SYDNEY -- The Olympic host nation has taken a break from self-aggrandizement to applaud Naoko Takahashi for raising the standard for all marathons to come with her record-breaking time in the women's marathon Sunday.
Australian track and field head coach Chris Wardlaw on Monday acknowledged Takahashi's 2-hour, 23-minute and 14-second run to win Japan's fifth gold medal of the 2000 Games would go down in history. "I think, having reflected on it for 24 hours, that Takahashi's run was probably one of the greatest we have witnessed," said Wardlaw, a former marathoner.
"The field assembled had the greatest depth on a course that was extremely difficult. She took on the field and just ran so aggressively so early that it is a benchmark race in distance running."