Sokolov times it to perfection

Dublin City Marathon:Between his course record of 2:09.07 and his 90-second victory margin, Aleksey Sokolov easily becomes the most impressive and comfortable winner in the 28-year history of the Dublin marathon, writes Ian O'Riordan

Expect to add that no one actually wins a marathon feeling comfortable. The strong-running Russian just made it look that way.

It was the fastest 26.2 miles run in Ireland by over two minutes, and, believe it or not, quicker than any Olympic marathon victory. In fact, 2:09.07 is up there with any big city marathon, including London, New York or Boston, and further establishes Dublin as a world-class race.

In the process, Sokolov defended the Dublin title he won almost as impressively last year, when he ran the previous course record of 2:11.39.

Some said that record would stand for years, but instead Sokolov destroyed it, earning himself 15,000 for winning, with a further 5,000 for going sub-2:11 - hardly big bucks, but still a satisfying day's work for the 27-year-old army sergeant from St Petersburg.

He was helped on by one of the most competitive races in years, with the next two finishers - Britain's Thomas Abyu and Ethiopia's marathon debutant Dejene Yirdawe - also inside the old course record, clocking 2:10.37 and 2:11.08 respectively.

Not that Sokolov was ever under threat, bar a minor blip around the 10-mile mark, as he did most of the front running - just like last year, when he led the entire way.

He was further helped by a beautiful autumn day, the sort Luke Kelly would sing about, with conditions sent from distancerunning heaven. There was a noticeable breeze around the city suburbs, but Sokolov was at least sheltered by a tightly-grouped bunch of leaders, which was gradually whittled down from around a dozen to just himself and, when he surged in front down Merrion Road at 23 miles, there was no looking back.

Having passed halfway in 1:04.50, Sokolov produced the crucial negative split, running the second half slightly quicker. Later, with his agent acting as interpreter, Sokolov admitted he had targeted sub 2:11 from the start.

"I was planning to run under 2:11, yes, but not to run that fast. Overall, the race was easier than last year, except the last mile or two was more difficult. But is still felt good . . . it was like the right position of stars in the heavens."

He'll put the 20,000 towards an apartment, but having won the Russian championship earlier this year, he's now assured of his selection for next year's Beijing Olympics. Dublin was actually his third marathon this year, having run 2:14.51 to finish 12th in Vienna, a disappointing performance he blames on "over-training".

Clearly Sokolov trained to perfection for this one. From the very start the course record was on, the first mile passed in a swift 4:43, although shortly after that the leaders nearly went astray off Pearse Street. They were re-directed at the last moment, otherwise the race would have headed out towards Croke Park.

They remained inside the course record at every mile spilt: 24:37 at five miles through the Phoenix Park; 49:20 at 10 miles through Inchicore.

At that point Sokolov appeared to drop off, but it was fleeting, and only at halfway did the leading group really start to split, and was soon down to six: Sokolov, Abyu and Yirdawe along with the other Ethiopian Tessema Abshiro, young Russian Serguei Rybin, and the lively-looking Kenyan Cyprian Mwobi.

When these six hit the dreaded "wall" at 21 miles they were slowly reduced to three, with only Sokolov holding his form. Yirdawe was swaying from side to side and Abyu's legs were wobbling, and from the RDS onwards it was a clear run home for the Russian.

With the elite women starting 25 minutes earlier this year, fellow Russian Alina Ivanova was collecting her winning bouquet just as Sokolov crossed the finish-line on Merrion Square. Ivanova had also defended the women's title, her winning time of 2:29.20 just below last year's 2:29.49 - but good enough to earn her another 15,000, with a further 2,000 for breaking 2:30.

Now aged 38, and a former champion race walker, Ivanova looked just as fresh as Sokolov at the finish. She came home over two minutes clear of fellow Russian Larisa Zyusko, who posted 2:31.42.

"After 10km I knew I would win," declared Ivanova. "I came here to run fast from the beginning, and no one wanted to join me except Zyusko. So that was the plan, just to run my own race. I felt very comfortable, but the last 7km were really tough."

Wheelchair winner Richie Powell from Wales was involved in a car crash on route to the ferry on Sunday evening, but arrived in time to win in 1:59.06 - still some 17 minutes clear of second.