Half Marathon specialist Daniel Mateiko is excited to make his debut in this year’s Chicago Marathon

Daniel Mateiko promises to pull a major upset in Chicago Marathon.

Mateiko, who has been competing on both track and the road, has promised a surprise this year despite the presence of top-notch athletes in Chicago this year. 

“Yes, this will be my first time to run a marathon, and a major one. This means I have to work extra hard in training to keep up the pace,” he said.

He said he was spotted by Chicago race organisers in London Marathon where he paced Kelvin Kiptum to victory early this year.

"In London, I paced Kiptum to the second-fastest marathon in the world in London and exited at the 30km mark, just 12km to the finish. Some race organizers were amazed at what I did and that is why I am heading to Chicago,” he revealed. 

After finishing second in at the Kip Keino Classic last year, he went ahead to finish in position eight in the 10,000m at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

The inaugural Eldama Ravine Half Marathon champion said he is undergoing intense to post good results in Chicago. 

The Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon silver medalist failed to make Team  Kenya for the 2021 Olympic Games after finishing sixth in 10,000m at the national trials.  

Mateiko has a personal best time of 58:26 set in the Valencia Half Marathon last year, where he finished third. He finished third in Copenhagen after timing 59:25. 

He will be up against defending champion Benson Kipruto, who will be seeking to defend his title after winning last year's race in 2:04:24— the fourth-fastest time ever in Chicago. Should Kipruto win again, he’ll be the first back-to-back men’s open field champion since the late Sammy Wanjiru in 2010. Also in the race are Kenya's John Korir ( 2:05:01) and Wesley Kiptoo (debutant). 

Other key names in the field include Belgium's Bashir Abdi (2:03:36), the Ethiopian duo of Dawit Wolde (2:04:27) and Seifu Tura(2:04:29) and United States Galen Rupp (2:06:07) among others.

posted Friday July 28th
by Emmanuel Sabuni