Irina Mikitenko, ''née'' Volynskaya (; born 23 August 1972 in Bakanas, Kazakh SSR,

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

), is a retired German

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who competed in

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

s. She won the Berlin Marathon in 2008 and is a two-time winner of the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

. She has competed at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

on four occasions. Mikitenko was a track specialist in the early part of her career, running in distances from

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

to 10,000 metres. She represented Kazakhstan at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the 5000 metres but migrated to Germany soon after. Taking up German citizenship, she ran German records in the 3000 m (8:30.39 minutes) and 5000 m (14:42.03 minutes). She came close to a major 5000 m medal on several occasions: at the World Championships in Athletics she was fourth in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and fifth in 2001, while at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

took fifth place. After a seventh-place finish in the event at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

she took a career break to have a child. Upon her return to competition she began focusing on

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

events. The change up to the

brought the greatest success of her career. A run of 2:19:19 hours to win the Berlin Marathon made her the fourth fastest woman ever at that point. Her win in London the year after in 2:22:11 hours was the fastest that year. With consistent marathon performances, she secured three consecutive World Marathon Majors title in both the 2007–08, 2008–09, and 2009–10 seasons. She entered her first Olympic marathon in 2012 and came fourteenth.

Early career

Mikitenko began participating in long-distance running at the age of 14. Under her maiden name of Volynskaya, she represented Kazakhstan in the 5,000 metres at the 1996 Olympic Games, but failed to make the finals. Since she has German ancestors, she and her husband immigrated in 1996 to the German state of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

. In 1998, she became the German record holder in the 10,000 metres, and the year after, in the 5,000 metres. In the 5,000 metres, she bettered Kathrin Weßel's time of 14:54.32 with her fourth-place time of 14:50.17 at the 1999 World Athletics Championships. On 7 September of the same year, she improved her own German record to 14:42.03 minutes in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. A year later, Mikitenko became the German champion in

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

, defending her national title over 5,000 metres. She won twice consecutively at

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

's prestigious

Eurocross Eurocross is an annual international cross country running competition which takes place in Diekirch, Luxembourg in February. It is one of the IAAF permit meetings which serve as qualifying events for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. I ...

meeting in 1999 and 2000.Civai, Franco & Gasparovic, Juraj (2009-02-28)
Eurocross 10.2 km (men) + 5.3 km (women)

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved 1 March 2010. In August 2000, she broke the 17-year-old record of Brigitte Kraus in the 3,000 metres. She placed fifth in the 5,000 metres at the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, and finished in the same position at the 2001 World Athletics Championships in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. In 2003, she won the Paderborner Osterlauf, a 10-km road-running race in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, finishing in a record time of 31:28 minutes. She also won the Bietigheimer Silvesterlauf race that year, and participated in the 5,000 metres at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Marathon running

Irina Mikitenko at the Berlin Marathon 2011

After having a baby, Mikitenko returned to competition in 2006, again becoming the German champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres. In the 2006 European Championships, she placed ninth, one place behind long-time rival Sabrina Mockenhaupt. In 2007, she placed second behind Benita Johnson in the Berlin Half Marathon, achieving a personal-best time of 1:09:46 hours. In September 2007 she made her

debut at the Berlin Marathon, finishing second and qualifying for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. In April 2008, at only her second international marathon, she won the women's

in a time of 2:24:12. She withdrew from the

in Beijing due to hip problems causing pain whilst running on 1 August 2008. Healthy again, on 28 September, she improved her own German record with a win at the Berlin Marathon, almost by five minutes to 2:19:19, making her number four on the women's marathon all-time list. This time is the world record in the Masters W 35-39 category. She improved the world record formerly set by Lyudmila Petrova at the London Marathon on 23 April 2006. The previous world record was 2:21:29. On 2 November 2008, Mikitenko won the jackpot prize of 500,000 $US of the World Marathon Majors (WMM) for the best performer in New York, London, Chicago, Berlin and Boston within the last two years. After twelve competitions she was in a tie with Ethiopia's Gete Wami with 65 points each, but the organisation voted her the winner, awarding her the prize because she had competed in only three races, compared to Wami's four. She repeated her performance at the London Marathon in 2009, finishing with a time of 2:22:11, one minute ahead of Britain's

Mara Yamauchi Mara Rosalind Yamauchi (born Mara Myers 13 August 1973) is a British long-distance running, long-distance track and field, track and road running athlete. She currently holds the fifth fastest time by a British woman over the marathon, behind f ...

. Following the death of her father in July, Mikitenko struggled to find form in the buildup to the 2009 World Championships. Jurgen Mallow, director for the German athletics team, said her withdrawal was a blow for the team hosting the championships, stating that she "did not manage to hit World Championship form in the St. Moritz altitude training camp. We are very, very sad about this". Finally she participated in the October 2009 Chicago Marathon, winning with an official time of 2:26:31 and won the half-million dollar WMM jackpot for a second consecutive year. Irina Mikitenko - 2012 Olympic Womens Marathon

Irina Mikitenko - 2012 Olympic Womens Marathon

She had a seven-month lay-off after the Chicago run and decided not to run at the Paderborn 10K, which was her preparation for the 2010 London Marathon, due to sore shins. She attempted to defend her London title but her shin problems persisted and she dropped out mid-race – a fate which also befell defending men's champion Samuel Wanjiru. She signed up for the 2010 Chicago Marathon but, despite having the fastest time in qualifying, she faded in the second half of the race and ended up in fourth place. She claimed her third consecutive WMM jackpot. She claimed victory at the 2011 Parelloop 10K in April. Running at the 2011 London Marathon, she could not keep pace with the race leaders and ended the race in seventh while Mary Keitany won the race with a time equal to Mikitenko's best. Her season went well from there on, however: she won the Avon Frauenlauf and Berlin 10K races and was runner-up to Florence Kiplagat at the 2011 Berlin Marathon in a time of 2:22:18 hours. She had two marathon outings in 2012. Her fastest was a run of 2:24:53 for seventh at the 2012 London Marathon, making her the fastest European in the race. She returned to the city later that August to compete in the 2012 Olympic marathon, where she placed 14th overall. She took third place at the 2013 Tokyo Marathon (a new addition to the World Marathon Majors circuit). At the Berlin Marathon 2013, she finished 3rd behind the winner Florence Kiplagat and Sharon Cherop. The time of crossing the finish line in 2:24:54 is a world record in the Masters 40 division. In 2014, she announced her retirement from professional running in a press conference in the context of the 2014 Berlin Marathon.

Major honors

World Marathon Majors title: 2007-08, 2009-09, 2009-10 seasons.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/feedarticle/7976842

Personal bests

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

– 2:09.97 min (1998) *

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

– 4:06.08 min (2001) *

– 8:30.39 min (2000) *

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

– 14:42.03 min (1999) * 10,000 metres – 31:29.55 min (2001) * 10K run (road) – 30:57 min (2008) * Half marathon – 68:51 min (2008) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

– 2:19:19 hrs (2008)

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mikitenko, Irina 1972 births Living people Sportspeople from Almaty Region German female long-distance runners German female marathon runners Kazakhstani female marathon runners Kazakhstani female long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Kazakhstan Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Germany London Marathon female winners Kazakhstani emigrants to Germany Berlin Marathon female winners Chicago Marathon female winners Kazakhstani people of German descent Soviet female long-distance runners Soviet female marathon runners 20th-century German sportswomen 21st-century German sportswomen