Amsterdam Marathon

The Amsterdam Marathon (branded TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road race has a Platinum Label from World Athletics. During the event, there are also a half marathon race (21.097 km) and an 8 km race in the program.

Amsterdam Marathon
Logo of a skyline and a runner next to the texts "TCS Amsterdam Marathon 2013" and "Tata Consultancy Services"
Logo of the Amsterdam Marathon in 2013
DateThird Sunday of October
LocationAmsterdam, Netherlands
Event typeRoad
DistanceMarathon (42.195 km)
Primary sponsorTCS
Established1975 (1975)
Course recordsMen's: 2:03:38 (2021)
Ethiopia Tamirat Tola
Women's: 2:17:20 (2022)
Ethiopia Almaz Ayana
Official sitewww.tcsamsterdammarathon.eu
Participants6,609 finishers (2021)
13,596 (2019)

The current men's course record is 2:03:38 (h:m:s) set by Tamirat Tola in 2021 and the current women's course record is 2:17:20 set by Almaz Ayana in 2022.

Gerard Nijboer won this marathon four times, more than any other runner, in the 1980s. After him Wilson Chebet has won three races in the 2010s.

History
See also: List of winners of the Amsterdam Marathon

Before 1975

The first marathon in Amsterdam was held on 5 August 1928, during the 1928 Summer Olympics. It was won by Boughera El Ouafi in 2:32:57.[1]

After the Olympics there were no international marathons in Amsterdam until 1975.

1975–1979
Bill Rodgers with the trophy and wreath after winning the 1977 edition

The first edition of the annual Amsterdam Marathon was held on 3 May 1975, as part of the city of Amsterdam's 700th anniversary celebrations.[2] Danish runner Jørgen Jensen won the race in 2:16:51 and the Dutch Plonie Scheringa was the first woman to finish in 3:13:38.[3]

The American Bill Rodgers won the 1977 edition and set a new men's course record of 2:12:47.[4] In the women's category, Scheringa was fastest for a second time.[5]

In 1978, the race was cancelled, because the sponsor withdrew support and the organisation was not able to find a new sponsor in time.[6]

The 1979 marathon was able to take place and the Hungarian Ferenc Szekeres had his first victory, after finishing in third place two years earlier.[7]

1980–1989
Start of the marathon on Dam Square in 1980

The 1980 course record of 2:09:01 run by Dutchman Gerard Nijboer could be considered an unofficial world record[8] as the generally recognized record at that time, 2:08:34 in Antwerp, had been run on a course that was 500 meters short. However, IAAF doesn't recognise Nijboer's time as any record.[9]

The same year, Dutchwoman Marja Wokke had her first victory and set a new women's course record of 2:40:15.

Wokke's second victory came the next year and also Szekeres had his second victory in Amsterdam in 1981.

In 1982, Annie van Stiphout improved the women's course record with more than five minutes to 2:37:28.

Cor Vriend won the marathon twice in 1982 and 1983.[10]

Nijboer won the race again in 1984, 1988, and 1989,[11] making him the runner with the most victories in this marathon.

1990–1999
Participation medal of the Amsterdam Marathon in 1995

In 1990, Renata Kokowska won the women's race in a course record of 2:35:31.

Yoshiko Yamamoto improved the women's course record to 2:29:12 in 1993.

Sammy Korir won twice in 1997 and 1998, improving the men's course record to 2:08:24 and 2:08:13.[12][13] In 1998, Catherina McKiernan set a women's course record of 2:22:23 as well.[13]

The next year, Fred Kiprop finishing in another men's course record of 2:06:47.[14]

2000–2009
Photo of a group of runners on the street followed by a cameraman on a motorcycle and with an audience behind fences
Leading group of the 2008 men's race with winner Paul Kirui on the left

In 2005, the former world record holder on the marathon, Haile Gebrselassie, earned his first win in the Amsterdam Marathon in the fastest marathon time in the world for the 2006 season (2:06.20).

2010–2019
Photo of Meseret Hailu reaching the finish line ribbon
Meseret Hailu winning the 2012 women's race in new course record
Photo of a group of runners passing underneath a viaduct
Amsterdam Marathon 2014

In 2010, Getu Feleke finished in 2:05:44 and improved the course record from 2009 by 34 seconds.[15]

In 2012, the Kenyan Wilson Chebet won the race by a time of 2:05:41 and broke the previous course record by three seconds. In the same year, Ethiopian Meseret Hailu broke the women's course record with a time of 2:21:09. Having also won in 2011, Chebet went on to win the race for a third time in 2013.[16]

In 2017, Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono was the surprise winner of the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, taking more than a minute off his PB to set a new course record of 2:05:09. He went on to defend his title in 2018 and set a new course record of 2:04:06.

2020–present

The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all entries automatically transferred to 2021, and all registrants given the option of transferring their entry to another runner.[17][18]

In the 2021 edition, both Tamirat Tola and Angela Tanui set a course records of 2:03:38 in the men's race and 2:17:57 in the women's race respectively.[19]

Almaz Ayana set a new women's course record of 2:17:20 in 2022.[20]

Course records

Route
Map of Amsterdam with the route drawn in
Route of the marathon in 2007

The route starts and finishes in the Olympic Stadium. The course is flat, with a maximum elevation of 33 ft at the 23rd mile.[29]

References
  1. "ING Amsterdam Marathon. History". amsterdammarathon.nl. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
  2. Paul Bijl, "Pleun van Leenen komt terug na bijna vijftig jaar" (in Dutch), Het Vrije Volk, 26 April 1975. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  3. "Marathonrecord van Groninger Henk Kalf" (in Dutch), Het Parool, 5 May 1975. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  4. Hans de Bruijn, "Rodgers sloopt concurrentie in marathon" (in Dutch), Algemeen Dagblad, 23 May 1977. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  5. "De winnaars van Amsterdam op een rij" (in Dutch), Het Parool, 11 May 1990. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  6. "Geen marathon in Amsterdam" (in Dutch), Het Parool, 28 March 1978. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  7. Louis Weisscher, "Marathon Amsterdam verdient een veel beter deelnemersveld" (in Dutch), NRC Handelsblad, 21 May 1979. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  8. World Best Progressions - Road, Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 21 October 2013.
  9. "Marathon World Records". www.topendsports.com.
  10. Henk van der Sluis, Joop Holthausen & George Verberne, "De dramatische zege van Cor Vriend" (in Dutch), Het Parool, 7 May 1983. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  11. Henk van der Sluis, "Nijboer weer goud waard" (in Dutch), Het Parool, 8 May 1989. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  12. "Korir Wins In Amsterdam", The New York Times, 3 November 1997. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  13. Rob Velthuis, "McKiernan ziet recordpoging stranden/Marathon van Amsterdam fleurt op temidden van depressies/'Ik was sterk tot de laatste drie kilometer'" (in Dutch), Trouw, 2 November 1998. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  14. Wim van Hemert, "William Kipsang breaks course record in Amsterdam marathon", World Athletics, 19 October 2003. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  15. "Feleke winnaar marathon Amsterdam". nos.nl.
  16. Cors van den Brink, "Chebet breaks Amsterdam course record with third victory in a row", World Athletics, 20 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  17. "45th TCS Amsterdam Marathon cancelled". tcsamsterdammarathon.nl. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020.
  18. "Frequently asked questions - TCS Amsterdam Marathon". www.tcsamsterdammarathon.nl. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  19. F. C. Clayton, "Tamirat Tola and Angela Tanui take titles as records tumble at Amsterdam Marathon", Eurosport, 18 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  20. "Getachew en Ayana winnen marathon Amsterdam, nationale titels Choukoud en Balter" (in Dutch), NOS, 16 October 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  21. Ab Schreijnders, "Marathon van Nijboer ideaal" (in Dutch), De Volkskrant, 28 April 1980. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  22. Wim van Hemert, "Cheboror sets course record and becomes third fastest of the year in Amsterdam marathon", World Athletics, 17 October 2004. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  23. Wim van Hemert, "2:06:20 win for Gebrselassie in Amsterdam", World Athletics, 16 October 2005. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  24. Wim van Hemert, "Another sizzling debut - 2:06:18 by Yegon in Amsterdam to break Gebrselassie's course record", World Athletics, 18 October 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  25. "Feleke winnaar marathon Amsterdam" (in Dutch), NOS, 17 October 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  26. "Wanjiru wint marathon Amsterdam met parcoursrecord" (in Dutch), NOS, 16 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  27. Cors van den Brink, "Cherono breaks course record at Amsterdam Marathon", World Athletics, 15 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  28. Eric Roeske & Bob Ramsak, "Cherono clocks 2:04:06 Dutch all-comers record in Amsterdam", World Athletics, 21 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  29. "Amsterdam Marathon - Elevation Chart". www.marathonguide.com.
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