News
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December 31th, 2020
Best New Year Wishes From Depar Timing
May you have a good start to the year 2021, live the life at your targeted pace, and finish the year as strong as you can.
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December 6th, 2020
World Record In Half Marathon: 57:32!
Amazing results recorded at the Valencia Marathon and Half Marathon, including the first ever sub-58 minutes in half marathon.
While Valencia hosted elite-only races due to the pandemic this year, both marathoners and half marathoners produced very fast performances. The races were timed by MyLaps ProChip system, which is provided by Depar Timing in Turkey. Kibiwott Kandie of Kenya sliced 29 seconds off the half marathon world record of 58:01 set by Geoffrey Kamworor last year. Kandie, who finished in 57:32, was followed by three others dipping under the previous record. Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, the reigning World Half Marathon champion, came second in 57:37, Kenyans Rhonex Kipruto third in 57:49 and Alexander Mutiso fourth in 57:59.
Women’s half marathon witnessed a new course record. Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba, who has twelve World Championships medals under her belt and the silver medal from 1500m in Rio Olympics, was victorious by the fastest ever debut time, 1:05:18. Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya was second in 1:05:39, Ethiopian Senbere Teferi third in 1:05:51.
In the men’s marathon where thirty athletes finished under 2:10 with six of them breaking 2:05 barrier, Kenyans shared the first two places. Evans Chebet arrived first in 2:03:00, the sixth fastest time in history. Lawrence Cherono took second in 2:03:04. The podium was completed by Ethiopian Birhanu Legese who finished in 2:03:16.
Peres Jepchirchir, who came to Valencia with a personal best of 2:23:50, clocked a stunning 2:17:16 to win the women’s marathon. The Kenyan, gold medallist at the World Half Marathon Championships less than two months ago, moved up to fifth place on the all-time world marathon list. Her compatriot Joyciline Jepchirchir followed in 2:18:40. Helaria Johannes of Namibia finished third in 2:19:52.
The high-tech MyLaps ProChip system, which was utilised to time the races at the Valencia Marathon and Half Marathon, was most recently used by Depar Timing at the Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships held in Sakarya last October.
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November 21th, 2020
1 Case In 787 Competitions
A study in Japan found only one positive case of Covid-19 linked to 787 athletics competitions held in the country since July.
Japan Association of Athletics Federations conducted the study surveying 787 track and road races staged by local governing bodies, private race organisers and schools. Out of 571,401 athletes and 98,035 officials and staff who participated in the races in question, only one person is reported to be tested positive for coronavirus in the two weeks following his race.
Whilst most of the competitions in Japan were postponed or cancelled since March, returning to tracks and racecourses were permitted from the 1st of July. 529 of the events, which the participants were traced, were held without spectators, with the other 258 accommodating limited number of spectators.
On the other hand, it is stressed that the result of the study should not be misinterpreted and the obtained data doesn’t mean the outdoor competitions are inherently safe, and it is reminded that all of the 787 competitions subject to the study were held under strict Covid-19 measures.
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October 30th, 2020
New Era of Running Shoes
Carbon-plated shoes are on the rise in distance running. The recent global road race saw over 90% of the athletes wearing them.
The most controversial topic of the last two years in athletics has been a special agenda item following Eliud Kipchoge’s sub-2 hour marathon performance in a special event in Vienna in October 2019. It was claimed that the Nike Alphafly prototype worn by Kipchoge was a violation to the World Athletics rule providing that “shoes must not be constructed so as to give athletes any unfair assistance or advantage”. In January 2019, World Athletics amended its rules to limit the number of “rigid plate or blades”, allowing the soles up to a maximum thickness of 40mm in road events and 25mm for distance races on track.
First used by Reebok in 1990s, and even though the lightest running shoe to date was launched, carbon fiber could not find a permanent place on the production line those years due to its high cost. Adidas introduced a carbon-plated shoe during the same period, however, that shoe lasted in only one year as its forefoot was too stiff and required too much force to run. Shoes with carbon plates were not used in a way that made a real difference until 2008 when Adidas developed the Adizero Adios, special to marathon star Haile Gebrselassie, and contributed to the Ethiopian’s world record of 2:03:59 in the 2008 Berlin Marathon. Adidas Adios series remained the first choice of both the elite athletes and the recreational runners who targeted faster times until 2016. From 2016 on, Nike started working on a shoe for its rising star Eliud Kipchoge. The efforts paid off when Kipchoge broke the world marathon record by 2:01:39 in 2018 in Berlin wearing Vaporfly4% shoes. As the carbon-plated shoes have been dominating the market, other world leading manufacturers had to adapt to the trend. In 2019 and 2020, world records in men’s and women’s 5km, 10km, half marathon, 1 hour races were lowered in the new type shoes.
At the World Half Marathon Championships in the Polish city Gdynia on 17 October 2020, 108 athletes out of the 117 finishers in the men’s race wore shoes with carbon plates. According to the information published by the Frenchman Vincent Guyot, “Nike Vaporfly Next%” was the most preferred shoe, worn by 50 competitors including the gold medallist Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda. The carbon-plated shoes and the number of male finishers wearing them on their feet are as follows: Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% (50 athletes), Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% (25 athletes), Adidas Adizero Adios Pro (14 athletes), Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% Flyknit (7 athletes), Asics Metaracer (6 athletes), New Balance Fuelcell RC Elite (2 athletes), Saucony Endorphin Pro (2 athletes), New Balance Fuelcell TC (1 athlete), Brooks Hyperion Elite 2 (1 athlete). Each of the following shoes without carbon plates were worn by one athlete: Adidas Adizero RC 2.0, Adidas Adizero Adios 2, Adidas Adizero Boston 8, Adidas Adizero Takumi Sen 5, Mizuno Duel Sonic, New Balance Fuelcell Prism, Nike Zoom Pegasus Turbo 2, Nike Zoom Gravity and an Asics prototype.
Whilst we enter a new era of running shoes, World Athletics strives to keep up to the technological innovations. The international governing body for athletics established a Working Group on Athletics Shoes on 15 July 2020. The Working Group will review the rules in collaboration with the manufacturers by the end of the year, and it is expected to advise further amendments.
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October 15th, 2020
Countdown To Mountain Bike Worlds
Mountain bike marathon world champions will be decided in Sakarya. The race on October 25th will be timed by Depar Timing.
Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships, one of the most significant global events in mountain bike racing since its inauguration in 2003 by UCI (World Cycling Union), will be hosted in the Turkish city of Sakarya this year. Men will be racing over a distance of 110km while women pedal 80.9km in the event that will be staged at the Ayçiçeği Cycling Valley. The winners of the compelling challenge will not only be crowned the World Champions, but also will be entitled to wear the rainbow jersey, one of the most prestigious jerseys of the cycling world, until next year’s championships.
The strong field of bikers in Sakarya will include the reigning champion Hector Leonardo Paez Leon. The 38-year old Colombian had won the very first gold medal for his country in the championships history. On the women’s side, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of France was victorious in the 2019 edition of the event held in Grachen, Switzerland.
Timing services at the 2020 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships will be provided by the multinational Depar Timing team.
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