Australia Up Close Gold Coast Marathon Draws World-Class Talent By DARREN McLEAN	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
マラソンがフィーバー オーストラリアのゴールドコーストでは、日本航空がスポンサーのマラソン大会が、1979年以来、毎年開催されています。参加者は年々増え続け、今では世界のトップランナーが出場する一大イベントになりました。競技は世界中でテレビ放映され、多くの見物人も訪れるため、地元観光業界にも多大な経済効果を与えています

Record numbers of Japanese visited Australia to take part in the JAL Gold Coast Marathon on July 12. Two thousand overseas entrants joined over 10,000 Australians to compete in the most successful Gold Coast Marathon in its 20-year history.

At 6:45 a.m., the world's best long-distance runners headed off along the coastline with more than the finishing line in their sights. This year's race offered A$250,000 (¥22.5 million) to any runner who could break the Australian "all comers" marathon record of 2 hours 9 minutes 18 seconds.

Kenya's Sammy Lelei was hot favorite to take the money having run a personal best time of 2:07:02 in Berlin — the second fastest marathon ever.

Lelei and fellow Kenyan Fred Kiprop set the pace in the men's marathon but the sea breezes were unkind, spoiling their chance to break the record. Kiprop crossed the line first, in 2:11:15, followed four minutes later by Lelei.

Estonia's Jane Salumae won the ladies' marathon in 2:33:43. The ladies' race record holder Eriko Asai was unsuccessful in her bid to take the title home to Japan, managing only fifth position.

Like the annual Gold Coast Indy Carnival, the marathon is more than just a sporting event. It is a major promotion for Gold Coast tourism, with thousands of participants and spectators as well as a large international audience.

This year's marathon lured more than 5,000 tourists to the area and injected an estimated $5.5 million (¥495 million) into the Gold Coast economy.

The race was broadcasted internationally on Australian, Japanese and American television networks, including the U.S. sports channel ESPN, which reaches 190 million people.

The marathon course was designed to boast the Gold Coast's best features to international viewers. The start / finish line was deliberately set on the sandy shores of the Gold Coast with the Pacific Ocean and Surfers Paradise high-rises as a backdrop.

TV Asahi was one of five Japanese television crews to cover the event. One Japanese film crew produced a documentary on the star Japanese runners in the event. Another crew filmed a special for a Japanese children's show. This coverage provides the Gold Coast with invaluable exposure in its most important overseas tourist market.

JAL Gold Coast Marathon General Manager Gordon Mallett thanked the main sponsor, Japan Airlines, and the Japanese athletes, who made up the bulk of the international runners, for supporting the race in harsh economic times.

"Japan Airlines has done an excellent job promoting the event and building its profile in Japan. It's also excellent to see the number of Japanese entrants is up," said Mallett.

Besides the marathon, the most popular event of the day was the Ekiden Relay. In its first year the Ekiden Relay attracted 50 five-person teams — the most the event could cater to. Teams came from all walks of life to compete in the 42-km relay, which originated and grew as a popular event in Japan.

Three Japanese teams lined up against teams representing the Army and various schools and businesses as well as a group of football referees appropriately named "Refs on the Run."

Kate Daley from Burleigh Heads, at the southern end of the Gold Coast, ran in the Ekiden Relay with her husband and three sons. "It's great to see so many locals and tourists giving an event a go. It's so much fun," said Daley.

The Ekiden Relay was one of four additional events including the half-marathon, a 10-km road race and a 10-km walk. The half-marathon was a Japanese-dominated affair. The men's race was won by Toshiaki Tezuka in front of Daisuke Fujimoto. Shiki Terasaki claimed victory from two fellow Japanese runners in the ladies' race.

With the ongoing support of Japan Airlines, organizers are aiming to attract 20,000 participants by the year 2001, and put it beside the London and Boston marathons as one of the world's best. After 11 years of sponsorship Japan Airlines has pledged its continued support of the race.

After all the blood, sweat and tears shed by the 13,000 runners in the five different events, it was the Gold Coast itself that emerged victorious in this year's marathon. From its humble beginnings with 124 runners in 1979, the Gold Coast Marathon will continue to bloom as one of Australia's premier sporting events.

Shukan ST: Aug. 14, 1998

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