One second. Barely enough time to blink. That`s the amount of time that stood between Steve Jones and a world record, worth $50,000, in Sunday`s America`s Marathon/Chicago.
Jones repeated as AM/C champion in 2 hours 7 minutes 13 seconds, about a minute better than his winning time in 1984, but just shy of Carlos Lopes`
world record of 2:07:12 set in the Rotterdam Marathon last April.
Joan Benoit Samuelson won the women`s division in 2:21:21, a personal best and an American record, but short of Ingrid Kristiansen`s world mark of 2:21.06.
”I`m not disappointed,” said Jones of barely missing the record. ”I came to win the race and I did. I still picked up a little bit of money for winning the race ($35,000 for winning and $25,000 in appearance money).”
The 29-year-old Welshman went out at an incredible pace. No one could stay with him. He ran alone from about the 7-mile mark, churning out 4:45 and 4:50 miles one after another. Through the half-marathon point, he was several minutes ahead of the trailing pack of about eight runners. His half-marathon time of 1:01.42 is easily the fastest ever.
With 17 miles gone, Jones still was running 4:50 miles, and needed only 5-minute miles to post a record 2:06 marathon time.
But at about the 21-mile mark, the pace caught up with Jones. His legs began to feel the strain, and the 20 mile-per-hour wind along Lake Shore Drive made it more difficult to keep his legs moving.
”I found it very hard to concentrate,” said Jones. ”I was getting so tired but there was nothing I could do about it.”
Robleh Djama of the small African nation Djibouti finished second in 2:08:08, the fastest marathon time ever by an African. Australia`s Rob de Castella finished third, as he had in 1984, in 2:08:48.
”At 10 miles, Jones was about two minutes in front of me,” said de Castella. ”I had to decide if I was going to make a run for second place or go out and chase him. I decided to chase him, and the other guys settled in behind me and I had to break the wind and set the pace. That made it difficult.”
Benoit ran with Norway`s Ingrid Kristiansen on her shoulder for much of the race. Kristiansen was within five yards of Benoit at 19 miles, then began to drop off. She finished second in 2:23:05. Rosa Mota, the defending champion, took third in a personal best of 2:23:29.
Sunday was Benoit`s first marathon since the 1984 Olympics, where she won the gold medal and Kristiansen finished a disappointing fourth. Benoit said she might have called it quits at the marathon distance if she had run a world record sub-2:20 Sunday.
”The first mile was very fast,” said Benoit, ”and the first 10K was right on target, but I felt I was pushing it just a little bit. At 15K I worried I`d gone out too fast. (She was on a world-record pace.) At 20 miles I had a few stomach problems and I wondered if I should make a quick pit stop. Then the last three miles I felt completely under control.
”This was a completely different ballgame, having to fight off not one but two people. In most of my races I`ve run alone. Today, they put a lot of pressure on me.”
But Kristiansen couldn`t maintain that pressure through to the end. ”My head wanted to go with her (when Benoit pulled ahead) but my feet were too slow,” she said. ”I don`t know why.”
