Summary
The Zevenheuvelenloop (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌzeːvənˈɦøːvələnloːp]; English: Seven Hills Run) is an annual road race of 15 kilometres held in and around Nijmegen, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in the Netherlands;[1] it attracted over 30,000 runners in 2008.[2]
| Zevenheuvelenloop | |
|---|---|
| Location | Nijmegen, Netherlands |
| Event type | Road running |
| Distance | 15 km |
| Primary sponsor | NN |
| Established | 1984 |
| Course records | Men: 41:05 (2018) WR Joshua CheptegeiWomen: 44:20 (2019) WR  Letesenbet Gidey |
| Official site | Zevenheuvelenloop |
| Participants | 6,088 (2019) 6,138 (2018) |
The current men's course record is 41:05 (min:s) by Joshua Cheptegei from 2018 and the current women's course record is 44:20 by Letesenbet Gidey from 2019, both of which are also world best performances.
History edit
The inaugural edition of the race in 1984 featured only an 11.9 kilometre course as the Dutch athletics federation (Koninklijke Nederlandse Atletiek Unie) would not allow new races to be longer than 12 km.[3] The current undulating, hilly course begins in Nijmegen, follows a path to Groesbeek and then loops back towards Nijmegen to the finish line.[1] Zevenheuvelenloop lends itself to fast times: Felix Limo broke the men's world record in 2001 and, at the 2009 edition, Tirunesh Dibaba broke the women's world record over 15 km.[4][5] In 2010, Leonard Komon improved Limo's World Record by running 41:13.[6] In 2018, Joshua Cheptegei won the Zevenheuvelenloop in 41:05, setting the current World Record for 15 km.[7] In 2019, Letesenbet Gidey won the Zevenheuvelenloop in 44:20, setting the current World Record for 15 km.[8]
A number of athletes have achieved victory at the Zevenheuvelenloop on multiple occasions; Tonnie Dirks, Tegla Loroupe, Mestawet Tufa, Sileshi Sihine and Haile Gebrselassie have each won the race three times, and Joshua Cheptegei has won the race four times. The 2002 winner, South African Irvette Van Blerk won the race at the age of fifteen, having entered the race while holidaying in the Netherlands. The race was used as the test event for the development of the ChampionChip personal RFID timing system.[9]
Winners edit
| Year | Men's winner | Time | Note | Women's winner | Time | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 |  Leon Wijers (NED)
|
36:55 | 12 km | Anne Rindt (NED)
|
45:48 | 12 km | |
| 1985 | Klaas Lok (NED)
|
45:28 | CR | Joke Menkveld (NED)
|
57:28 | CR | |
| 1986 |  Sam Carey (GBR)
|
46:2 |  Denise Verhaert (BEL)
|
53:33 | CR | ||
| 1987 | Marti ten Kate (NED)
|
45:11 | CR | Gerrie Timmermans (NED)
|
57:16 | ||
| 1988 | Robin Bergstrand (GBR)
|
46:20 | Marianne van de Linde (NED)
|
52:53 | CR | ||
| 1989 | Tonnie Dirks (NED)
|
43:31 | CR | Carla Beurskens (NED)
|
50:36 | CR | |
| 1990 | Tonnie Dirks (NED)
|
44:53 | Carla Beurskens (NED)
|
52:06 | |||
| 1991 | Tonnie Dirks (NED)
|
44:09 |  Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR)
|
48:46 | CR | ||
| 1992 | Carl Thackery (GBR)
|
43:54 |  Tegla Loroupe (KEN)
|
50:53 | |||
| 1993 |  Khalid Skah (MAR)
|
43:35 | Tegla Loroupe (KEN)
|
50:06 | |||
| 1994 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)
|
43:00 | CR | Liz McColgan (GBR)
|
49:56 | ||
| 1995 | Josephat Machuka (KEN)
|
42:23 | CR | Hellen Kimaiyo (KEN)
|
49:44 | ||
| 1996 | Josephat Machuka (KEN)
|
43:06 | Marleen Renders (BEL)
|
50:09 | |||
| 1997 | Worku Bikila (ETH)
|
42:20 | CR |  Catherina McKiernan (IRL)
|
48:30 | CR | |
| 1998 | Worku Bikila (ETH)
|
42:24 | Tegla Loroupe (KEN)
|
50:06 | |||
| 1999 | Mohammed Mourhit (BEL)
|
43:30 |  Lyubov Morgunova (RUS)
|
49:45 | |||
| 2000 | Felix Limo (KEN)
|
42:53 | Berhane Adere (ETH)
|
48:06 | CR | ||
| 2001 | Felix Limo (KEN)
|
41:29 | WB | Rose Cheruiyot (KEN)
|
48:40 | ||
| 2002 | Kamiel Maase (NED)
|
43:41 |  Irvette van Blerk (RSA)
|
51:06 | |||
| 2003 | Richard Yatich (KEN)
|
42:43 | Mestawet Tufa (ETH)
|
49:06 | |||
| 2004 | Sileshi Sihine (ETH)
|
41:38 | Lydia Cheromei (KEN)
|
47:02 | CR | ||
| 2005 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)
|
41:56 | Berhane Adere (ETH)
|
47:46 | |||
| 2006 | Micah Kogo (KEN)
|
42:42 | Mestawet Tufa (ETH)
|
47:22 | |||
| 2007 | Sileshi Sihine (ETH)
|
42:24 | Bezunesh Bekele (ETH)
|
47:36 | |||
| 2008 | Ayele Abshero (ETH)
|
42:17 | Mestawet Tufa (ETH)
|
46:57 | CR | ||
| 2009 | Sileshi Sihine (ETH)
|
42:14 | Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)
|
46:29 | CR | ||
| 2010 | Leonard Komon (KEN)
|
41:13 | WB | Genet Getaneh (ETH)
|
47:53 | ||
| 2011 | Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)
|
42:44 | Waganesh Mekasha (ETH)
|
48:33 | [10] | ||
| 2012 | Nicholas Kipkemboi (KEN)
|
42:01 | Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)
|
47:08 | |||
| 2013 | Leonard Komon (KEN)
|
42:15 | Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH)
|
48:43 | |||
| 2014 | Abera Kuma (ETH)
|
42:18 | Priscah Jeptoo (KEN)
|
46:56 | |||
| 2015 | Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)
|
42:39 | Yenenesh Tilahun (ETH)
|
50:05 | |||
| 2016 | Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)
|
42:08 | Susan Krumins (NED)
|
49:30 | |||
| 2017 | Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)
|
41:16 | Birke Debele (ETH)
|
48:52 | |||
| 2018 | Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)
|
41:05 | WB | Stella Chesang (UGA)
|
47:19 | [11] | |
| 2019 | Stephen Kissa (UGA)
|
41:49 | Letesenbet Gidey (ETH)
|
44:20 | WB | [12] | |
| 2020 | cancelled due to COVID-19 | [13] | |||||
| 2021 | cancelled due to COVID-19 | [14] | |||||
| 2022 | Rogers Kibet (UGA)
|
42:08 | Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN)
|
47:18 | [15] | ||
| 2023 | Jacob Kiplimo (UGA)
|
41:05 | =WB | Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN)
|
47:12 | [16] | |
Statistics edit
|
As of 7 October 2019 Winners by country edit
|
Multiple winners edit
bold italic = world record |
References edit
- General
- Krol, Maarten & van Hemert, Wim (2008-11-17). Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2009-11-15.
- Specific
- ^ a b van Hemert, Wim & Turner, Chris (2008-11-03). Bekele lines-up for 'first serious' road race at 25th anniversary edition of the Seven Hills. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-15.
- ^ van Hemert, Wim (2008-11-16). Tufa just shy of 15Km World record in Nijmegen - UPDATED. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-15.
- ^ Krol, Maarten & van Hemert, Wim (2008-11-17). Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved on 2009-11-15.
- ^ Dibaba shatters 15Km World record in Nijmegen. IAAF (2009-11-15). Retrieved on 2009-11-15.
- ^ van Hemert, Wim (2009-11-13). Dibaba and Sihine lead the fields in Nijmegen. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-11-15.
- ^ "Komon breaks World 15Km record in Nijmegen". www.iaaf.org. IAAF. 2010-11-21. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
- ^ "Road round-up: Cheptegei clocks 15km world best in Nijmegen, Melese breaks Shanghai Marathon course record". IAAF. 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
- ^ "Weekend road round-up: Gidey smashes 15km world best, Lonyangata and Melese win in Shanghai". worldathletics.org. 2019-11-17. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
- ^ Hetger, Colin (2002-11-17). South African wins Netherlands Race. ChampionChip. Retrieved on 2010-11-27.
- ^ van Hemert, Wim (2011-11-20). Gebrselassie heads Ethiopian double in Nijmegen. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-21.
- ^ "Road round-up: Cheptegei clocks 15km world best in Nijmegen, Melese breaks Shanghai Marathon course record", World Athletics, 18 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ Jason Henderson, "Letesenbet Gidey smashes world 15km record", Athletics Weekly, 17 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "Streep door Zevenheuvelenloop na strengere coronamaatregelen" (in Dutch), NOS, 14 October 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "Streep door Zevenheuvelenloop vanwege coronamaatregelen " (in Dutch), NOS, 16 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "Oegandees Kibet wint Zevenheuvelenloop, Chepkoech snelste vrouw" (in Dutch), RTL Nieuws, 20 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "Kiplimo wint Zevenheuvelenloop en evenaart wereldrecord, Tesfu beste Nederlander" (in Dutch), NOS, 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
External links edit
- Official website