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Temperatures rise in Budapest as men marathoners seek to make amends
After Kenya women marathoners failed to finish in the medal bracket, Kenya’s Timothy Kiplagat, Joshua Belet and Titus Kipruto are under pressure to make amends as they parade in the men’s race Sunday morning at the Heroes Square in Budapest.
The top Kenyan in the women’s race was Rosemary Wajiru in sixth place in 2:26:42 with Selly Cheyego finishing behind her in 2:27:09.
Kiplagat stands third on the world list with the 2:03:50 he posted as runner-up to Belgium’s Bashir Abdi in Rotterdam last April.
Belet was runner-up at the Hamburg Marathon in April in 2:04:33 while Kipruto was fourth at this year’s Tokyo Marathon in 2:05:32.
Kipruto set his personal best of 2:04:54 as runner-up in Amsterdam last year.
In an interview, Kiplagat said it would have been nice if the race started at 6 am in the morning.
All the same, he noted that if it doesn’t start early, he will still take it in his stride and give it his best shot.
He said they have been told to take a lot of water to remain hydrated and he hopes to do exactly that. He said he has prepared well and his target is to finish on the podium.
According o the organisers, Sunday is forecast to be the hottest day of the year in Hungary.
Last year, Tamirat Tola made World Championships history by running the fastest-ever winning time (2:05:36) in the men’s marathon.
The 31-year-old Ethiopian will be defending his title and has a chance to add his name to the list of a few marathoners who have succeeded in defending their title.
They include Spain’s Abel Anton (1997, 1999), Jaouad Gharib of Morocco (2003, 2005) and the Kenyan whose championship record Tola broke in Oregon, Abel Kirui (2009, 2011).
Tola, who was the marathon runner-up at the 2017 World Championships, has maintained his form this year, finishing third at the London Marathon in April in 2:04:59, behind Kelvin Kiptum (2:01:25) and Geoffrey Kamworor (2:04:23).
Neither of those two Kenyans will be on the start line in Budapest, leaving the defending champion to face two rivals from Kenya who have run faster than him this year.
Ethiopians have finished first and second at the last two World Championships and Tola will no doubt start as favourite.
Apart from Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, who was runner-up to Eliud Kipchoge in the 2021 Olympic marathon in Sapporo, the race looks much more like an East Africa affair. The 34-year-old also finished third in New York last November and in Rotterdam in April.
Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu is a seasoned major championship marathon campaigner. The 31-year-old earned world bronze in London in 2017 and Commonwealth silver in Birmingham last year.
He also finished fifth and seventh in the last two Olympic marathons. Commonwealth champion Victor Kaplangat is joined on the Ugandan team by Stephen Kissa, who set a national record of 2:04:48 in Hamburg last year.
There are a host of other sub-2:06 performers in the field including Israel’s European bronze medallist Gashu Ayale, Kaan Kigen Ozbilen of Turkey, Eritreans Goitom Kifle and Oqbe Kibrom, plus the Japanese duo Kenya Sonota and Ichitaka Yamashita.
(08/26/2023) Views: 886 ⚡AMPby Chris Mbaisi
