1998 IAAF World Road Relay Championships


The 1998 IAAF World Road Relay Championships was the fourth and final edition of the global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. The event took place on 18–19 April in Manaus, Brazil with the participation of 222 athletes from 28 nations. The women's race took place on Saturday 18 April, starting at 9:00 AM Amazon Standard Time, and featured twelve national teams comprising a total 72 athletes. The men's race took place on Sunday 19 April, also starting at 9:00 AM Amazon Standard Time, and featured 25 national teams comprising a total 150 athletes.
Each national team consisted of six athletes, who alternately covered six stages to complete the 42.195 km marathon distance. The first, third and fifth stages were of 5 km, the second and fourth stages were of 10 km, and the final stage covered the remaining 7.195 km. Rather than using the traditional baton associated with relay races, athletes passed a wrist band to their compatriots at end of each leg. Prize money totalling US$420,000 was awarded to the athletes of the medal-winning teams: $120,000 for the winning team, $60,000 for the silver medallists and $30,000 for third place, with the winnings split evenly between the team's six athletes.
The Ethiopian and Kenyan teams took the top two spots in both races, with the Ethiopian women being victorious in a time of 2:21:15 hours and the Kenyan men coming out on top in a time of 2:01:13 hours. These represented two title defences, as both teams won those races at the previous edition in 1996. Romania took the bronze medals in the women's race and the host nation, Brazil, came third in the men's race – the second time it reached the podium after being men's runners-up at the 1996 championships.

Race summary

The women's race took place in difficult weather conditions, with high humidity and a temperature around 34 degrees Celsius. Kenya's Jackline Maranga led the pack in the first stage at 15:39 minutes, with Ethiopia's Yimenashu Taye 19 seconds in arrears and Japan's Takako Kotorida another 20 seconds back. On the second leg Gete Wami overhauled Kenya's Jane Omoro to put Ethiopia in first place, while Alina Tecuţă had the second fastest time to bring Romania into third place. Ethiopia extended its lead in the third leg through stage winner Genet Gebregiorgis and Miyo Nakano brought Japan to third again.
A strong leg four by Cristina Pomacu returned Romania to third place and Alla Zhilyaeva won the stage to bring Russia back up the ranks. Ayelech Worku cemented Ethiopia's lead by completing the fifth stage eleven seconds faster than Kenya's Naomi Mugo, now over a minute behind, while Romania's Constantina Diță pulled further away from fourth-placed Japan. Kenya's Sally Barsosio attempted to close down Ethiopia's Merima Denboba in the final leg, but was unable to do so, finishing over half a minute behind the Ethiopian despite her leg of 24:09 minutes. The conditions severely affected some of the teams: Russia trailed by three and a half minutes in the first leg due to Yelena Motalova struggling, Mexico's Judith Ramirez took nearly seven minutes longer than Russia's Zhilyaeva to finish her 10K fourth leg, and Ecuador's Sara Nivisela took nearly four minutes longer to complete the 5-kilometre fifth leg than did Ethiopia's Ayelech Worku.
The following morning, the weather conditions proved a little more amenable to the male runners, with humidity dropping to 85% and the temperature falling to 28 degrees Celsius. John Kibowen led off the Kenyan team as front runner and was narrowly edged out by Ethiopia's Million Wolde in the first stage, with both recording 13:44 minutes for the 5 km, and a battle for third emerged between Brazil's Elenilson da Silva and Portugal's Hélder Ornelas some 15 seconds adrift. Stage two saw Kenya emerge as clear leaders as Paul Koech gained 49 seconds on his Ethiopian rival Ayele Mezgebu. Behind them, Japan's Tomoaki Kunichika pulled level Alberto Maravilha and Tomix da Costa in the chase for third as the athletes neared the mid-point.
Benjamin Limo completed the fourth leg 24 seconds faster than the rest of the field to keep Kenya's lead. Brazil's Ronaldo da Costa gained a ten second gap in third, with Japan and Portugal both slowing in fourth and fifth. Tom Nyariki made it three consecutive stage wins for Kenya in the fifth leg, gaining over 40 seconds over second placed Ethiopian Tesfaye Tolla. Elijah Mutandiko's 33-minute 10K leg brought Zimbabwe into fifth place, as Portugal fell back. Ethiopia rallied in the fifth stage with Fita Bayisa running 5 km in 14:16 minutes to draw nearer to Kenya's John Kosgei. A poor run from Ethiopia's Alene Emere saw Kenyan Paul Malakwen Kosgei ease to victory with over two and a half minutes to spare. Consistentcy saw Brazil claim third place, with Sergio Goncalves da Silva finishing around a minute after the Ethiopian. Zimbabwe's Abel Chimukoko had the second fastest time of the final stage, which saw his mostly-barefooted team overhaul Japan for fourth place by a margin of three seconds. Denmark's Jorgen Gamborg failed to complete his last leg – the only athlete at the competition to do so – meaning his team was eliminated.

Medal summary

Results

Men's race

Key:
PlaceTeamAthleteStageTime
1——2:01:13
1John Kibowen113:44
1Paul Koech228:40
1Benjamin Limo314:04
1Tom Nyariki429:33
1John Kosgei514:28
1Paul Malakwen Kosgei620:44
2——2:03:47
2Million Wolde113:44
2Ayele Mezgebu229:29
2Berhanu Aldane314:29
2Tesfaye Tola430:14
2Fita Bayisa514:16
2Alene Emere621:35
3——2:04:50
3Elenilson da Silva113:59
3Tomix da Costa230:14
3Ronaldo da Costa314:28
3Daniel Lopes Ferreira430:11
3Leonardo Guedes514:43
3Sergio Goncalves da Silva621:15
4——2:05:19
4Michael Ngaseke114:21
4Bigboy Goromonzi230:29
4Kingstone Maringe314:59
4Elijah Mutandiko430:00
4Tendai Chinhahu514:40
4Abel Chimukoko620:50
5——2:05:22
5Mitsuhiro Okuyama114:29
5Tomoaki Kunichika229:43
5Masatoshi Ibata314:40
5Akira Manai430:14
5Shinichi Akiyoshi514:35
5Takaki Morikawa621:39
6——2:06:22
6Hélder Ornelas114:00
6Alberto Maravilha230:13
6Angelo Pacheco314:52
6Jose Santos430:57
6Rui Borges515:09
6Alberto Chaíça621:11
7——2:06:55
7Jacinto Navarrete114:41
7Diego Colorado230:00
7Mauricio Ladino314:31
7Edgar Sanchez430:26
7Juan Jaramillo515:19
7Juan Carlos Gutierrez621:58
8——2:06:56
8Aaron Gabonewe114:13
8Richard Mavuso231:33
8Makhosonke Fika315:00
8Simon Morolong430:31
8Johannes Edwin Job514:29
8Shadrack Hoff621:10
9——2:07:19
9Gustavo Castillo114:12
9Alejandro Coatepitzin230:25
9Ruben Garcia314:39
9Ignacio Fragoso431:36
9Fidel Torres514:47
9Samuel Retiz621:40
10——2:08:22
10Mohamed Serbouti114:24
10Mikael Thomas230:12
10Augusto Gomes314:46
10Arnaud Crepieux431:29
10Ahmed El Asery515:08
10Cyrille Ballester622:23
11——2:09:59
11Julian Moorhouse114:30
11Dale Loughlin231:11
11James Starling315:10
11Ian Hudspith431:39
11Justin Pugsley515:18
11Glenn Stewart622:11
12——2:10:51
12Julio Chuqui114:44
12Franklin Tenorio230:21
12Jose Revelo315:45
12Nestor Quinapanta431:48
12Edy Punina515:38
12Miguel Romero622:35
13——2:10:53
13Juan José Cruz114:37
13Antonio Ibanez230:49
13Javier Carriqueo315:34
13Jose Luis Luna432:00
13Juan Carlos de Bastos515:29
13Oscar Raimo622:24
14——2:11:13
14Lervis Arias114:33
14Tomas Zarraga231:08
14Leonel Guevara316:10
14José Alejandro Semprún431:07
14Pedro Mora515:39
14Luis Prieto622:36
15——2:12:39
15Mike Donnelly114:47
15Daniel Mayer231:36
15Teddy Mitchell316:23
15Peter De La Cerda432:29
15Mike Tansely515:08
15Tim Gargiulo622:16
16——2:14:42
16Marcos Silva116:14
16Washington Veleda232:30
16Patricio Melo316:42
16Néstor García430:50
16Cristian Rosales515:07
16Nicolas Pereira623:19
17——2:15:16
17Maximo Poma115:35
17Policarpio Calizaya232:38
17Juan Carlos Echalar315:27
17Mariano Mamani433:01
17Miguel Nina515:42
17Geovanny Morejon622:53
18——2:17:03
18Mauricio Díaz114:53
18Daniel Herrera232:31
18Eduardo Carrasco315:41
18Leonidas Rivadeneira434:12
18Wilson Wall516:09
18Jaime Valenzuela623:37
19——2:18:49
19Joel Pineda115:26
19Julio Cutipa231:56
19Jorge Vara316:34
19Iban Acosta434:24
19Costantino Leon516:18
19Miguel Mamani624:11
20——2:20:47
20Simon Alvarado115:48
20Agustin Moran232:48
20Said Gomez316:00
20Raul Castro434:46
20Robert Smits517:01
20Guillermo Ramirez624:24
21——2:24:59
21Andrew Smith116:07
21Neecharran Ramnauth234:06
21Kelvin Johnson316:13
21Errol Peters435:35
21Yubraj Jaichand516:17
21Odinga Bascome626:41
22——2:26:59
22William Panadero116:10
22Ramon Aranda234:07
22Lucas Panadero317:19
22Christian Gonzalez436:40
22Isaac Figueredo517:56
22Carlos Barrientos624:47
23——2:27:01
23David Rueben117:32
23Ken Mova234:20
23Anton Lopa317:23
23David Kania433:56
23Jeffrey Kaile518:31
23Gumsie Taulobi625:19
24——2:29:01
24Jurmain Bijlhout117:24
24Radjinder Patan236:05
24Andre Joekoe317:10
24Steven Vismale433:50
24Roy Niamut518:32
24Aziez Nandlal626:00
———
—Daw Nielsen114:50
—Dennis Jensen230:37
—Brian Jensen315:05
—Carsten Jørgensen430:06
—Johnny Moller515:17
—Jorgen Gamborg6

Women's race

Key:
PlaceTeamAthleteStageTime
1——2:21:15
1Yimenashu Taye115:58
1Gete Wami233:07
1Genet Gebregiorgis316:18
1Asha Gigi435:00
1Ayelech Worku516:18
1Merima Denboba624:34
2——2:21:49
2Jackline Maranga115:39
2Jane Omoro234:06
2Leah Malot316:33
2Susan Chepkemei434:53
2Naomi Mugo516:29
2Sally Barsosio624:09
3——2:24:13
3Stela Olteanu116:24
3Alina Tecuţă233:42
3Mariana Chirila317:15
3Cristina Pomacu434:33
3Constantina Diță516:42
3Luminita Gogirlea625:37
4——2:25:49
4Takako Kotorida116:18
4Masae Ueoka233:52
4Miyo Nakano316:53
4Yukiko Okamoto435:50
4Megumi Tanaka517:08
4Yumi Sato625:48
5——2:29:36
5Carmen Ayala-Troncoso117:07
5Christine McNamara235:44
5Victoria Mitchell317:07
5Cindy James436:19
5Blake Phillips516:51
5Michele Chalmers626:28
6——2:30:04
6Yelena Motalova119:03
6Lyudmila Petrova235:33
6Oksana Zheleznyak317:26
6Alla Zhilyaeva434:10
6Yelena Kopytova516:48
6Viktoriya Nenasheva627:05
7——2:31:42
7Liu Jianying116:49
7Yang Siju235:12
7Liu Dong318:04
7Wang Mingxia436:15
7Wang Qingfen517:44
7Wang Dongmei627:38
8——2:32:55
8Ana Claudia de Souza116:59
8Maria Lucia Vieira237:01
8Celia dos Santos317:08
8Rosangela Pereira Farias437:03
8Solange de Souza517:42
8Selma Candida dos Reis627:02
9——2:35:39
9Celine Rajot116:48
9Edunge Pitel238:05
9Stephanie Berthevas317:52
9Marie Christine Danpa438:09
9Yanma Belkacem517:55
9Veronique Bertel626:50
10——2:37:33
10Truzanne Swanepoel116:46
10Ronell Thomas236:32
10Zena Wilsnach318:06
10Sarah Jane Nkala438:57
10René Kalmer519:57
10Charne Rademeyer627:15
11——2:40:20
11Janeth Caizalitín116:49
11Yolanda Quinbita239:43
11Lilian Guerra318:10
11Wilma Guerra437:19
11Sara Nivisela520:15
11Maria Paredes628:04
12——2:44:02
12Margarita Tapia118:09
12Madaí Pérez238:59
12Kayla Betancourt319:16
12Judith Ramirez441:03
12Giselle Bautista518:23
12Sonia Betancourt628:12

Participation