Hanover marathon: was the route too short? | NDR.de – Sports
Status: 04/10/2022 10:27 p.m
The leading group around Hendrik Pfeiffer was misguided at one point in the Hanover marathon last Sunday and may have completed a short distance as a result. Last but not least, this could have bitter consequences for the German champions.
The elite field over the 42,195 kilometers initially went unnoticed at a crossing instead of the half marathon line and basically completed a route that was around 88 meters shorter, said organization manager Stefanie Eichel to the NDR. Because the lines met again at a turn, the active people quickly got back on track – and yet they may have strayed too far from it beforehand.
Hendrik Pfeiffer’s EM participation at risk?
When asked by NDR, the German Athletics Association (DLV) also confirmed that “there was actually a brief misdirection of the top group of men due to an external implementation of the marathon’s wayfinding system”: “It was probably a very short piece the wrong route.” An employee of the organizer noticed the problem very quickly, so that all additional athletes were guided correctly.
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However, Hendrik Pfeiffer is affected, among others, who not only won in the Lower Saxony state capital in 2:10:59 hours and became German champion, but also cracked the norm for the European Championships in Munich in August.
But can the Olympic participant from TV Wattenscheid also start at the European Championships? If not, the dream of participating in the continental title fights for the first time has burst. The nomination period ended on May 3 (required time: 2:14:30). It is impossible that he has completed another marathon at this level by then.
Hoping for the buffer
“As of now, we are assuming that even those athletes who were briefly misguided have completed the entire marathon distance and all the results will be permanent,” said the DLV. A buffer is generally installed when measuring the route. It is basically 42 meters, in Hanover even a little more.
In the coming week there will be an official re-measurement of the route in Hanover. Then every meter will count. Should it prove to be too short despite the scope, “the DLV will advise on how to deal with the times achieved,” said the national association. “The worst case for Hendrik is that the time will not be able to be included in the top list and is therefore not valid for qualifications,” explains ARD athletics commentator Ralf Scholt.
“It’s about 20 to 30 meters”
Organizer Eichel expects that this will not happen; the buffer and other factors such as wide curves or construction sites have extended the route sufficiently. After all: Pfeiffer’s personal GPS tracker showed a sufficient distance in the end. “It’s about 20 to 30 meters, no more. Of course we very much hope that this will end well, ”said Eichel.