In the road races, a pair of runners will be aiming for Championships firsts and a pair of race walkers will be looking for rare title defences at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Osaka, Japan (25 Aug to 2 Sep).

Marathon:

MEN –
After his aggressive and successful title defence two years ago in Helsinki, Jaouad Gharib of Morocco will be aiming to cement his name among the Marathon's all-time greats when he takes to the start line when the men’s 42.2Km foot race kicks off the championships at 7 a.m. on Saturday, 26 August. A consistent 2:07 performer for several seasons now, Gharib will be looking to break his tie with Spaniard Abel Anton who won back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1999, as the finest marathoner in World Championships history.

Among the challengers is South African Hendrick Ramaala, who has a sub-2:08 to his credit this year; Kenyan Laban Kipkemboi (2:08:38 SB/PB); and Julio Rey, the silver medallist in Paris four years ago and a sub-2:07 marathoner last year, who leads the Spanish team.

Home pride will be at stake in the World Marathon Cup, where host Japan will also seek their third consecutive team title. Wataru Okutani (2:08:49) and Toshinari Suwa (2:07:55) lead the squad.

WOMEN -
With defending champion Paula Radcliffe not yet ready to compete after her return from maternity leave, there won’t be a repeat in the women’s race, but there could be a return winner. 2003 champion Catherine Ndereba, second two years ago in Helsinki, leads the always-formidable Kenyan squad as it aims to defend its World Marathon Cup title. No woman has won a World title twice in the Marathon.

Here too tremendous home turf pride is at stake. Japanese women have captured four of the last five team titles, and playing a key role in recapturing the crown on home soil will be Reiko Tosa (2:22:46), the winner in Tokyo last year, and the runner-up in Edmonton 2001.

Among those standing in Ndereba’s way is Russian Galina Bogomolova, who last fall lowered the Russian national record to 2:20:47 with her runner-up finish at the Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

Race Walks

MEN -
Russia will arrived armed with a solid 1-2 punch in the 20Km Race Walk: Valeriy Borchin (1:18:56) and Ilya Markov (1:18:56), respectively the third and fourth fastest in the world this year. Aiming to break the Russian stranglehold are Spaniard Francisco Javier Fernandez (1:18:50 SB), the reigning silver medallist, and rising Chinese star Li Gaobo (1:19:03).

In the 50Km, defending champion Sergey Kirdyapkin returns to defend his title. The 27-year-old has raced just once this year over 35K, but will be supported by fellow Russians Denis Nizhegorodov, the year’s second fastest (3:40:53) and Validmir Kanakin (3:40.57), No. 3 on this season’s world list. The world leader coming in is Italy’s Alex Schwazer, the reigning bronze medallist who clocked 3:36:04 in Rosignano Solvay.

WOMEN -
Two years ago in Helsinki, Olimpiada Ivanova netted a bonus $100,000 after her 1:25:41 World record, and the Russian, now 37, will be back to defend her title. She has yet to race this year, but was second in the World Cup a year ago.

The primary force of late has been Ryta Turava, the 26-year-old racing sensation from Belarus, who currently carries a nine race unbeaten streak over the 20Km distance. This year she’s captured four IAAF Race Walk challenge races along with the European Cup. On paper, her closest rival this season is Norwegian Kjersti Platzer, who finished second to Turava in Sesto San Giovanni in 1:27:41, 31 seconds adrift of Turava’s world leader.