Lioudmila Kortchaguina, seized her second consecutive triumph as International Race Weekend drew to an auspicious close yesterday.

A well-timed surge along Front Street to begin the second lap of the loop course signalled the dawn for the Portugal-based Ryzhov, while bringing dark clouds to the hopes of chief challenger Luiz Ramos of Brazil.

And while Ryzhov endured something of a struggle during the second traverse of McGall's Hill, allowing Ramos to close marginally, once beyond that barrier all went in favour of the diminutive yet powerful Russian.

For added measure Ryzhov put in another push heading through 21 miles, ensuring he indeed received the loudest cheers.

Thus there was Ryzhov with a grin from ear-to-ear, striding triumphantly, past the enthusiastic throng of hundreds lining Front Street, to the finish in a time of two hours, 21 minutes, 18.60 seconds.

"I feel well,'' said Ryzhov, through an interpreter. "It's my first time here in this event and it's great to have won.

"I tried not to accelerate immediately from the start, but held back to conserve energy. I was more concerned with keeping track of my time and staying on the schedule I set out to keep, because I wanted to do every mile around 5:20 and maintain an even tempo.

"After 22 miles I felt I would win, because I was within my schedule and the most difficult part was behind me. I knew I had enough energy left to win.

"The race was close to perfect, the people were giving great support the whole way, especially the last lap and I could not help but smile and feel good, even over 26 miles.'' Likewise expressing pleasure at his performance was Ramos, although he admitted to not feeling nearly so fresh during the course of the second half, resulting in his decision to allow Ryzhov to move out.

"The first half was very good, but the second half I felt bad,'' said Ramos, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil. "I've been training in Boston for the past three months where it is very cold and I haven't been able to put in as much work as I would have liked.

"Had I been able to get in more training before this race I would have certainly been the champion today. It's so beautiful here, the course is wonderful. Had I been training in Brazil I would have done much better.

"I have been ill with the flu for three weeks and have had lots of medication, which may have influenced my performance, but I feel very good about coming in second place.'' Ramos, also seeing his first action on Bermudian soil, clocked 2:25:55.

Third went to Phillip Castillo (2:32:53) of the United States, who may have asked too much of his body by tackling the Bermuda 10K a day previous, while Ryzhov and Ramos rested up and focused strictly on the marathon.

Russians rule in marathon From Page 25 "I'm very happy with my performance, especially considering the windy conditions out there, but I definitely made a mistake in running the 10K yesterday, which caused me some fatigue today, particularly on the second loop,'' explained Castillo, a member of the infantry among the United States Army.

"I relied totally today on my strength to carry me through, realising that I probably could not stay with the leaders at around 10 miles.

"I kept them in my sights the whole time, and we ran together for the first five miles, but I knew that those guys hadn't run the 10K, and would be a little more fresh than I was. I also knew they had pretty good credentials coming in, so I knew that I was probably not going to be able to run with them.

"I looked around and didn't see anyone that wanted to go with them, so I ran with one of the local favourites, Jay, through the first half and it was so easy and helped me out a lot.'' Don't tell Kortchaguina about anything being easy, as, after conquering former champion Yelena Plastinina in a fierce battle of wills, she literally lost all she had ... in her stomach that is, a scant 50 yards from the finish.

However, despite vomiting as she neared the Birdcage, and with St. John's Ambulance on close alert, the 25-year-old discovered just enough energy to get her through the tape in 2:43:17.

"Today was not good for me, it was a difficult day and I don't feel good at all ... I was happy just to finish,'' said Kortchaguina, who had been on record pace for much of the first half, while running with her Ukraininan counterpart.

"I was exhausted at the finish. I gave all I could, my energy was all gone.

"It could have been due to the acclimitisation, coming from minus-30 in Moscow and taking a 12 hour flight from Moscow to London and then to Bermuda.'' Kortchaguina and Plastinina had traded places through the first 13 miles, with the latter dictating most of the movement, while the former sat back and bided time.

The second half saw Kortchaguina up the ante at around 14 miles, but a visibly suffering Plastinina failed to respond, allowing her rival to continually open the gap as they meandered along South Shore Road and onto North Shore.

Course record-holder Plastinina did hold on for second, clocking 2:46:04, while Poland's Ewa Filiegert (2:49:26) got third.

"It helped me a lot to run and compete with Yelena,'' said the now two-time champion. "After the half marathon I felt like I was on the right track and could finish first.

"I noticed that she was having some problems and I took advantage of that.

"I love Bermuda and am always glad to come here and be able to win as well.

If I get an invitation I try to come and do the same thing again next year.'' First Bermuda man across the line was Brett Forgesson in 2:50:41, and while not necessarily enamoured by the figures, he was satisfied with the effort.

"It was certainly not one of my best times, I really struggled out there today,'' said Forgesson, who was eighth overall. "I was pleased that, even though I didn't feel strong, I managed to keep it together on the second lap, although I went through a few rough patches. But I made it to the finish, that's the main thing.

"It was a great day today, with a tailwind on North Shore Road ... not too hot, not too cold. It was a really nice day, I just didn't have it to take advantage of it, but you have those days.'' Second local was Luc Laurent (3:03:29), followed by Trevor Todd (3:12:48.49).

First Bermuda woman across the line was Annette Hallett in 3:13:19, trailed by Kim Mason in 3:29:06.

Relief! Forty-year-old Russian Fedor Ryzhov manages a smile as he crosses the finish line to win yesterday's marathon.

Same again: Russia's Lioudmila Kortchaguina completes her second successive Bermuda Marathon victory.