Melonage improves old record | Austrian Olympic Committee

The long night of running in Karlsruhe (Germany), which is always enjoyed by many local and foreign runners, was also worth a visit for some Austrians. Nearly 900 participants from 50 countries completed their races today from the afternoon through the evening.

A week ago, the state champion had to complete her race alone in the southern part of the city. In Karlsruhe, Lena Melonig was able to count on an impressive field of 17 players led by one of the leading racers. The Lower Austrian got a good starting position from the start and completed the first laps around sixth place and always had a good vision of the obstacles, which Melonig mastered with flying colours. Pacemaker became too slow for eventual winner Belen Casita (ARG) early on, so she took the lead and extended the large field. Lena Milonig's passing times over 1000m were 3:11 minutes, and over 2000m they were around 6:28 minutes, and it became clear at the latest that Andrea Mayer's record of 9:47.61 from 2008 was in danger. In the end, the 26-year-old finished sixth with a time of 9:46.17 minutes, improving her previous record by more than 3.5 seconds and thus improving her starting position on the Road to Rome. 1143 points should be taken into account for performance. As of today, the Euro 2022 starter has moved to 34th in the rankings with 1,135 points, ahead of the Balkan Championship and in the qualifying ranks for the European Championship in Rome.

“I'm very happy with the race and I felt very good the whole time. I had to take some risks in the first kilometre, but I knew that in advance. With two laps to go, my legs got a little heavy and I still need a little bit so I can add more at the end.” “The record was already on my mind and now I'm happy that I was able to achieve it, of course it can continue like this.”