HISTORIC MARATHON WINS FOR LISOWSKA, RINGER AT EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2022 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - Used with permission.

MÜNICH (15-Aug) -- Poland's Aleksandra Lisowska and Germany's Richard Ringer won historic gold medals today in the marathon on the opening day of the 2022 European Athletics Championships here.  Lisowska, 31, won the first-ever European marathon title for Poland in a nail-biting race where four women were still in contention for the medals in the final 50 meters. Ringer, 33, became the first German man to take the European marathon crown, sprinting past the tiring Maru Teferi of Israel in only the final 20 meters.  In hot and sunny conditions, they were timed in 2:28:36 and 2:10:21, respectively, and both drew loud cheers from the thousands of spectators who lined the finish.

Lisowska, who co-holds the Polish marathon record of 2:26:08, was not a favorite to win a medal here today.  Before today she had only broken 2:30 for the marathon once, and at last summer's Tokyo Olympics she only finished 35th in 2:35:33.  She was so below the radar that her official athlete profile on the European Athletics website didn't even have a photo.

But today she ran a patient race, allowing others to do the leading until the time was right for her final move.  She took advantage of the reasonable first half pace of 1:14:33 to tuck in the pack and assess her better-known rivals like Portugal's Sara Moreira, Germany's Miriam Dattke, Netherlands' Nienke Brinkman, Switzerland's Fabienne Schlumpf, Italy's Giovanna Epis, and Ireland's Fionnuala McCormack.  Indeed, it was not until the 30-K point, when the lead pack was down to 10, that Lisowska thought about asserting herself.

"From the start, I felt I was in total control of the race," she said.  "In fact, the first 30 kilometers were too slow for me so I tried to attack the pace a bit so I could go ahead.  After the 30th kilometer, I was able to run the pace I wanted and still kept the energy to attack if needed."

All the significant action took place after the 35-K mark.  Brinkman, Dattke, Lisowska, Croatia's Matea Parlov Kostro (another surprising athlete today), and Epis were the only athletes who remained in contention.  With the clock showing 2:20:50, Epis had fallen back (she would finish fifth) and Lisowska and Dattke had pulled ahead of Brinkman and Parlov Kostro.  Moments later, Lisowska put in her one big move hitting 40-K in 2:21:18 and dropping Dattke.  She quickly built up a seven-second lead, a cushion which would prove to be enough to get her over the finish line first.

"I had it under control," Lisowska said confidently.

Behind her, Dattke, Parlov Kostro and Brinkman were battling for the two remaining medals.  It seemed that Dattke had enough of a lead on her two rivals to at least get bronze, but both Parlov Kostro and Brinkman were not giving up.  

"I was struggling in my head," Parlov Kostro told Race Results Weekly.  "In the last 500 meters I decided to go in the front and do my best and see what's going to happen and it was amazing."

Indeed it was. Brinkman tried to catch Lisowska, but Parlov Kostro passed Brinkman and finished a clear second in 2:28:42.  Dattke rallied and drew even with Brinkman and nearly passed her right before the line.  Although both women were timed in 2:28:52, Brinkman was given the bronze over Dattke.

"It is almost a fairy-tale, a race like this; my career is just starting," Brinkman said in amazement.

Dattke was gracious in defeat.

"Crossing the finish line, I felt super happy despite the fact that I missed the podium," she said.  "I want to say thank you to our home fans for the huge support. It was special."

For the Polish team, starting off with a gold medal at these championships was a huge boost.  Lisowska was riding high.

"Wow. This is an incredible result," Lisowska said.  "Before the race, I did not believe this could happen and still cannot believe it right now that I am the European champion."

In winning the men's race today, Ringer ran surprisingly level splits, 1:05:18 for the first half and 1:05:03 for the second.  Like Lisowska, he kept his powder dry waiting for the final stages of the race to show his cards.  Just before the 40-K mark Ringer was behind the leaders Gashau Ayale, Teferi Maru and Girmaw Amare of Israel; Amanal Petros of Germany; Nicolas Navarro of France; Ayad Lamdassem of Spain; and Koen Naert of Belgium, the defending champion.  The official splits only had Ringer in ninth place.

But Ringer had a secret weapon: his track speed.  An accomplished track athlete with a 3000m personal best of 7:46.18 and a 5000m best of 13:10.94, he knew if he could stay close to the leaders he had a chance in the final meters.

"I started as a 5-K runner; this is why I finished strong," Ringer explained.

At 40-K (2:03:48) Ringer, Lamdassem, Teferi, Ayale, and Petros were all still together.  Lamdassem was the first to fall back (he would finish sixth), and at 41-K Petros and Teferi began to pull away.  Ringer found himself alone in third place.  He said he found special motivation in the team aspect of today's race and really dug deep.

"Although this is an individual event, the great motivation was the team because we were going for a team medal and the chances were good to get one," he said.  "I would have never thought that this team spirit could be so strong and help so much."

Teferi left Petros who was clearly struggling.  In the final 800 meters it looked like the Israeli would get the win, but Ringer wasn't done digging.  He passed his teammate Petros then put in a final burst in the last 25 meters to slingshot past Teferi just before the line.  The title was his.

"Every marathon is a surprise," he said.  "Now I am the champion of Europe."

Teferi got second in 2:10:21 and wasn't disappointed, especially since Israel won the men's team title (Germany won on the women's side).

"I am not disappointing," he told Race Results Weekly in English.  "I'm very happy for me and Germany guy (Ringer), so I am very happy to take second."

Third place went to Teferi's teammate, Gashau Ayale, in 2:10:29 who also passed Petros who finished fourth.  Defending champion Naert came home eighth in 2:11:28.

Results:

WOMEN -
[Championships record 2:25:14, Christelle DAUNAY (FRA), Zürich, 16-Aug-2014]
Teams (European Cup/score three athletes on total time):
 1. Germany, 7:28:48
 2. Spain, 7:39:25
 3. Poland, 7:40:54
 4. Belgium, 7:41:35
 5. Ireland, 7:48:28
 6. Great Britain & Northern Ireland, 7:51:19
 7. Czech Republic, 7:55:29
 8. Netherlands, 8:05:13
 9. Sweden, 8:07:41
10. Finaland, 8:18:45

Individual Finishers:
 1. Aleksandra LISOWSKA, POL, 12 DEC 1990, 2:28:36 Gold
 2. Matea PARLOV KOSTRO, CRO, 2 JUN 1992, 2:28:42 Silver
 3. Nienke BRINKMAN, NED, 28 OCT 1993, 2:28:52 Bronze
 4. Miriam DATTKE, GER, 24 JUN 1998, 2:28:52
 5. Giovanna EPIS, ITA, 11 OCT 1988, 2:29:06
 6. Domenika MAYER, GER, 9 OCT 1990, 2:29:21
 7. Fionnuala MCCORMACK, IRL, 24 SEP 1984, 2:29:25
 8. Hanne VERBRUGGEN, BEL, 27 MAY 1993, 2:29:44
 9. Fabienne SCHLUMPF, SUI, 17 NOV 1990, 2:30:17
10. Deborah SCHÖNEBORN, GER, 13 MAR 1994, 2:30:35
11. Marta GALIMANY, ESP, 5 OCT 1985, 2:31:14
12. Rabea SCHÖNEBORN, GER, 13 MAR 1994, 2:31:36
13. Mieke GORISSEN, BEL, 29 NOV 1982, 2:31:48
14. Melody JULIEN, FRA, 13 MAY 1999, 2:32:19
15. Katharina STEINRUCK, GER, 22 AUG 1989, 2:32:41
16. Irene PELAYO, ESP, 16 FEB 1980, 2:33:15
17. Nora SZABO, HUN, 1 MAR 1988, 2:34:49
18. Elena LOYO, ESP, 11 JAN 1983, 2:34:56
19. Angelika MACH, POL, 7 SEP 1991, 2:35:03
20. Kristina HENDEL, GER, 13 MAY 1996, 2:35:14
21. Jill HOLTERMAN, NED, 11 SEP 1991, 2:35:25
22. Alice WRIGHT, GBR, 3 NOV 1994, 2:35:33
23. Tereza HROCHOVA, CZE, 24 FEB 1996, 2:36:00
24. Marcela JOGLOVA, CZE, 28 JUL 1987, 2:36:26
25. Naomi MITCHELL, GBR, 24 NOV 1993, 2:36:44
26. Monika JACKIEWICZ, POL, 18 DEC 1992, 2:37:15
27. Tetyana GAMERA, UKR, 1 JUN 1983, 2:37:28
28. Maor TIYOURI, ISR, 13 AUG 1990, 2:38:04
29. Ann-Marie MCGLYNN, IRL, 22 FEB 1980, 2:38:26
30. Hanna LINDHOLM, SWE, 28 NOV 1979, 2:38:44
31. Becky BRIGGS, GBR, 2 MAR 2000, 2:39:02
32. Laura MENDEZ, ESP, 6 NOV 1988, 2:39:15
33. Astrid VERHOEVEN, BEL, 2 FEB 1995, 2:40:03
34. Aoife COOKE, IRL, 13 SEP 1986, 2:40:37
35. Rosie EDWARDS, GBR, 20 AUG 1988, 2:40:47
36. Maria Sagnes WAGAN, NOR, 22 MAY 1992, 2:40:58
37. Runa Skrove FALCH, NOR, 23 JUN 1990, 2:41:08
38. Loreta KANCYTE, LTU, 20 JUL 1994, 2:41:15
39. Nina CHYDENIUS, FIN, 28 JAN 1990, 2:43:00
40. Moira STEWARTOVA, CZE, 9 JUN 1995, 2:43:03
41. Sanna MUSTONEN, SWE, 6 DEC 1991, 2:43:23
42. Anna INCERTI, ITA, 19 JAN 1980, 2:44:11
43. Karen EHRENREICH, DEN, 24 SEP 1984, 2:44:28
44. Camilla ELOFSSON, SWE, 25 MAY 1983, 2:45:34
45. Marinela NINEVA, BUL, 4 JAN 1993, 2:45:40
46. Suvi MIETTINEN, FIN, 12 FEB 1988, 2:47:15
47. Lilia FISIKOVICI, MDA, 29 MAR 1989, 2:47:44
48. Zsofia ERDELYI, HUN, 10 DEC 1987, 2:48:03
49. Annemari KIEKARA, FIN, 2 JAN 1977, 2:48:30
50. Susana CUNHA, POR, 4 SEP 1988, 2:51:14
51. Marina NEMCHENKO, UKR, 9 MAY 1996, 2:53:13
52. Bo UMMELS, NED, 24 AUG 1993, 3:00:56
    Militsa MIRCHEVA, BUL, 24 MAY 1994, DNF
    Yevheniya PROKOFYEVA, UKR, 5 JUN 1995, DNF
    Ana STEFULJ, CRO, 3 AUG 1987, DNF
    Alisa VAINIO, FIN, 16 NOV 1997, DNF
    Izabela PASZKIEWICZ, POL, 9 JAN 1988, DNF
    Viktoriia KALIUZHNA, UKR, 11 JUL 1994, DNF
    Sara MOREIRA, POR, 17 OCT 1985, DNF
    Ruth VAN DER MEIJDEN, NED, 15 AUG 1984, DNF
    Solange JESUS, POR, 7 JAN 1987, DNF
    Pernille Eugenie EPLAND, NOR, 29 NOV 1990, DNF
    Katarzyna JANKOWSKA, POL, 14 JAN 1994, DNF

MEN -
[Championships record 2:09:51, Koen NAERT (BEL), Berlin, 12-Aug-2018]
Teams (European Cup/score three athletes on total time):
 1. Israel, 6:31:48
 2. Germany, 6:35:52
 3. Spain, 6:38:44
 4. France, 6:39:08
 5. Italy, 6:45:51
 6. Estonia, 6:50:11
 7. Great Britain & Northern Ireland, 6:51:14
 8. Sweden, 6:51:47
 9. Portugal, 6:55:08
10. Poland, 6:58:43
...

Individual Finishers:
 1. Richard RINGER, GER, 27 FEB 1989, 2:10:21 Gold
   [1:05:18 / 1:05:03]
 2. Maru TEFERI, ISR, 17 AUG 1992, 2:10:23 Silver
 3. Gashau AYALE, ISR, 22 AUG 1996, 2:10:29 Bronze
 4. Amanal PETROS, GER, 17 MAY 1995, 2:10:39
 5. Nicolas NAVARRO, FRA, 12 MAR 1991, 2:10:41
 6. Ayad LAMDASSEM, ESP, 11 OCT 1981, 2:10:52
 7. Yimer GETAHUN, ISR, 28 JUN 1992, 2:10:56
 8. Koen NAERT, BEL, 3 SEP 1989, 2:11:28
 9. Girmaw AMARE, ISR, 26 OCT 1987, 2:11:32
10. Michael GRAS, FRA, 15 SEP 1991, 2:12:39
11. Tiidrek NURME, EST, 18 NOV 1985, 2:12:46
12. Jorge BLANCO, ESP, 15 JUL 1993, 2:13:18
13. Daniele MEUCCI, ITA, 7 OCT 1985, 2:14:22
14. Daniel MATEO, ESP, 31 AUG 1989, 2:14:34
15. Yago ROJO, ESP, 23 MAR 1995, 2:14:41
16. Johannes MOTSCHMANN, GER, 3 AUG 1994, 2:14:52
17. Philip SESEMANN, GBR, 3 OCT 1992, 2:15:17
18. Adam NOWICKI, POL, 24 AUG 1990, 2:15:21
19. Iliass AOUANI, ITA, 29 SEP 1995, 2:15:34
   [1:05:16 / 1:10:18]
20. Rui PINTO, POR, 18 NOV 1992, 2:15:43
21. Benjamin CHOQUERT, FRA, 17 APR 1986, 2:15:48
22. Rene CUNEAZ, ITA, 14 FEB 1988, 2:15:55
23. Adrian LEHMANN, SUI, 6 DEC 1989, 2:15:57
24. Hendrik PFEIFFER, GER, 18 MAR 1993, 2:16:04
25. Konstantin WEDEL, GER, 22 NOV 1993, 2:16:09
26. Omer RAMON, ISR, 3 JUL 1997, 2:16:35
27. Abdi-Hakin ULAD, DEN, 14 JUN 1991, 2:16:41
28. Jonas LEANDERSSON, SWE, 22 JAN 1990, 2:16:54
29. Linus ROSDAL, SWE, 11 MAR 1992, 2:17:09
30. Mohamud AADAN, GBR, 1 JAN 1990, 2:17:34
31. Archie CASTEEL, SWE, 13 AUG 1996, 2:17:44
32. Kaur KIVISTIK, EST, 29 APR 1991, 2:17:51
33. Stefano LA ROSA, ITA, 28 SEP 1985, 2:17:57
34. Fabio OLIVEIRA, POR, 30 DEC 1990, 2:18:02
35. Andrew DAVIES, GBR, 30 OCT 1979, 2:18:23
36. Gaspar CSERE, HUN, 12 AUG 1991, 2:18:35
37. Patrik WAGELI, SUI, 1 JAN 1991, 2:18:46
38. Ilie Alexandru CORNESCHI, ROU, 17 JUL 1991, 2:18:59
39. Weldu Negash GEBRETSADIK, NOR, 12 NOV 1986, 2:18:59
40. Tom HENDRIKSE, NED, 11 AUG 1998, 2:19:21
41. Roman FOSTI, EST, 6 JUN 1983, 2:19:34
42. Ronald SCHROER, NED, 28 SEP 1984, 2:19:40
43. Abdelaziz MERZOUGUI, ESP, 30 AUG 1991, 2:19:47
44. Andrew HEYES, GBR, 22 JUN 1990, 2:19:47
45. Mustafa MOHAMED, SWE, 1 MAR 1979, 2:19:52
46. Andreas LOMMER, DEN, 7 NOV 1991, 2:20:34
47. Maxim RAILEANU, MDA, 4 OCT 1994, 2:21:01
48. Luis SARAIVA, POR, 11 NOV 1993, 2:21:23
49. Arkadiusz GARDZIELEWSKI, POL, 12 JUN 1986, 2:21:34
50. Simon BOCH, GER, 18 APR 1994, 2:21:39
51. Kamil KARBOWIAK, POL, 2 MAY 1995, 2:21:48
52. Florian CARVALHO DE FONSESCO, FRA, 9 MAR 1989, 2:21:51
53. Vitaliy SHAFAR, UKR, 27 JAN 1982, 2:22:24
54. Ebba Tulu CHALA, SWE, 22 JUN 1996, 2:23:04
55. Hermano FERREIRA, POR, 16 NOV 1982, 2:24:21
56. Ivan SIURIS, MDA, 17 JUN 1991, 2:25:17
57. Ignas BRASEVICIUS, LTU, 21 SEP 1984, 2:25:25
58. Hugh ARMSTRONG, IRL, 20 SEP 1994, 2:25:27
59. Ihor HELETIY, UKR, 17 OCT 1982, 2:26:33
60. Martin Egebjerg OLESEN, DEN, 8 OCT 1995, 2:28:04
61. Primoz KOBE, SLO, 23 MAY 1981, 2:29:23
62. Rune BAEKGAARD, DEN, 15 AUG 1988, 2:31:37
    Julien LYON, SUI, 15 DEC 1989, DNF
    Omer ALKANOGLU, TUR, 26 AUG 1991, DNF
    Soufiane BOUCHIKHI, BEL, 22 MAR 1990, DNF
     [was in 3rd place at half in 1:05:16]
    Jiri HOMOLAC, CZE, 25 FEB 1990, DNF
    Bukayawe MALEDE, ISR, 1 APR 1997, DNF
    Emmanuel ROUDOLFF, FRA, 30 JUL 1995, DNF
    Polat Kemboi ARIKAN, TUR, 12 DEC 1990, DNF
    Luke CALDWELL, GBR, 2 AUG 1991, DNF
    Daniele D'ONOFRIO, ITA, 8 OCT 1993, DNF
    Tachlowini GABRIYESOS, ART, 1 JAN 1998, DNF
    Arttu VATTULAINEN, FIN, 3 DEC 1991, DNF
    Dario IVANOVSKI, MKD, 15 MAY 1997, DNF
    Remigijus KANCYS, LTU, 17 JUL 1987, DNF
    Nicolai SAKE, BEL, 4 JUN 1996, DNF
    Kamil JASTRZEBSKI, POL, 26 AUG 1992, DNF
    Yohan DURAND, FRA, 14 MAY 1985, DNF
    Samuel Tsegay TESFAMARIAM, SWE, 24 FEB 1988, DNF


PHOTO: Aleksandra Lisowska of Poland wins the 2022 European Athletics Championships women's marathon in Münich in 2:28:36 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

PHOTO: Richard Ringer of Germany wins the 2022 European Athletics Championships men's marathon in Münich in 2:10:21 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)