by Larry Eder
This is our piece on the Women’s Marathon, which had great crowds of fans. I guess that is what happens when a LOC wants fans to watch an event.
2022 Munich Diary: Lisowska wins the EA Womens’ marathon
The weather was cool, and the crowd was engaged. The large group of European women marathoners was together for most of the race. At the halfway point in 1:14:33, no one could tell who was going to win the race.
It was not until the final 4 kilometers that the outcome of the race had any clarity.
Aleksandra Lisowska, Poland, used the 10,000m speed that she had ( a recent 32:55 on the track) and started to push the pace. Immediately, some of the pack fell off, and by 40 kilometers, it came down to four. Miriam Dattke, cheered on by German fans, Fionnuala McCormack, Ireland, looking for a big win. Domenika Mayer, and Giovanni Epis, Italy, all hung on.
Aleksandra Lisowska, her face in a grimace, continued to push the pace, with Dattke, and Brinkman oh so close.
Finally, with about 1 kilometer to go, Aleksandra Lisowska broke open the race, or so she thought.
Brinkman and Dattke battled, but Matea Parlov Kostro, who had led at times, battled back from behind Epis and made a game run for Lisowska, cutting down a seventeen-second lead to seven seconds at the finish.
Aleksandra Lisowska, Poland, took gold in her biggest win ever, in 2:28.36, a seasonal best. Matea Parlov Kostro gave Croatia its first medal of the day, with her silver in 2:28.42.
The bronze medal battle was, well, insane. Nienke Brkinam, Netheraldnad, and Miriam Dattke battled until the finish, with Nienke Brinkman getting the bronze, both times in 2:28:52. Giovanni Epis, Italy, was fifth in 2:29:06, and Domenika Meyer, Germany, was sixth in 2:29.21.
After the race, Aleksandra Lisowska summed it up this way to the media:
“Wow. This is an incredible result. Before the race, I did not believe this could happen and still cannot believe it right now that I am the European champion – even though I was fully prepared for this, and I knew I was considered one of the medal favorites, especially after breaking the Polish record last year. I knew I was in the right shape to become one of the best in this distance. It is like a dream come true. Honestly, I can remember every and each kilometer of this race; it was a great atmosphere out there. A lot of Polish supporters along the course. That was amazing. It is an amazing result. From the start, I felt I was in total control of the race – in fact, the first 30 km were too slow for me, so I tried to attack the pace a bit so I could go ahead. After the 30th km, I was able to run the pace I wanted and still kept the energy to attack if needed. Even in the last 100m, when I turned around and saw the Croatian athlete was coming closer, I was not worried. I knew I had it under control. Actually, I was waiting for that moment so I could give it one final kick.”
