Geoffrey Kamworor makes winning comeback at police cross country championship

In his first race since his car accident, the former half-marathon world record holder won the race in a time of 29:22.3.

The last time Kamworor competed was in the National Cross Country Championships on February 15, 2020, and he won with a time of 30:04.9. On June 25, the 28-year-old was struck by a motorcycle during his morning run, resulting in multiple injuries including a fracture in his right tibia that required surgery. He appears to have fully recovered from his injuries and according to the Kenyan news site Pd Online, he was excited to compete.

“It has been a long time coming. It’s time to race again!” he said to the news outlet prior to the race. “After months of working hard to recover from my injury, I’m very excited that I will have an opportunity to defend my title.”

The race was competitive, with a  number of strong athletes toeing the line against Kamworor including Joesphat Kiprotich who placed in second with a time of 29:52.6 and Casius Masinde running 30:13.0 for third. On the women’s side, Sheila Chelang’at won the 10K race in 33:34.6, followed by Hyvin Kiyeng in 33:39.8 and Edith Chelimo in 33:40.5.

Kamworor will also be racing the 2021 Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates on February 19, and if this result is any indication of his current fitness, it will be exciting to see what the former world record holder will do over the longer distance. He has held the title of world half-marathon champion four times, culminating in his world-record run at the Copenhagen Half-Marathon when he ran an incredible 58:01 for the win. He is also a two-time winner of the New York City Marathon, which he won in 2017 in a time of 2:10.53, and again in 2019 in 2:08.13.

posted Saturday January 30th
by Brittany Hambleton