34-year-old Kenyan's ily — wife Grace and three (AP) — Nikita Nagornyy tion was Russia's for the tak- saw the frustration on the
attempt to run a sub two- children. shrugged off nearly 30 ing. guys' faces and decided
hour marathon has been "It will be the first time years' worth of pressure to Russia finished with a to- to support them because
set for Saturday in Prater they've ever watched me give Russia its first men's tal score of 261.726. That we're all friends, all people.
park, a landmark part of race, but I desperately team gymnastics world title was 0.997 ahead of China, I know what it's like to be
the Vienna City Marathon. want them to be in Vienna since the Soviet era. which had won the men's second, so out of humanity
Event organizers decided to see history being made," A year after losing to China team event at seven of the I went over to support the
Wednesday to stick to the Kipchoge was quoted as by less than five-hundredths last eight world champion- guys."
first planned race date, al- saying on the event's web- of a point, Russia took ad- ships. China's Zou said his team
though they initially used a site. vantage of a crucial fall by It was the first time Rus- would work through its dis-
nine-day window to allow Kipchoge will start his run a Chinese gymnast to turn sia had won this title since appointment together.
rescheduling for any un- between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., the tables. the Soviet Union's victory in "We have the stability and
favorable weather condi- with the exact time only to Ivan Stretovich and Artur 1991, although it won the also the ability to win the
tions. be decided on Friday af- Dalaloyan built a solid lead Olympic gold medal in the gold. Of course we're not
But the optimum criteria for ternoon, based on the lat- for Russia with their high bar same event in 1996. Anoth- feeling good to get silver
the INEOS 1:59 Challenge est forecasts. His team will routines, leaving Nagornyy er ex-Soviet nation, Belarus, but we will work harder
seem to be met on Sat- also take into account his to seal the win when he took the world title in 2001, next time," he said through
urday, with early morning body's circadian rhythm. stuck his dismount. the last European nation to a translator. "It's not just one
temperatures expected Kipchoge arrived in the "I enjoyed the moment be- do so.Dalaloyan said he'd person's responsibility. Ev-
between 5 and 9 degrees Austrian capital from his Ke- cause these sensations and been tormented by the eryone has the responsibil-
Celsius (41-48 Fahrenheit), nyan training camp in Kap- impressions that you feel narrow defeat to China in ity, so I don't like blaming
humidity below 80%, dry tagat on Tuesday morning, before going out there, the 2018. any teammate."
conditions and not too saying he was looking for- responsibility, that's some- "For a whole year I couldn't Japan took the bronze,
much wind. ward to "showing the world thing you can never find sleep soundly because I continuing its run of reach-
"We have looked at the that no human is limited." in life," said Nagornyy, a didn't have that medal. A ing the men's team podium
weather patterns for Vi- This is Kipchoge's second team silver medalist behind year ago we let it go with at every world champion-
enna coming through and attempt at breaking the China at the 2016 Olympics our errors when we were ships since 2003. It was the
the current conditions are two-hour barrier, after com- and 2018 world champion- competing with the Chi- first year since 1991 that the
looking to be optimal for ing up 25 seconds short in a ships. "Only sports can give nese," Dalaloyan said. same three teams made
temperature, humidity, similar event, Breaking2, at you emotions like that." Amid Russia's celebrations, the podium two years run-
wind and precipitation for Italy's Formula One track in China seemed in complete Dalaloyan walked over ning.
this Saturday morning," said Monza in May 2017. control when Zou Jingyuan to the Chinese team and The U.S. finished fourth on
Robby Ketchell, who leads Just like then, Saturday's set by far the best score on embraced each athlete 254.578 as two-time world
the weather analysis for the finishing time will not be the parallel bars to send including Sun, who was bronze medalist Sam Mi-
team. ratified by the IAAF as an his team into the high bar weeping and covered his kulak bounced back from
Vienna's typical weather official world record, be- — the last rotation for both face with a jacket. a poor showing in qualify-
conditions this time of the cause of variables such as China and Russia — with a "I did that out of respect ing, posting the third-best
year saw it preferred over pacemakers entering mid- solid 1.394-point lead. How- for the Chinese team be- scores on floor, parallel
London, where the chemi- race.q ever, that all changed with cause I saw some people bars and high bar.q