News Archive

Sunday 3 October 2004 World 10,000 metres bronze-medallist Sun Yingjie cruised

to victory to win the IAAF World Half Marathon title on Sunday morning in New

Delhi.

Sun Yingjie, fittingly on the first occasion the Championship race

has been held on Asian soil

, won in a Chinese national record time of one hour eight minutes and 40

seconds.

Behind the joint pre-race favourite, Kenyas Lydia Cheromei fought back after

struggling midway through the 13.1miles race, to claim the silver medal in a

personal best 1:09:00.

Early pacemaker Constantina Tomescu-Dita took third place for Romania in a

time of 1:09:07 as the 40,000 crowd roared its support as the medallists

entered the Nehru Stadium.

Irelands Sonia OSullivan running her second half marathon in seven

days and expected to have been the strongest challenger for the gold

medal alongside Sun Yingjie, finished fourth in 1:10:33.

Ethiopia led home by sixth placed Eyerrusalem Kuma, claimed the team title,

their three runners totalling a time of 3:36:00 ahead of Romania and

Russia.

But it was a very close close affair. Only eight seconds prevented the

Romanians notching a seventh success while Russia, last years champions clocked

a time of 3:38:21 for the bronze-medals.

"Im very happy but also surprised to win this race because the standard

of athlete was so high," said a delighted Sun Yingjie who shattered her

five-year-old personal best of 70:22.

But last summers World 10,000m bronze-medallist always looked the likeliest

gold medallist after OSullivan, undertaking a second half marathon in seven

days fell away.

That came just after the 5K point when Cheromei injected such a fierce

change in the speed of the race, both herself and Sun Yingjie went well clear

of their rivals.

Tomescu-Dita who in her traditional manner ...