OSAKA, Japan --- Former University of Portland All-America runner Uli Steidl placed 37th in the marathon at the 2007 IAAF World Championships with a time of 2:30:03. The race ran on Saturday, August 25 and opened the 2007 Championships.

Only 57 of the 87 event competitors managed to complete the entire marathon due to extreme weather conditions. Heat and humidity played a major factor as the temperature reached 90 degrees (F).

The winner of the marathon was Luke Kibet from Kenya, who had a winning time of 2:15:59. Steidl was the top performer from his native Germany. His time was just 4:03 behind South Africa’s Hendrick Ramaala, one of the race favorites and No. 2 ranked runner in the world. Ramaala finished in 27th place overall.

Steidl’s 10k split was 33:35 placing him 81st, 1:03 behind the leader. At the half-way point he was 68th, 4:08 behind the leader, while his 20k was 1:08:49. Steidl got stronger as the race went on moving his way up and picking off runners one at a time.

A 1996 NCAA Cross Country All-American and multiple Academic All-America selection for the Pilots, Steidl is now focusing on trying to qualify for 2008 Olympics in Beijing. His best time this season is 2:19:47, which took place on June 6 in Dusseldorf, Germany. Steidl’s personal best time is 2:13:56, which came back on April 9, 2000 in Pyongyang, North Korea.