Strong performance of the Swiss team at the first CISM Half Marathon World Championships
Adrian Lehmann showed a solid performance at yesterday's CISM Half Marathon World Championships in Lucerne, finishing the race as the fastest Swiss in 25th place. In the women's race, orienteer Paula Gross crossed the finish line as the leading Swiss runner and secured 33rd place with a new personal best time, just ahead of runner Seraina Ummel."
At 8:25 a.m., the starting signal, executed by Brigadier Niels Blatter, marked the beginning of the first CISM World Half Marathon Championships. The men's race witnessed a fierce contest from the start, with athletes from Morocco, Bahrain, and Tanzania clearly in the hunt for the gold medal. The race ended in a riveting final sprint between the three leading runners. Ultimately, Morocco's El Aaraby Mohamed Areda secured his third world title by a margin of just one second, while also running a new course record. "The race was fantastic, but also tough because of the topography and the strong field," he said after the race. In the women's race, Bahraini athlete Jepchumba Kilonzo Violah established herself as the new world champion with a lead of more than 20 seconds. "I like hilly terrain, so I felt very comfortable on this course," she explained after her race. The strong field of runners, the optimal weather conditions and the spectators who cheered the athletes on the roadside made the first edition of the CISM Half Marathon World Championships a successful event.
The Swiss team also draws a positive conclusion. "I am very satisfied with my performance today," said Swiss marathon specialist Adrian Lehmann. "The course was demanding and therefore I orientated myself more on my competition than on my pace and in the end I was even able to overtake the opponent of my group in the final sprint" he added further. Janis Gächter also ran a strong race and improved his personal best by about one minute. For the first time, the Swiss CISM delegation was able to field a women's team, which immediately ran into the top 10 in the team ranking. In the men's ranking the Swiss athletes finished 11th. The CISM Half Marathon World Championships were particularly emotional for marathon runner Marcel Berni. He ended his top sports career with yesterday's race. The Swiss team was accompanied, among others, by former 2016 Olympian Christian Kreienbühl, who stood on the side of the course as Chief of Mission and coach.