Running News Daily

The World Masters Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea, are only three days old, but the competition has already produced a remarkable display of speed, endurance and longevity, with four world records shattered and another 10 championship records rewritten.

The record-breaking action began on the opening day when the United States’ Richard Lee produced a stunning performance in the M65 2,000m steeplechase. Lee stopped the clock at 7:09.29, winning gold while lowering the existing world record in the age group.

Day two proved even more dramatic, delivering three world records in quick succession.

Great Britain’s John Wright was first to strike, clocking 12.03 seconds to win the M65 100m. In doing so, the veteran sprinter improved his own world record of 12.15, set in 2024, underlining his remarkable consistency at the highest level of masters competition.

Only minutes later, the United States’ Kenton Brown produced another record-breaking run in the M80 100m. Brown crossed the line in 14.16, taking 0.05 seconds off his own previous world record of 14.21, which he established last year.

Thailand then added another name to the growing list of Daegu record-breakers. Somsanga Boonnok won the W70 80m hurdles in 15.61, breaking a world record that had belonged to Austria’s Marianne Maier since 2016.

Four world records in just three days tell only part of the story. Across the championships, 10 championship records have already fallen, highlighting the extraordinary standard being produced by athletes competing across the masters age groups.

Canada has also made its presence felt on the medal podium. Johana Flipsen captured W70 10K race walk gold in 1:04:18, while Vern Christensen won the M85 2,000m steeplechase in 14:48.25.

Canadian athletes have continued to add to the medal tally, with Lynne Wawryk Epp taking bronze in the W70 800m in 3:21.04, while Vanessa Johnson secured silver in the W40 race walk after finishing in 1:05:52.

But one of the most intriguing storylines to watch as the championships continue belongs to Canada’s Wendy Alexis.

At 71 years old, Alexis has arrived in Daegu with a world record firmly within reach. She is just 0.04 seconds away from the W70 100m world record of 14.37 seconds, and after targeting the championship throughout the season, she now has the opportunity to turn that ambition into history.

Alexis will contest her semifinal on Tuesday morning, with the final scheduled for later that evening.

With four world records already gone, 10 championship records broken and some of the world’s finest masters athletes still waiting to take to the track, Daegu is proving that age is no barrier to extraordinary performance.

And if the opening three days are anything to go by, the record books may have plenty more rewriting to come.

Jenny Simpson has broken her silence about the medical emergency that dramatically altered her life, revealing that a sudden cardiac arrest on June 16 was followed by a second cardiac arrest in hospital and the discovery of a rare inherited heart condition.

The former world champion and Olympic medallist said it took her time to find the right words before sharing her story publicly, expressing gratitude to everyone who has supported her with prayers, concern and encouragement throughout her recovery.

On the evening of June 16, Simpson went into sudden cardiac arrest shortly after running at the Sir Walter Running Pop-Up Mile. Bystanders immediately began CPR and used an automated external defibrillator, providing the lifesaving intervention that kept her alive until emergency medical personnel arrived. After reaching hospital, however, Simpson's heart stopped again. Her heart continued to struggle, and she was placed on life support before being transferred to Duke Hospital for more advanced heart-failure care.

Simpson has since revealed that doctors diagnosed her with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), a rare inherited heart condition. According to Simpson, scar tissue within her heart disrupted its electrical system and ultimately caused her heart to stop.

“My body was dying, but my spirit wouldn’t give up. I fought for my life,” Simpson said, reflecting on the severity of the ordeal.

She also offered a heartfelt message to the enormous community that rallied around her during the crisis, acknowledging the prayers, messages and support that reached her and the people caring for her. Simpson said she felt the strength of that support when she needed it most, crediting the intervention, intercession and love of others with helping keep her going.

The diagnosis has fundamentally changed her relationship with the sport that has defined much of her life.

Simpson reflected on a career that allowed her to experience almost every dimension of distance running—from the relentless demands of training to standing on a championship podium as the American national anthem echoed around the stadium.

She raced distances ranging from the mile to the marathon across the world and built a career that established her among America's most accomplished middle-distance athletes.

Yet after everything running gave her, Simpson now faces the painful reality that she can no longer run in the way she once did.

“My relationship with running must change. My love for it is stronger than ever,” Simpson said.

While she will no longer be able to run alongside the athletes and recreational runners who have shared her passion, Simpson made it clear that she has no intention of walking away from the running community.

Instead, she plans to remain deeply involved in the sport through her work as Chief Running Officer at Fleet Feet, using her experience and platform to help others discover what running can offer beyond competition.

She described running as a source of confidence, connection, purpose and joy—and those values, she said, will remain central to her life.

Her message is particularly poignant because running was still at the heart of her life when the cardiac arrest occurred. Rather than ending her connection with the sport, the experience appears to have given her a new perspective on what that relationship can mean.

Simpson also expressed profound gratitude for the career she was fortunate enough to have, acknowledging that she experienced the full spectrum of elite athletics—from the difficult training days to the extraordinary moments on the world's biggest stages.

Her final competitive chapter had already been written before the cardiac arrest. Simpson retired from elite competition in 2024 after an extraordinary career that established her as one of the most accomplished American middle-distance runners of her generation.

She became the first American woman to win the 1,500m world title since Mary Slaney in 1983 to claim the world title in the event when she triumphed at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. She later added world silver medals in 2013 and 2017 before claiming Olympic bronze in the 1,500m at the 2016 Rio Games.

But perhaps fittingly, Simpson's final run came not under the pressure of a major championship, but while pacing young runners in her local running community.

Her competitive career produced a world championship title, Olympic success and years of representing the United States at the highest level. But now, her greatest victory is no longer measured by medals, times or championship positions.

It is measured by survival, recovery and the opportunity to continue making a difference.

“My future is an incredible gift. It’s hopeful and it will continue to have great purpose.”

Her running career may have entered a profoundly different chapter, but the former champion's connection with the sport remains unbroken.

She may no longer be racing beside the running community—but she intends to remain right where she believes she belongs: supporting, encouraging and inspiring the next generation of runners.

For Jenny Simpson, the finish line has changed. But the journey continues.

Twelve years can transform careers, but for Lilian Kasait Rengeruk and Loice Chemnung, they have transformed youthful potential into enduring excellence. Their remarkable rise from promising teenagers on the global junior stage to two of Kenya's finest distance runners stands as a testament to resilience, patience, and unwavering commitment.

The story began in July 2014 at the World Under-20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where two 17-year-old Kenyan athletes stepped onto the famous Hayward Field with dreams far bigger than their years. Although their paths on the track differed, both displayed the talent and determination that would eventually propel them to the highest level of international distance running.

Rengeruk delivered one of the championship's most memorable performances in the women's 3,000 metres. Running with fearless confidence, she dictated much of the race before a thrilling final-lap battle saw American star Mary Cain surge past in the closing metres. Despite narrowly missing gold, Rengeruk secured a well-deserved silver medal in 9:00.53, announcing herself as one of the brightest young talents in global athletics.

Chemnung, meanwhile, contested the fiercely competitive women's 5,000 metres, where Ethiopia dominated the medals. She battled courageously throughout the race and finished fifth, gaining invaluable experience against some of the world's finest junior distance runners.

That championship proved to be only the beginning.

Over the past decade, both athletes have steadily evolved from accomplished track runners into elite performers over longer distances, earning recognition on some of the world's biggest roads while continuing to showcase Kenya's rich tradition of distance running.

Rengeruk has enjoyed an extraordinary transition. She stunned the athletics world by winning the Daegu Marathon on her debut in 2:19:33, overcoming a dramatic fall in the closing stages to still reach the finish line first. Her impressive résumé also includes a superb half marathon personal best of 1:03:32—among the fastest performances ever recorded—and a world-class 10,000-metre best of 29:26.89.

Chemnung's progression has been equally impressive. She has established herself as one of Kenya's premier long-distance runners by winning consecutive national 10,000-metre titles before making a spectacular impact on the roads. Her course-record victory at the Barcelona Half Marathon in 1:04:01 elevated her among the fastest women in history over the distance, while her outstanding marathon debut of 2:18:24 in Chicago confirmed her credentials as one of Kenya's brightest marathon prospects. Her commitment to the marathon was further demonstrated when she chose to focus on the event instead of pursuing a place at the Commonwealth Games.

Their achievements underline a truth often overlooked in modern sport: greatness is rarely built overnight. It is forged through years of disciplined training, perseverance during setbacks, and the courage to embrace new challenges.

Twelve years after sharing the world junior stage in Eugene, Lilian Kasait Rengeruk and Loice Chemnung continue to inspire a new generation of athletes. Their journey from talented teenagers to internationally acclaimed distance stars is more than a story of medals and records—it is proof that sustained hard work, belief, and consistency can transform youthful promise into a legacy of excellence.

The 43rd Vienna City Marathon will take place on April 19, and one runner arriving with unfinished business is Oqbe Kibrom of Eritrea. Kibrom will return to the Austrian capital hoping to become the first Eritrean athlete to win the men’s race at this prestigious event.

Kibrom finished third in Vienna in 2022, and he enters this year’s race as the fastest man on the current start list with a personal best of 2:05:37.

Organizers report strong participation for this year’s race. More than 13,000 runners are registered for the marathon distance alone, and when shorter races over the two-day weekend are included, the total number of participants climbs to over 46,000, a record for the event.

A Second Chance at Victory

When Kibrom raced in Vienna four years ago, it briefly appeared he might make history.

After the final pacemaker stepped aside just past 30 kilometers, Kibrom surged into the lead and looked poised to become the first Eritrean man to win the race. However, the effort proved costly.

Kenya’s Cosmas Muteti closed the gap late in the race and passed Kibrom with five kilometers remaining, eventually taking the win. Kibrom finished third in 2:07:25.

While Eritrea has celebrated a women’s champion in Vienna, the men’s race has yet to be won by an Eritrean athlete.

Kibrom, whose manager is Swiss marathon record holder Tadesse Abraham, has remained consistently competitive on the global marathon stage. The 28-year-old set his personal best of 2:05:37 when finishing eighth at the Berlin Marathon two years ago.

More recently, he finished fourth at the Daegu Marathon in South Korea in 2025, running 2:06:04. With three sub-2:06 performances to his name, Kibrom may now be poised for his first major marathon victory.

Strong African Contenders

Kibrom will face strong competition from fellow African runners.

Ethiopia’s Tafese Delegen owns a personal best of 2:06:11, set at the Seville Marathon two years ago.

Kenya’s Stanley Kurgat ran 2:07:05 at the Berlin Marathon, finishing seven places behind Kibrom in that race.

Another Kenyan to watch is Albert Kangogo, who ran 2:07:26 while finishing second at the Mersin Marathon in Turkey last December. Kangogo has already proven he can perform well in Vienna—he placed third in the 2023 race in 2:10:44.

Austrian Hope: Aaron Gruen

Local fans will also be watching Aaron Gruen, who made headlines last spring by becoming the first Austrian runner to break 2:10 in the marathon.

The 27-year-old ran 2:09:53 in Congers, New York, improving his personal best by nearly five minutes.

Gruen has continued his strong form in 2026, setting a half marathon personal best of 61:14 in Houston earlier this year. Balancing elite training with his studies, he is currently attending Harvard Medical School in Boston, making his preparation even more impressive.

European Marathon Classics Series Launched

The Vienna City Marathon is also playing a central role in a newly created marathon series called European Marathon Classics (EMC).

Alongside Vienna, the series includes major European marathons in:

• London Marathon

• Rome Marathon

• Madrid Marathon

• Lisbon Marathon

• Warsaw Marathon

• Copenhagen Marathon

• Frankfurt Marathon

Runners who complete at least five of these marathons in different cities will receive a specially designed medal recognizing the achievement.

“European Marathon Classics embodies our ambition to explore Europe together while pushing boundaries—both geographically and philosophically,” said Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the London Marathon. “I hope it will inspire runners from around the world to experience Europe’s great marathons, cities, and communities.”

Kathrin Widu, joint managing director of the Vienna City Marathon along with Dominik Konrad, added:

“The European Marathon Classics are an inspiring challenge. By bringing together leading European marathons, we aim to inspire even more people to embrace marathon running. We are united by shared values such as a passion for the sport, community, health, and sustainability.”

The 2026 Daegu Marathon unfolded as a breathtaking exhibition of elite endurance, delivering a race day defined by split-second margins, fierce rivalries, and moments that blended tactical precision with raw resilience. From a razor-close men’s finish to a courageous comeback in the women’s race, Daegu once again affirmed its reputation as a stage for marathon excellence.

In the men’s race, Tanzania’s Gabriel Gerald Geay delivered when it mattered most, powering through the decisive stages to secure victory in 2:08:09 after 42 kilometers of disciplined pacing and tactical control. Ethiopia’s Chimdesa Debele Gudeta matched the winning time of 2:08:09 to claim second place in a fiercely contested duel that stretched all the way to the line. Close behind, Tanzania’s Josephat Gisemo completed the podium in 2:08:17, ensuring two Tanzanians stood among the top three. Eritrea’s Samsom Amare Hailemikael (2:08:40) and Ethiopia’s Gerba Beata Dibaba (2:10:04) rounded out a high-caliber top five, underscoring the international depth assembled in Daegu.

The women’s race delivered a storyline that will resonate far beyond the finishing clock. Kenya’s Lilian Kasait Rengeruk produced one of the most stirring performances of the 2026 marathon season in her debut over the classic distance. Approaching the stadium in command, she suffered a heavy fall in the closing meters — a moment that could have erased her advantage. Instead, she rose instantly, gathered herself with remarkable composure, and surged across the line in 2:19:33, breaking the coveted 2:20 barrier and sealing a dramatic triumph. Ethiopia’s Meseret Belete secured second in 2:19:52 after a relentless chase, while Kenya’s Evaline Chirchir claimed third in 2:20:49, giving Kenya two podium finishes. Ethiopia’s Khufu Tahir Dadiso (2:28:21) and Obseni Getachi Adillo (2:28:26) completed the top five.

Top 5 Men

Gabriel Gerald Geay (Tanzania) – 2:08:09

Chimdesa Debele Gudeta (Ethiopia) – 2:08:09

Josephat Gisemo (Tanzania) – 2:08:17

Samsom Amare Hailemikael (Eritrea) – 2:08:40

Gerba Beata Dibaba (Ethiopia) – 2:10:04

Top 5 Women

Lilian Kasait Rengeruk (Kenya) – 2:19:33

Meseret Belete (Ethiopia) – 2:19:52

Evaline Chirchir (Kenya) – 2:20:49

Khufu Tahir Dadiso (Ethiopia) – 2:28:21

Obseni Getachi Adillo (Ethiopia) – 2:28:26

As the echoes of celebration settled over Daegu, the 2026 edition stood out as a marathon defined not only by speed but by resolve. From a tightly contested men’s battle to a fearless recovery in the women’s race, the event once again illustrated that greatness in the marathon is forged in decisive moments — when composure, courage, and conviction converge at the finish line.

The streets of Daegu are set for another spectacle of endurance and speed this Sunday, February 22, as the 2026 Daegu Marathon assembles a field rich in pedigree and ambition. At the center of it all stands Tanzania’s premier long-distance force, Gabriel Geay, who returns with one clear objective — to defend the crown he claimed in emphatic fashion last year.

Armed with a staggering personal best of 2:03:00, Geay enters the race not merely as the reigning champion, but as the benchmark. His résumé places him among the fastest marathoners of his generation, and his efficiency over 42.195 kilometers has consistently demonstrated a rare blend of tactical intelligence and sustained aggression. Daegu’s flat and historically quick course appears tailor-made for his rhythm, yet defending a title is often a sterner challenge than winning it the first time.

Standing in his path are two formidable East African rivals eager to disrupt his reign.

Kenya’s Stephen Kiprop arrives with a personal best of 2:07:04. Though numerically slower on paper, Kiprop represents the relentless depth of Kenyan distance running — disciplined, strategic, and capable of surging when the race begins to fracture in its decisive stages. Championships are rarely won on statistics alone, and Kiprop’s competitive maturity could transform him into a serious threat if the contest becomes tactical.

Equally dangerous is Ethiopia’s Chimdesa Debele Gudeta, whose 2:04:44 lifetime best signals genuine world-class credentials. Gudeta possesses the kind of speed endurance that can destabilize even the strongest frontrunner. Should the pace escalate early, he has the credentials to match it — and perhaps exceed it — in the unforgiving final kilometers.

The narrative unfolding in Daegu is therefore more than a title defense. It is a clash of contrasting strengths: Geay’s proven dominance, Kiprop’s calculated resilience, and Gudeta’s formidable pace capacity. With three athletes boasting elite credentials, the 2026 edition promises a contest that could be dictated by courage as much as conditioning.

As dawn breaks over South Korea on race day, one certainty prevails — the margins will be razor thin, the pace uncompromising, and the battle for supremacy fiercely contested. Whether Gabriel Geay consolidates his authority or a new champion rises, the 2026 Daegu Marathon is poised to deliver a performance worthy of the global stage.

On Sunday, February 22, 2026, the streets of Daegu, South Korea, will host one of the richest marathons in the world. The Daegu Marathon, staged in one of Asia’s most established athletics cities, offers $200,000 USD to each of the men’s and women’s champions, placing it among the most lucrative payouts in global road racing.

The elite prize structure extends ten deep in both divisions, creating a combined international prize purse of $842,000 USD — $421,000 per gender. Prize money descends from $200,000 for first place to $7,000 for tenth, with additional domestic awards and performance bonuses further enhancing the overall package.

With nearly one million dollars in elite prize money on the line, Daegu has assembled a field worthy of the stakes.

Elite Women: Sub-2:19 Firepower

The women’s race features three Ethiopians with personal bests under 2:19, immediately signaling record-level intent.

Defending champion Meseret Belete returns with a lifetime best of 2:18:21 and the confidence of past success on this course. Ruti Aga, the 2024 winner, owns the fastest PB in the field at 2:18:09 and brings extensive championship experience. Dera Dida Yami, the 2023 Dubai Marathon champion (2:18:32), strengthens Ethiopia’s tactical options on a flat, rhythm-friendly layout.

Kenya’s Lilian Kasait Rengeruk introduces intrigue. Known globally for her half-marathon speed, she presents a potential late-race threat if she manages the marathon distance conservatively through 30 kilometers. Should she remain within contact entering the final stretch, her finishing speed could prove decisive.

South Korea’s Choi Jung-yoon (PB 2:32:20) carries the hopes of the home crowd inside Daegu Stadium, where the race both begins and concludes. Her performance will be closely watched as a measure of domestic progress against the dominant East African contingent.

Men’s Elite: Proven Champions and Record Credentials

The men’s race features equal depth and experience.

Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay, defending champion and former course record holder, arrives with a 2:03:00 personal best. His strength lies in sustained high tempo, making him especially dangerous if the early pace remains controlled but honest.

Ethiopia’s Chimdesa Debele Gudeta (2:04:44) and Kenya’s Stephen Kiprop (2:07:04) round out a field capable of maintaining sub-2:05 rhythm deep into the race. Tactical discipline will likely determine whether the contest becomes a time trial or a strategic battle over the final 10 kilometers.

Domestic favorite Jeon Su-hwan (2:17:00) will seek to elevate his performance on home soil, testing himself against one of the strongest international lineups of the season.

Course, Conditions, and Championship Stakes

Daegu’s late-February climate typically delivers cool, stable conditions ideal for distance racing. The circular course, starting and finishing at Daegu Stadium, features extended straightaways and minimal elevation change — characteristics that reward even pacing and negative splits.

With $200,000 awaiting each winner and $842,000 distributed across the elite fields, the 2026 Daegu Marathon represents more than a standard tour stop. It is a high-stakes confrontation in South Korea where world-class credentials, tactical precision, and endurance will determine who leaves Daegu not only victorious — but significantly rewarded.

Ruti Aga and Dawit Wolde achieved an Ethiopian double at the C&D Xiamen Marathon, both athletes setting course records to win the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on Sunday (5).

Aga and Wolde were the fastest athletes in their respective fields and Aga won the women’s race in 2:18:46, claiming a dominant victory ahead of her compatriot Gutemi Shone Imana in 2:23:11, while Wolde secured the men’s title in 2:06:06 ahead of Lesotho’s Tebello Ramakongoana, who ran a national record of 2:06:18.

Aga lined up as the Chinese all-comers' record-holder thanks to the PB of 2:18:09 she set in Dongying in 2023. The 30-year-old now owns the two fastest women’s marathon performances ever achieved in China, as she was just 37 seconds off that mark in Xiamen.

It was a return to winning ways for the 2019 Tokyo Marathon champion, who won the Daegu Marathon last April and then was runner-up in the Sydney Marathon in September.

Her time of 2:18:46 improved the previous course record by more than a minute. That course record of 2:19:52 had been set by Aga’s compatriot Mare Dibaba in 2015, the year in which she became the world marathon champion in Beijing.

Dibaba was also part of the field in Xiamen on Sunday and this time she ran 2:27:49 to finish fifth.

Behind Aga and Shone, Fikrte Wereta Admasu completed an Ethiopian sweep of the podium as she was third in 2:23:15, while Kenya’s Mercy Jerop Kwambai was fourth in 2:23:58.

While Aga was joined only by pacemakers in the final stages of the women’s race, Wolde still had three athletes for company as the men’s race reached the 40km mark.

But he managed to move away from his rivals to eventually claim a 12-second victory. Behind Wolde and Ramakongoana was Ethiopia’s defending champion Asefa Boki Kebebe, third in 2:06:32. His compatriot Chalu Deso Gelmisa was fourth in 2:06:45.

Ramakongoana’s performance took 1:40 off the national record he had set when finishing seventh at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Two weeks after finishing 18th at the New York City Marathon in 2:31:54, U.S. Olympian Jenny Simpson tackled one of the most gruelling challenges: the Great World Race, which involves running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.

The decorated middle-distance runner was a late addition to the event that offered a fitting end to her storied career. Over her career on the track, Simpson won four medals at major championships, including an Olympic bronze in the 1,500m at Rio 2016 and a gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

The Great World Race kicked off on Nov. 14 at Wolf’s Fang, Antarctica and concluded on Nov. 20 in Miami. Simpson completed the challenge with the following times:

Antarctica: 3:31

South Africa: 3:15

Australia: 3:12

Turkey: 3:11

Istanbul (overlap leg): 3:15

Colombia: 3:16

Miami: 5:15

Simpson finished fourth in the women’s competition. The week-long-race was won by Ashley Paulson, a two-time Badwater 135 champion, while the men’s race went to David Kilgore after Ireland’s William Maunsell withdrew on the fifth day–four days after he set a continental marathon record on Antarctica. 

Reflecting on her last-minute decision to join, Simpson said the invitation was an irresistible opportunity to challenge herself one last time. Initially, it was announced the New York City Marathon would be her final race, but the chance to “run around the world” was too much to pass up for Simpson.

“I have never in my life been so happy to see a finish line,” Simpson wrote on Instagram. “Seven marathons in seven days, plus around the world in one week! My body is surprisingly resilient and I’m so glad I did it.”

Participation in the jet-setting event doesn’t come cheap—the USD $52,000 entry fee covers charter flights, in-flight meals and emergency evacuation coverage for the Antarctica leg. Despite the cost and the gruelling schedule, the event is a bucket-list challenge for many hardcore marathoners.

After concluding a stellar, 20-year career, the Olympic bronze medalist will embark on a 50-state running-infused van-life tour of the U.S. with her husband, Jason, in 2025

Jenny Simpson will go down in the annals of American running as one of the greatest of all time. No question about it.

So as she approaches what is likely the last elite-level race of her long and storied career at the November 3 New York City Marathon, she has nothing to prove, no one to impress, and no specific performance goal that she needs to attain to secure her legacy.

As a four-time global championship medalist in the 1500 meters—including a victory in the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Diamond League title in 2014, and bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics—Simpson has long been destined to go down as one of the best runners in U.S. history.

Add to that three Olympic appearances, 11 U.S. titles, three NCAA championships, eight top-10 finishes in international championships, eight Fifth Avenue Mile victories, six NCAA records (in six different events), and two American records (in the 3,000-meter steeplechase), and Simpson will rank among American legends for decades to come.

The fact that she’s been earnestly training to finish her career with a strong marathon performance in New York City epitomizes much of what the 38-year-old runner from Boulder, Colorado, has been about during her 20-year career. She’s not necessarily going out on top—that, she says, would have entailed making the U.S. Olympic team in the marathon for the Paris Olympic Games. But she is going out on her terms: focused, tenacious, and relentless to the end. It’s an opportunity afforded to few athletes, and even fewer distance runners.

“When I say I’m feeling good, it’s that I’m really excited for New York and I feel like I have a really, really good sense about my ability to run well,” she says. “I’m not going into it saying I’m gonna set the world on fire and be the top American or run 2:25 on that course. But I just know as good as I feel and as good as the training has gone, I know I’m capable of having a good day, and, most importantly, I have peace about it all.”

But as this chapter of life closes for Simpson, another very exciting one is about to begin, and that one will include quite a bit of running, too. She and her husband, Jason, are planning to embark on a year-long tour of the U.S. in 2025 that will take them—and their two Jack Russell Terriers, Truman and Barkley—to all 50 states while living out a van-life adventure focused on immersing in America’s thriving running culture.

From participating in races and visiting national parks to running iconic routes like Rim to Rim across the Grand Canyon and discovering hidden trails, Jenny and Jason have said their goal is to capture the heartwarming and inspiring essence of the country through the eyes of runners.

“We want to experience the beauty of this country firsthand, meet the incredible people who call it home, and celebrate everything that makes the U.S. so special,” says Jenny Simpson, who has represented the U.S. on the world stage for nearly two decades. “Through this journey, we hope to show that America’s beauty is not just in its landmarks, but in its people and the unique places they live, run, and explore.”

Out of the Ashes

In December of 2021, a devastating wildfire ripped through the south end of Boulder County—including the communities of Marshall, Louisville, and Superior, where it burned more than 1,084 homes and killed two residents and more than 900 pets. Miraculously, it didn’t burn the Simpson’s house—a restored circa-1900 schoolhouse they bought several years ago that was less than a half mile from the fire’s origin—but the house did incur significant smoke damage that needed mitigating.

The Simpsons were displaced and spent several months living in an apartment with little furniture, which forced them to live a rather spartan lifestyle. While Jason was still able to work as a creative director for a design firm, Jenny’s contract hadn’t been renewed by New Balance, and she wasn’t sure what the future held.

During that time, she had been doing a weekly call with her sister, Emily, and Jason’s sister, Annie, to discuss the book Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life, a guide aimed at helping people to reimagine their professional and personal lives. It was through those discussions that Jenny came up with an idea of buying a Winnebago so she and Jason could drive around the country with Truman, who they rescued in 2020 just before the Covid lockdown. (They got Barkley about three years later.)

“My idea was that we can just drive around America and see the place that I’ve had stamped across my chest on my Team USA gear all these years,” she says. “I have been on Team USA, but I really want to know what that means. I’ve raced in some amazing places all around the world, but I really haven’t seen much of our own country. I want to go see the places and the people that I haven’t seen. And then I had this idea of doing a 50 states, 50 weeks tour.”

Jenny told Jason about the idea and he was interested from the start, but it was initially just a fun distraction while Jenny was battling injuries. Jason was so intrigued, though, that he started searching for information about vans online and indulging in YouTube content from a variety of van-life influencers. Eventually, Jenny was healthy and racing on the roads for Puma, ultimately with a quest to qualify for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon.

A year later, they were still casually talking about the enticing “what if” possibilities of owning a van.

“So by 2023, we were like, ‘What do these vans look like? What do they cost? What kind of different layouts are best?” says Jason, 40, a 20-time marathoner with a 2:18:44 personal best. “And then I got really into the travel influencer YouTube videos and at some point told Jenny, ‘Hey, let’s just go look at them.’ And that led to looking at the timelines of: if we were to do this in 2024 or 2025, what would it take? It takes like a long time to build out the vans, and we are definitely not build-it-yourself van people.”

On Her Own Terms 

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Simpson’s career has been her consistency. She qualified for every U.S. national team on the track between 2007 and 2019. Not only did she put in the work and remain virtually injury-free during that time, but she also raced fiercely and rose to the occasion every single time without a single hiccup in any of her preliminary races. (She also made it to the 1500-meter final of the Covid-delayed U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021 at age 35 after what she admitted was a rough gap in competition during the pandemic.)

For most of that time, she was coached by her University of Colorado coaches Mark Wetmore and Heather Burroughs. They continued coaching her as she transitioned to road running over the past three years and ultimately to the build-up to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando, Florida. Although she had brief moments of success on the roads—finishing second in the U.S. 10-mile championship in 2021 and turning in a solid ninth-place, 1:10:35 effort in the Houston Half Marathon in 2023—the first injuries of her career disrupted her training and delayed her debut at 26.2 miles until the Olympic Trials.

Over the past three years, continuing to adhere to the rigid lifestyle needed to keep racing competitively was increasingly met at an internal crossroads of wondering when it would feel OK to retire and move on in life and what that would look like.

“Running the Olympics Trials and then running Boston, I would say those were not successful outings,” Simpson says. “I did the best that I could and I got as prepared as I could, but they weren’t what I had hoped for, neither of them were what I’m capable of. I’m really proud of how I ran in Boston because I ran entirely alone after mile 3, but that’s not how I wanted to end my career.”

After Boston, Jenny still wasn’t ready to retire. But she’d heard the chatter that suggested she could give up the ghost and not try to remain competitive on the roads, knowing her legacy was already secure. After she took some time off to recover and reflect, she knew she wanted to get back into training and target one more race on the biggest stage and settled on the New York City Marathon.

She parted ways with Wetmore and Burroughs in the spring and decided to train on her own, although she’s continually received subtle guidance from Jason, who qualified for and raced in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta. Although he has imparted bits of knowledge to help keep her balanced, Simpson has been following a training plan in her marathon buildup that she designed.

From Best in the U.S. to Across the U.S.

Casual interest in buying a van led to more in-depth investigation and, after what was an otherwise random training run on the dirt roads north of Denver last year, they passed an RV sales lot and decided to take a look. One thing led to another and they put down a small, refundable deposit that would hold a fully appointed 23-foot Winnebago Ekko during what was expected to be nearly a year-long wait until it was built and delivered.

Fast forward to 2024 and Jenny made her marathon debut on February 3 in Orlando, but it didn’t go at all as she had hoped. She had been running among the top 20 early in the race but  eventually dropped out at mile 18. She returned 10 weeks later to run a respectable Boston Marathon in mid-April (she placed 18th overall in 2:31:39 and was the fourth American finisher), and although her effort was commensurate with her inner drive—and some degree of success felt good—she still wasn’t ready to call it a career.

Finally, in April, several days before they were going to travel to Boston, the RV dealership called and told them the van had arrived and they had a week to consider buying it. At that point, Jenny was eager to run Boston to make amends for her Olympic Trials experience, but she was also physically and emotionally fried.

“And I was like, we’re doing it,” she says. “It was the perfect time in the perfect year. Because I was like, ‘I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got to be done.’ It was killing me. I actually might perish in the middle of the Boston Marathon. I just was so burnt out, and so it was the perfect time for them to call and essentially say, ‘Do you want to drive away into the sunset?’ And I was like, ‘Yes, I do. I really do.’” 

Two days after the Boston Marathon, they paid the remainder of the balance on the van and picked it up, immediately sending them into daydreaming mode about where they wanted to go.

Although their plans are still being formulated, they intend to rent their house and hit the road with the charming dogs in January, officially starting their “Jenny and Jason Run USA” tour in Florida. Along the way, they plan to see numerous sights, host or join at least one fun run in every state, promote dog adoptions by publicizing local humane societies, and create a wide range of engaging social media content on their Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube accounts along the way. Given that their longest stint in the van so far was the six-day trip they took to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming early last summer, they know they’re going to have to learn on the fly and continually adapt. But that’s what an adventure is all about.

“I’ve been nothing but focused on running New York, but I am excited about what’s next,” Jenny said this week. “As I have been tiptoeing toward the idea of being retired from professional running, I don’t know that I’m going to be really great at it or that it’s going to come easily for me. That’s why it’s so wonderful to have a partner in life like Jason because I think he sees that, too. So our goal is to create a lot of time and space to figure that out. I think the year will be kind of interesting and fun and wild and I really don’t know how it’ll end up, and I think that’s really good.”

Approaching the End … and a Beginning

Simpson admits her post-Boston malaise contributed to her having an inconsistent summer of training, in part because she was listening to voices that suggested she should relax and not be so rigid in her approach. When she showed up to run the Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on August 3, she admits she wasn’t very fit, and, as a result, finished a distant 12th in 34:30.

“My Beach to Beacon race was just so bad that it was like validation to me that caring less and trying less doesn’t work for me ever in anything,” she said. “I’m just not that person. It works for some people, but that’s not who I am. I used to joke that when you show up to the track and someone asks, ‘How do you feel?’ I always thought to myself it doesn’t matter how I feel. It’s about doing the work. I always feel like it’s execution over emotion for me all the time and that I have a job to do. I know who I am and I know how I operate, and how I operate is great.”

Simpson got back to work immediately after that race, ramping up her weekly mileage to the 100-mile range in the high altitude environs of Colorado. She says she’s done more than half of her long runs between 8,500 and 10,500 feet, including runs on Magnolia Road above Boulder, Golden Gate Canyon State Park near Golden, and even a loop around the paved Mineral Belt Trail in Leadville.

Her return to rigidity and improved fitness helped bring mental clarity that not only convinced her that she’d be ready to run a strong marathon in New York City, but also brought the revelation that she was ready to admit it was her last race knowing it would allow her to retire on her own terms.

Two months after feeling flat in the 10K, she won the Wineglass Half Marathon on October 5 in Corning, New York, running a near-PR of 1:10:50 (5:24 per-mile pace) as she ran stride-for-stride to the finish line with Jason. (She broke the women’s finisher’s tape for the win, while he ran slightly to the side as the 12th-place men’s finisher and 13th overall.) Now she’s likely in sub-2:30 marathon shape, even though the hilly New York City Marathon course is as equally challenging as Boston in its own way. Jason, meanwhile, will race in the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K the day before the marathon, not only so he can track Jenny on Sunday and meet her at the finish line, but also because he’s running the California International Marathon on December 8.

2025 and Beyond

Simpson arrived in New York City on October 30 healthy, happy, and ready to run hard—definitely not the feeling of holding on for dear life that she felt going into the Olympic Trials and the Boston Marathon. She says she couldn’t be more excited to run through the city’s five boroughs to the finish line in Central Park that she hopes will come with a satisfying result, as well as the beginning of closure to her star-spangled career.

Who knows what’s next after that—Coaching? Law school? A corporate career with a shoe brand? The world seems to be her oyster, but for the time being the cross-country tour might be just what she needs most. She’s excited to detach a bit from the rigid schedule and identity she’s clung to for the past 20 years and enjoy the freedom of the open road. She knows it will be a complete departure from the essence of what she’s all about, and to that point, she’ll likely dig into planning and scheduling early next week even before she recovers from the marathon.

Although she admits she was intrigued while watching some of the top runners finish the Leadville Trail 100 this summer, she says she’s decidedly not interested in running ultras. (However, Jason might be, and Jenny says she’s been keen to pace and crew him.) She might get more into trail running, something she did a little bit early in her University of Colorado career. Or she might even return to road running, but she’s not thinking that far ahead. For now, she’s focused on racing in New York and then continuing to run in 2025—on the magical mystery tour that awaits—and beyond.

“I feel a lot of peace about it, but it’s not like I’m over running. I want to retire so I can do more running and to explore the beautiful country I raced for,” she says. “I wanted to be world class at the marathon, and I’m not. I gave it a good try, and now it’s time to try something else, and I just feel really good about it.”

Top runners, including veteran athletes and young challengers, will be out to break records at the 46th Istanbul Marathon on Sunday, November 3.

Course records will be under threat as elite runners line up at the 46th edition of the Istanbul Marathon in Turkey on Sunday, November 3.

The men’s course record, set by Daniel Kibet in 2019 currently stands at 2:09:44 while the women’s record of 2:18:35 was set by Ruth Chepng’etich in 2018 and stands at 2:18:35.

Former world marathon bronze medalist Sharon Cherop is the fastest woman on the list with 2:22:28 while the men’s elite field is headlined by Ethiopia’s Abebe Negewo and with personal bests of sub 2:05:00.

The trio of Cherop, Negewo and Kipkemoi turned 40 this year, but they will be out to prove that age is just a number as they hope to continue the winning streak. The field will certainly be incomplete without youngsters and Ethiopians Kelkile Gezahegn and Sentayehu Lewetegn are among the young road runners who will also be challenging for top spot.

Betty Kibet of Kenya, a 24-year-old runner will also be debuting with the hope of having a great run in the streets of Istanbul.

Meanwhile, Abebe Degefa Negewo enters the field with a personal best time of 2:04:51, which he ran in Valencia in 2019 when he was fourth. He has produced impressive times in his previous marathons, including 2:05:27 in Valencia in 2021, 2:06:05 in Hamburg in 2022 and 2:08:12 in Rotterdam last year.

Kenneth Kipkemoi posted fast times in his previous races and hopes to continue the hot streak in Istanbul. He ran 2:08:15 in Rotterdam in 2023 and then won the Eindhoven Marathon with a personal best of 2:04:52. This year he returned to Rotterdam where he was fourth with 2:05:43.

Cherop is not new to the marathon as she won a bronze medal in the at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. She then won the prestigious Boston Marathon in 2012 and in 2013, she clocked her PB of 2:22:28 when she was runner-up in Berlin.

Ethiopia’s Sentayehu Lewetegn will be among Sharon Cherop’s challengers. She ran a strong debut in Frankfurt in 2018 with 2:22:45 for sixth place. As things stand, 42,500 runners have already been confirmed for the event. Race organisers confirmed that 7,500 of them will run the classic distance.

“No marathon is run in a city that bears the traces of three great empires that have left a significant mark on world history. No marathon passes over a bridge that connects continents above a magnificent strait. Thanks to this unique feature, we believe that the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon is the best thematic marathon in the world,” said Race Director Renay Onur according to Aims World Running.

A mix of highly experienced marathon runners with strong personal records and younger challengers could produce some fascinating races at the 46th Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon on November 3rd.

Ethiopia’s Abebe Negewo and Kenneth Kipkemoi of Kenya head the current start list with personal bests of sub 2:05:00. Kenya’s former World Championships’ marathon bronze medalist Sharon Cherop is the fastest woman on the list with 2:22:28. Cherop, Negewo and Kipkemoi have all turned 40 this year, but they are still going very strong. They will have to hit top form if they want to challenge for victory in Istanbul. Ethiopians Kelkile Gezahegn and Sentayehu Lewetegn will be among their rivals while 24 year-old debutante Betty Kibet of Kenya could produce a surprise.

A total of 42,500 runners have entered the race that leads the athletes from the Asian side of the city onto the July 15 Martyrs Bridge and then into the European part of Istanbul. 7,500 of them will run the classic distance on 3rd November. The event is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, which guarantees high standards in every aspect. Entries will still be accepted until next Monday (October  14th) at: https://maraton.istanbul

“No marathon is run in a city that bears the traces of three great empires that have left a significant mark on world history. No marathon passes over a bridge that connects continents above a magnificent strait. Thanks to this unique feature, we believe that the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon is the best thematic marathon in the world,” said Race Director Renay Onur.

There are now many examples of runners who have turned 40 and still going strong: Kenenisa Bekele, Tadesse Abraham or Edna Kiplagat are among them. With a personal best of 2:04:51 Abebe Negewo is the runner with the fastest PB in the Istanbul field. He ran this time in Valencia in 2019 when he was fourth. While Negewo, who is also known as Abebe Degefa, has not raced as often as during his early career he produced one excellent marathon in each year: 2:05:27 in Valencia in 2021, 2:06:05 in Hamburg in 2022 and 2:08:12 in Rotterdam last year. Negewo has not competed yet this year, so if he wants to continue this streak of strong results Istanbul will be his best chance.

Kenneth Kipkemoi is the other top-class marathon runner in Istanbul’s men’s field who turned 40 this year. The Kenyan’s last three marathons were consistently fast: Kipkemoi ran 2:08:15 in Rotterdam in 2023 and then won the Eindhoven Marathon in the autumn with a personal best of 2:04:52. This year he returned to Rotterdam where he was fourth with 2:05:43.

Two Ethiopians who are more than ten years younger will be among the favourites as well. 28 year-old Kelkile Gezahegn, who has a PB of 2:05:56, is a runner who focusses fully on the classic distance. Since the start of his international career in 2016 he competed only in city marathons. He managed to win all his first four marathons in the year 2016, all in China. “The marathon is my distance,“ said Kellie Gezahegn when he won the Frankfurt Marathon in 2018. Dejene Debela is 29 years old and ran his personal best of 2:05:46 when he was runner-up in Chicago in 2019. After a two year-break, which seems to have been injury related, he came back this year with 2:09:33 in Taiyuan, China.

Sharon Cherop is the most prominent athlete in the elite field of the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Marathon. The 40 year-old Kenyan took the bronze medal in the marathon at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, in 2011. A year later Cherop won the prestigious Boston Marathon and in 2013 she clocked her PB of 2:22:28 when she was runner-up in Berlin. This PB makes her the fastest woman on the start list in Istanbul. Sharon Cherop is still going strong. Last year she won the Milan Marathon and this spring she was second in Hannover with 2:24:41. “I think I can run for a couple of more years,“ she said after the race in Germany.

Sentayehu Lewetegn will be among Sharon Cherop’s challengers. The Ethiopian ran a strong debut in Frankfurt in 2018 with 2:22:45 for sixth place. The 28 year-old could not improve this PB yet, but she came close in Ljubljana: Two years ago she was second there with 2:22:36.

Betty Kibet is an athlete who could have an immediate impact in the marathon. The 24 year-old Kenyan will run her debut over the classic distance in Istanbul. While she has a promising 66:37 half marathon PB she ran the Türkiye Is Bankasi Istanbul Half Marathon this April and finished sixth with a fine 68:39. Betty Kibet, who was a world-class junior athlete in her early career, has a strong 10k PB of 31:08 and ran 1:21:43 in Kolkata, India, for 25k in December last year.

Fresh from winning the 2024 Stockholm Marathon triumph, Fredrick Kibii will spearhead a formidable Kenyan lineup at the Hengshui Lake Marathon in China on Sunday.

The 28-year-old triumphed at the Stockholm Marathon in June, crossing the line in 2:14:17, leading a Kenyan top-five finish.

Robert Ng'eno (2:14:30) and Benard Kipkorir (2:15:41) completed the podium with Kennedy Kipyeko (2:15:53) and Abednego Cheruiyot (2:16:46) in tow.

In April, Kibii clocked 2:08:56 to finish fourth at the Linz Marathon, trailing Eritrea’s Goitom Kifle (2:08:15), Denis Chirchir (2:08:28) and Ethiopia’s Dejene Debela (2:08:38).

Kibii's impressive resume boasts a third-place finish at the 2023 Hannover Marathon, clocking 2:08:09 behind Germany’s Amanal Petros (2:07:02) and Chirchir (2:07:17).

He finished a solid seventh-place finish at the Frankfurt Marathon later that year (2:09:33).

Joining Kibii in China is Boaz Kipkemei, who finished second at this year’s Hannover Marathon in April in a time of 2:07:06.

Gevin Kerich, who was three seconds (2:06:52) behind last year’s Doha Marathon winner, Morocco's Mohcin Outalha, is also in contention.

Kerich grabbed second place at the 2022 Eindhoven Marathon (2:07:07).

Boniface Kimutai rounds off a strong Kenyan contingent, who face stiff competition from Ethiopian runners, led by 2020 Seville Marathon champion Mekuant Ayenew, Copenhagen Marathon runner-up Gadisa Birhanu and Daegu Marathon third-place finisher Berhane Tsegay.

Hannover Marathon third-place finisher Lilian Jebitok will headline the women’s elite field.

Her resume includes a victory at the 2019 Casablanca Marathon (2:31:31) and a third-place finish at the 2018 Nairobi Standard Chartered Marathon (2:42:23).

She is joined by Tallinn Marathon champion Mercy Kwambai, second at the Copenhagen Marathon in May (2:28:12) and runner-up at the 2022 Bregenz Marathon (2:30:15).

Ethiopia will once again provide the competition with 2021 Stockholm Marathon champion Atalel Anmut leading the charge.

She has Seville Marathon third-place finisher Urge Diro and Xuzhou Marathon champion Derartu Hailu for company.

Ethiopia’s 2022 world champion Gotytom Gebreslase and her compatriot Leul Gebresilase, the 2023 world bronze medalist, feature in the fields for the TCS Sydney Marathon presented by ASICS, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, on Sunday (15).

Gebreslase is a two-time world marathon medalist, having added silver in Budapest to the gold she gained in Oregon, while she won the Berlin Marathon in 2021 and finished third in the New York and Tokyo marathons in 2022.

The 29-year-old ran her PB of 2:18:11 in Oregon and 2:18:18 in Tokyo, and earlier this year she clocked 2:21:19 to finish third in Hamburg.

But Gebreslase is set to face a strong challenge, with four other sub-2:20 runners on the entry list. Her compatriot Tadu Teshome is fastest of them all with the PB of 2:17:36 she set when finishing fourth in Valencia in 2022. In 2023 she raced three marathons, finishing fifth in Chicago, sixth in Shanghai and eighth in London. In June she set a 10km PB of 31:13 in Durban.

Joining them are Ethiopia’s Ruti Aga and Buzunesh Getachew, plus Kenya’s Judith Jeptum Korir, who secured world silver behind Gebreslase in Oregon two years ago.

Aga won the Tokyo Marathon in 2019 and more recently finished second in Dubai in January in a PB-equaling 2:18:09 and first in Daegu in 2:21:07. Getachew set her PB of 2:19:27 when winning in Frankfurt last October, while Korir’s career best is the 2:18:20 she ran in Oregon. She went on to finish fourth in the London Marathon that year in 2:18:43 but did not finish when racing the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

Also entered are Kenya’s Viola Kibiwot, Sharon Chelimo and Beatrice Cheptoo, plus Japan’s Mao Uesugi.

Gebresilase is the fastest in the men’s field, thanks to the PB of 2:04:02 he set in Dubai in 2018. Since then he has become a global medallist, getting bronze in Budapest in 2023, the same year in which he finished fourth in the London Marathon. He ran 1:01:24 for the half marathon in Ras Al Khaimah in February but did not finish on his return to London in April.

In Sydney he faces three other sub-2:05 runners and another seven who have dipped under 2:08. His compatriot Chalu Deso is a strong contender, as he ran 2:04:53 in Valencia in 2020 and more recently won the Tokyo Marathon in March last year in 2:05:22. He raced the Paris Marathon in April, clocking 2:07:39.

Ethiopia’s Haftu Teklu ran 2:04:42 when finishing fifth in Berlin last year, while Kenya’s Brimin Kipkorir Misoi won the Frankfurt Marathon last October in a PB of 2:04:53.

They will line up alongside Ethiopia’s Tafese Delelegn and Tadu Abate, who finished third in Berlin in 2022, plus Kenya’s Laban Korir, Reuben Kerio and Michael Mugo Githae, and Japan’s Hidekazu Hijikata and Tetsuya Yoroizaka.

Wanyonyi got to within an eighth-hundredth of a second away from equalling David Rudisha's 12-year 800m world record at the Lausanne Diamond League classic on Thursday.

When David Rudisha tipped Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the athlete most likely to break his 12-year-old 800m world record during the Kenyan trials for the Olympic Games at Nyayo National Stadium last June, it wasn’t just a casual remark. 

Rudisha’s prediction is now gathering weight, especially after Wanyonyi clocked a blistering 1:41.11 at the Lausanne Diamond League meet in Switzerland on Thursday. 

This time not only equaled Wilson Kipketer’s record but also placed Wanyonyi second on the all-time list, just eight hundredths of a second away from Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91 set at the 2012 London Olympics.

“Wanyonyi is a young talented athlete. He has so much potential, and all he needs to do is fine-tune his craft, and this will see him push his time even lower,” Rudisha had told the media last June.

Rudisha, who knows a thing or two about world records, added, “He always shows his bravery and confidence whenever he steps on the track, and that has been the secret behind his success. 

“World records are special. We are looking forward to seeing how the young generation is going to take up the challenge. Of course, there is a lot of innovation, and it improves performances. We believe that world records are there to be broken.”

Wanyonyi’s stunning performance in Lausanne has made him a force to be reckoned with in the world of athletics. 

His time of 1:41.11 ties him with Kipketer and positions him as the most serious threat to Rudisha’s reign in the 800m. At just 20 years old, Wanyonyi’s rise to the top has been meteoric, and his determination to succeed mirrors that of Rudisha.

Rudisha himself had an illustrious career, beginning as a decathlete before switching to sprints and later focusing on the 800m in 2005. Just a year later, he won the 800m title at the World U20 Championships in Beijing, clocking 1:47.40.

In 2008, he claimed the African senior title in Addis Ababa with a time of 1:44.20. Then, on August 22, 2010, Rudisha set his first world record in Berlin, running 1:41.09 and breaking Kipketer’s 1997 mark. 

Seven days later, he improved his record to 1:41.01 in Rieti. Rudisha continued his dominance by winning the world 800m title in Daegu in 2011, reclaiming it in Beijing in 2015, and becoming the first man since Peter Snell to retain the Olympic 800m title in Rio in 2016.

Now, Wanyonyi is carving out his own legacy. At 20, he became the youngest-ever Olympic 800m champion, leading a race of unprecedented depth in Paris.

He held off Canada’s Marco Arop, the reigning world champion, who briefly took the lead off the final turn before Wanyonyi surged back in the final steps. Arop finished with a North American record of 1:41.20 for silver, while Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati claimed bronze in 1:41.50.

Reflecting on his victory, Wanyonyi said, “It was going to be hard to defend as the only Kenyan in the final. I had a lot of pressure. I spoke to Rudisha yesterday, who told me I would win if I employed my tactics. I decided to run the way he did in London. If I had run a slow race, they would have beaten me.”

Although Wanyonyi didn’t quite match Rudisha’s record, he is keen on having another go at it when the Diamond League moves to Silesia, Poland, this Sunday. 

While he has remained modest about his world-record ambitions, saying, “Maybe, but not now,” the Diamond League offers the perfect stage for him to make history. The Wavelight technology, which has been instrumental in helping athletes maintain pace, will also be in use, providing Wanyonyi with every opportunity to push the boundaries.

Wanyonyi is no stranger to breaking records. At 19, he shattered the previous one-mile (1,600m) record of 3:56.13 set by American Hobbs Kessler at the World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia, last year. 

With Rudisha as his role model and mentor, Wanyonyi is poised to continue his upward trajectory and possibly eclipse the mark set by the man he so deeply admires.

As the athletics world watches, the question on everyone’s mind is not if, but when, Emmanuel Wanyonyi will break the 800m world record. And when that day comes, it will be the culmination of a journey inspired by greatness and driven by the relentless pursuit of excellence.

Rodah Jepkorir is gearing up to defend her Copenhagen Marathon crown against top-tier competition on May 5 in Denmark’s capital.

Last year, Jepkorir blazed through the course in 2:23:14 to claim victory, setting a new personal best (PB) in the process.

Valentina Mateiko secured second place in 2:25:05, while Britain’s Philippa Bowden completed the podium with a time of 2:29:16.

The 33-year-old is no stranger to success, boasting three Buenos Aires Marathon titles under her belt.

In 2019, she clocked 2:25:46, followed by 2:26:53 in 2022, and completed a hat trick in 2023 with a time of 2:24:52. 

Jepkorir also clocked 2:27:10 to seal the Gold Coast Marathon title in Australia last year as well as the 2019 title in 2:27:56.

However, she'll face fierce competition from Ethiopia’s Derartu Hailu, who holds a PB of 2:23:18 from the Sevilla Marathon, where she finished fourth.

Hailu also holds the Xuzhou Marathon title with a time of 2:27:27.

Joining the fray is 2022 Kosice Marathon champion Margaret Agai, who aims to challenge Jepkorir for the title. Agai has a personal best of 2:23:28 from the 2013 Daegu Marathon.

In the men’s elite race, Castellon Marathon silver medallist James Kiplagat and 2018 Paris Marathon bronze medallist Ernest Ngeno will be among the contenders.

Kiplagat holds a PB of 2:09:08 from the 2023 Zurich Barcelona Marathon and also secured a runners-up spot at the 2021 Stockholm Marathon with a time of 2:12:26. Ngeno boasts a personal best of 2:06:41 from the 2018 Paris Marathon.

The duo will be joined by 2023 Durban Marathon bronze medallists Cornelius Yego and Benson Tunyo.

Ethiopia’s Gadisa Birhanu will prove a tough test for the Kenyans as he boosts a 2:04:59 PB set in 2023 at the Sevilla Marathon, where he clinched the title.

Abdi Gelelchu of Bahrain is also in the elite list with a PB of 2:07:15 set at the 2022 Sevilla Marathon and so will be Japan’s Tsubasa Ichiyama with a a PB of 2:07:41.

The 2022 Rotterdam Marathon bronze medalist Reuben Kipyego will flex his muscles against 2022 French Riviera Marathon champion John Langat at the  Madrid Marathon on Sunday.

The marathon will feature a full marathon, half marathon and 10km race with the event organizers noting a huge turnout in the half marathon.

“The biggest race will be the half marathon with 20,000 participants, followed by the full marathon with 11,000 and the 10km with 9,000,” a statement from the organizers read.

Kipyego holds a personal best of 2:03:55 set while winning the 2021 Generali Milano Marathon in Italy.

The 28-year-old is also the 2019 Abu Dhabi Marathon champion where he clocked 2:04:40. Also in that year, he won silver at the South American Marathon Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, clocking 2:05:18.

Langat holds a personal best of 2:07:11 set at the Eindhoven Marathon in the Netherlands in 2019, where he placed third.

In 2016, he clocked 2:10:49 to finish second at the Daegu Marathon in South Korea. The 30-year-old is also a bronze medallist at the Adidas Stockholm Marathon in Sweden clocking 2:12:39.

Joining the fray is Bernard Kimani, a bronze medalist at the 2020 Loop Den Haag Half Marathon.

The Ethiopian duo of Mumbai Marathon champion Haymanot Alew and 2022 Rome Marathon champion Fikre Bekele will prove a tough test for the Kenyans.

Also in the lineup is Taiyuan Marathon bronze medalist Hicham Laqouahi of Morocco.

Ethiopia’s Ruti Aga chopped 48 seconds off the course record at the Daegu Marathon, winning the World Athletics Gold Label road race in 2:21:08 on Sunday (7).

Kenya’s Stephen Kiprop, meanwhile, won the men’s race by a comfortable 36-second margin in 2:07:04.

In the women’s race, the lead pack passed through 10km in 33:23 but by 20km, reached in 1:06:17, the front group had been reduced to just three women: Aga, Kenya’s Evaline Chirchir, and Bahrain’s Tigist Belay. Angela Tanui – the fastest woman in the field – had dropped behind by about nine seconds by this point.

The same lead trio passed through the half-way point in 1:10:00, then Aga started to make a break a few kilometres later. By 30km, which Aga passed in 1:38:50, she had a 31-second lead over Chirchir. Tanui, meanwhile, had moved up into third, 12 seconds behind her compatriot.

Aga reached 35km in 1:55:28, which suggested a finishing time comfortably inside 2:20. But the Ethiopian – who was contesting her second marathon of the year, having equalled her PB of 2:18:09 in January – then started to tire in the final few kilometres.

Tanui, meanwhile, was going from strength to strength and started to catch glimpses of the Ethiopian on the longer stretches. Fortunately for the tiring Aga, the lead she had built up earlier in the race provided enough of a cushion for her to maintain the lead as she entered the Daegu Stadium – venue of the 2011 World Championships – and crossed the finish line in 2:21:08, breaking the course record of 2:21:56 that had been set by Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu in 2022.

Tanui finished second in 2:21:32, then Chirchir followed 40 seconds later. Australia’s Commonwealth champion Jessica Stenson came through for fourth place in a PB of 2:24:01.

By contrast, a large lead pack remained in contention in the men’s race and it was only in the final few kilometres that the group finally split apart.

They went through the first 10km in 29:48, and 20 men were still in contention at half way, reached in 1:03:20. Even by 30km, which was passed in 1:30:19, there were 18 men in the lead pack.

But at 35km (1:45:46), Stephen Kipruto started to push the pace. The lead pack, which still comprised 14 men, started to break up, and two kilometres later there were just five men out in front.

Cherop and fellow Kenyan Kennedy Kimutai made a break at about 37km, opening up some significant distance on the few remaining opponents. But they didn’t run as a duo for long, because Cherop then managed to carve out a lead of his own with just under three kilometres remaining.

He continued to extend his lead to the end, eventually crossing the finish line in a PB of 2:07:04. Kimutai held on for second in 2:07:40 and Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu claimed third place in 2:07:55.

Leading results

Women

1 Ruti Aga (ETH) 2:21:08

2 Angela Tanui (KEN) 2:21:32

3 Evaline Chirchir (KEN) 2:22:12

4 Jessica Stenson (AUS) 2:24:01

5 Tigist Belay (BRN) 2:24:39

6 Sandrafelis Tuei (KEN) 2:26:57

Men

1 Stephen Kiprop (KEN) 2:07:04

2 Kennedy Kimutai (KEN) 2:07:40

3 Alphonce Simbu (TAN) 2:07:55

4 Ben Chelimo (KEN) 2:08:04

5 Kaan Kigen Ozbilen (TUR) 2:08:19

6 Gilbert Kibet (KEN) 2:08:32

Bethwell Yegon returns to the Vienna City Marathon where he was runner-up in unusually warm conditions last year. The Kenyan hopes to go one better this time and win his first marathon on 21st April. He will be challenged by Ethiopia’s Chala Regasa, who is also targeting a first major marathon triumph.

Both athletes have personal bests of slightly over 2:06 and head the competitive men’s field of the Vienna City Marathon. Over a dozen athletes on the current start list have personal records of sub 2:10 and a number of them hope to qualify for the Olympic marathon in Paris this summer.

With over 40,000 entries the Vienna City Marathon is Austria’s biggest one-day sporting event and the only road race in the country that features a World Athletics Elite Label. The figure includes entries for shorter races staged parallel to the marathon.

Bethwell Yegon ran a stunning marathon race in Berlin in 2021, when he came from far behind, overtook Ethiopia’s superstar Kenenisa Bekele and almost challenged for victory in the final stages. Yegon finished second and improved his personal best by more than two minutes to 2:06:14. This remains the fastest time of the 31 year-old who trains in Iten, the heart of Kenyan long distance running. “I am happy to return to Vienna and my goal is to fight for victory and take a place on the podium. Hopefully the weather conditions will be fine and there will be a strong group to run with,” said Bethwell Yegon, who clocked 2:06:57 a year ago, which is the fifth fastest time ever run in the history of the Vienna City Marathon.

Chala Regasa has already run on Vienna’s roads as well, though in a different role. The 26 year-old Ethiopian was part of the pacemaking team that supported Eliud Kipchoge when he sensationally broke the two hour marathon barrier in 2019. It was a year ago when Regasa finally ran his marathon debut in Rotterdam with a fine 2:06:11 for fifth place. With this time he is currently the fastest runner in the field. Vienna will be his second marathon and his strong half marathon PB of 59:10 suggests that there is some room for improvement. His biggest career win so far came in the New Delhi Half Marathon in 2022, where Regasa clocked 60:30 and beat a strong field.

Felix Kibitok is another runner who features both, a personal best of sub 2:06:30 and a very fast half marathon PB. The Kenyan was fifth in Barcelona in 2022 with 2:06:28 and achieved 59:08 in the Prague Half Marathon back in 2019. On two more occasions Kibitok ran sub one hour half marathon times. Samsom Amare from Eritrea, who won his marathon debut in Abu Dhabi in 2023 with 2:07:10 and was ninth at the World Half Marathon Championships in 2023, plus Kenyans Albert Kangogo (2:07:48) and Leonard Barsoton (2:09:06) could well challenge for a place on the podium as well.

The Vienna City Marathon is one of the last few races during the second half of April giving athletes a chance to qualify for the Olympic Games’ marathon in Paris this summer. The official qualifying time is 2:08:10 and the qualifying window shuts on 30th April. There are a number of athletes who will try to fulfill their Olympic dream in Vienna: Belgium’s Lahsene Bouchikhi has a personal best of 2:08:36 from Valencia last year while Daniel Paulus is the national record holder of Namibia. He clocked 2:08:40 in his debut in Daegu, South Korea, in 2023. Juan Pacheco from Mexico is also expected to try to qualify for Paris. He has a personal record of 2:09:45 while Tiidrek Nurme from Estonia has run 2:10:02.

The Vienna City Marathon will also be hosting the Hungarian national marathon championships for the second time in a row. Around 40 of the best athletes from the neighbouring country will come to Vienna to determine their champions.

Ethiopia’s Guye Adola and Bahrain’s Desi Mokonin are among the athletes who will be looking to make a mark when they compete in the Seoul Marathon, this year’s sixth World Athletics Platinum Label road race, on Sunday (17).

While Adola competes in Korea for the first time, Mokonin has the benefit of race experience, as she returns to an event that she won in 2019.

Adola has the fastest PB among the entries, thanks to the 2:03:46 he ran to finish second when making his marathon debut in Berlin in 2017. The 2014 world half marathon bronze medallist returned to win in Berlin in 2021, running 2:05:45 for the third-fastest time of his career so far.

He is back in marathon action for the first time since October, when he placed third in Frankfurt after finishing runner-up in Paris in April.

There are a number of athletes who will want to challenge him in Seoul, where the men’s field features another six sub-2:06 athletes. The course record stands at 2:04:43, achieved by Mosinet Geremew in 2022.

Kenya’s Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba has won each of the four marathons he has completed so far, most recently winning the Shanghai Marathon in November in a PB of 2:05:35, but he withdrew when defending his Xiamen Marathon title in January.

His compatriot Solomon Kirwa Yego finished third in Shanghai in a PB of 2:05:42 and then placed eighth in Xiamen, while Joel Kemboi Kimurer ran his PB of 2:05:19 in Milan in 2021 and Laban Kipngetich Korir clocked his best of 2:05:41 in Amsterdam in 2022.

Ethiopia’s Derseh Kindie will be looking to build on the PB of 2:05:51 he set in Valencia in December and he’ll be joined on the start line by his compatriots Gebru Redahgne, who finished second in the 2022 Barcelona marathon in 2:05:58, and world half marathon fourth-place finisher Jemal Yimer.

China’s Feng Peiyou and Olonbayar Jamsran of Mongolia will be among those seeking Olympic qualification.

Ethiopia’s Yebrgual Melese is the quickest in the women’s field when it comes to PBs with the 2:19:36 she ran in Dubai in 2018, but the 2015 Chicago Marathon runner up’s last recorded result was a fifth-place finish in the 2020 Xiamen Marathon.

She’s the sole sub-2:20 runner in the women’s race but she will be joined by four others who have dipped under 2:22.

Those include Mokonin, who won the 2019 Seoul Marathon in 2:23:44 and clocked her PB of 2:20:47 in Doha just over a year ago. She ended 2023 with a 2:22:29 performance to finish seventh in Valencia.

Kenya’s Celestine Chepchirchir opens her 2024 campaign after having raced four marathons last year, topped by the 2:20:46 she ran to finish fourth in Valencia. Like Mokonin, she has previously raced in Seoul and it is where she recorded her PB of 2:20:10 set in 2022, when she finished fourth.

She lines up alongside her compatriot Janet Ruguru, who set a PB of 2:23:00 to finish second in Beijing in October and placed third in the Daegu International Marathon in the April.

Sisay Meseret Gola followed her 2:20:50 PB performance in Seville in 2022 with two 2:22 marathons in 2023 – in Osaka and Amsterdam. She withdrew from this year’s Osaka Women's Marathon in January but now returns to action in a field that also features her Ethiopian compatriot Fikrte Wereta, who ended 2023 with a win and a PB in Shenzhen, clocking 2:22:07.

Former Mongolian record-holder Munkhzaya Bayartsogt will be among those hoping to put themselves in the running for a place at the Paris Olympics.

The course record of 2:18:04 was set by Romania’s Joan Chelimo Melly in 2022.

Leading entries

Women

Yebrgual Melese (ETH) 2:19:36

Celestine Chepchirchir (KEN) 2:20:10

Desi Mokonin (BRN) 2:20:47

Sisay Meseret Gola (ETH) 2:20:50

Visiline Jepkesho (KEN) 2:21:37

Fikrte Wereta (ETH) 2:22:07

Sintayehu Tilahun (ETH) 2:22:19

Janet Ruguru (KEN) 2:23:00

Margaret Agai (KEN) 2:23:28

Sifan Melaku (ETH) 2:23:49

Munkhzaya Bayartsogt (MGL) 2:28:03

Marina Khmelevskaya (UZB) 2:29:28

Ayano Ikeuchi (JPN) 2:33:29

Men

Guye Adola (ETH) 2:03:46

Joel Kemboi Kimurer (KEN) 2:05:19

Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba (KEN) 2:05:35

Laban Kipngetich Korir (KEN) 2:05:41

Solomon Kirwa Yego (KEN) 2:05:42

Derseh Kindie (ETH) 2:05:51

Gebru Redahgne (ETH) 2:05:58

Mark Kiptoo (KEN) 2:06:00

Felix Kandie (KEN) 2:06:03

Mike Kiptum Boit (KEN) 2:06:08

Ashenafi Moges Weldegiorgis (ETH) 2:06:12

Edwin Kiptoo (KEN) 2:06:52

Kibrom Desta Habtu (ETH) 2:07:05

Balew Yihunie Derseh (ETH) 2:07:12

Timothy Kipkorir (KEN) 2:07:53

Rory Linkletter (CAN) 2:08:01

Feng Peiyou (CHN) 2:08:07

Rhonzas Lokitam Kilimo (KEN) 2:08:08

Olonbayar Jamsran (MGL) 2:08:58

Huang Yongzheng (CHN) 2:10:49

Gantulga Dambadarjaa (MGL) 2:11:18

Jemal Yimer (ETH) 2:11:31

Evans Kipchumba (KEN) debut

Kenya’s Pamela Rotich will be the lady to watch at the 39th edition of the Los Angeles Marathon slated for Sunday (17) in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Rotich who is the oldest and fastest athlete on the entry list, comes to this race with a life time best of 2:22.43 that she got two years ago at Daegu International Marathon, where she took the silver medal.

The 40 year-old will not have an easy time as she will face-off with Olga Mazuronak of Belarus who is the second fastest athlete on paper with a time of 2:23.54 that she got at the 2016 London Marathon where she finished in fourth place and the former Commonwealth Games 10,000m silver medallist, Stacy Ndiwa of Kenya who holds a personal best of 2:31.00 that she got last year at the Chicago Marathon.

Another title contender is Olympian Silvia Paredes from Ecuador of personal best 2:40.58 and the 2015 Pan American Games marathon bronze medalist, Rachel Hannah from Canada who holds a personal best of 2:32.09 that she got at the 2016 Houston Marathon, where she finished in sixth place.

LEADING TIME

42KM WOMEN

Pamela Rotich       (KEN) 2:22.43

Olga Mazuronak   (BEL) 2:23.54

Stacy Ndiwa          (KEN) 2:31.00

Rachel Hannah      (CAN) 2:32.09

Silvia Paredes        (CAN) 2:40.58

Eritrean duo Nazret Weldu and Dolshi Tesfu head the current women’s start list of the Vienna City Marathon on 21st April, race organizers have announced.

Weldu and Tesfu, who are by some distance the fastest Eritrean women marathon runners in history, may be challenged by Kenyans Shyline Toroitich and Rebecca Tanui. There are hopes that the 41st edition of Austria’s major road race will see an attempt to break the course record, which currently stands at 2:20:59.

Including races at shorter distances, the organizers of the Vienna City Marathon expect to register over 40,000 entries for the 41st edition. Around 10,000 of them will be marathon runners. The Vienna City Marathon is a World Athletics Elite Label Road Race.

It took 19 years until the women’s course record of Italy’s late Maura Viceconte was finally broken in the Austrian capital in 2019. Kenya’s Nancy Kiprop improved the mark to 2:22:12. However Kiprop’s time lasted much shorter than Viceconte’s. In 2022 fellow-Kenyan Vibian Chepkirui clocked 2:20:59.

Nazret Weldu and Dolshi Tesfu have both already run faster than Vienna’s course record: 34 year-old Weldu clocked a national record of 2:20:29 when she took a very strong fourth place in the World Championships’ Marathon in Eugene in 2022. She won the Daegu Marathon in South Korea with 2:21:56 in the same year and then placed sixth in Boston in 2023 with 2:23:25. Competing in a hot World Championships’ race in Budapest last summer Weldu finished eighth with 2:27:23. Despite this series of strong performances Nazret Weldu still has not achieved the Olympic qualifying standard for Paris. She will want to make sure in Vienna that she runs fast enough to get into the Olympic race.

Dolshi Tesfu features a personal best of 2:20:40. The 24 year-old, who is just 1.56 m tall and weighs just 42 kg, ran this time in her debut marathon when she finished ninth in Valencia in 2022. During the race Dolshi Tesfu ran the first half in 68:53, which is by far the fastest half marathon time ever run by an Eritrean woman. Dolshi Tesfu then showed fine performances in her two marathons in 2023 as well: First she was runner-up in Rotterdam with 2:21:35 and then she finished 10th in a hot World Championships’ marathon in Budapest in August. She is already qualified for the Olympic marathon.

When Weldu and Tesfu will come to Vienna for the first time they could attack two records in one go: While the course record stands at 2:20:59 for the two athletes the national record of 2:20:29 would probably be even more significant.

There is an athlete on the start list with a sub 2:20 PB, but at the age of 43 Helalia Johannes is not expected to challenge for victory. The Namibian ran 2:19:52 in 2020 and holds the masters world record since then.

Two Kenyan women could be the main challengers for Weldu and Tesfu: Shyline Toroitich and Rebecca Tanui both know how to win a city marathon. Toroitich took the Enschde Marathon last year with a personal best of 2:22:45 while Tanui was the winner of the San Sebastian Marathon in 2022 with a PB of 2:23:09 and then also won in Venice last autumn. Tanui will have the advantage of knowing the course of the Vienna City Marathon since she was fourth here last year with 2:26:34 in warm weather conditions.

For Andrea Ramirez Limon the Vienna City Marathon presents the last chance to achieve qualification for the Olympic Games’ marathon this summer. The Mexican has a personal best of 2:26:34. However she ran this back in 2020, so it does not count as an Olympic qualifier for Paris. While the qualifying time is 2:26:50, Andrea Ramirez Limon would need a faster time to succeed since the Olympic race will have a limit of 80 starters.

Austria’s record holder Julia Mayer has achieved qualification since she was among the 64 pre-qualified athletes at the end of January with her PB of 2:26:43. She will be among a group of runners who target the Olympic qualifying standard.

2013 Tokyo and Chicago Marathon champion Dennis Kimetto has confirmed where he will be competing after a five-year hiatus due to injuries.

The excitement is building for the 9th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, scheduled for Saturday 10 February with the confirmation of over 81 world-class, Gold Label elite runners ready to descend on the course.

One notable name is Dennis Kimetto, a former world record holder over the marathon distance. The 2013 Tokyo and Chicago Marathon champion returns to competitive running since 2019 and he will hope to impress one more time.

Kimetto has suffered a series of injuries which started back in 2015. At the time he was not at his best as he only completed the London Marathon, finishing third, and failing to complete the IAAF World Championships marathon in Beijing.

Kimetto also failed to finish the Fukuoka Marathon in December of the same year where he stopped at the 5-kilometer mark after dropping off the pace at 2 kilometers due to an injury.

After finishing ninth at the 2016 London Marathon, Kimetto opted to run in the Chicago Marathon where he unfortunately pulled out ahead of the race, citing a stress fracture in his left leg.

His injury problems continued in 2017, with a knee injury forcing him to withdraw from the Boston Marathon field. The 2014 Berlin Marathon champion failed to finish both the Chicago Marathon in October and the Honolulu Marathon in December.

At the Vienna City Marathon in April 2018, Kimetto dropped out before the 25-kilometer mark. He then went to compete at the Shanghai Marathon where he finished 10th in 2:14:54.

In 2019, he tried making a comeback at the Daegu Marathon where he did not finish the race. He now returns with the hope of making waves like he did during his prime days.

Meanwhile, the field also includes 29 female runners and promises a highly competitive and potentially record-breaking event.

“The confirmation of over 81 Gold Label runners is a positive development for the 9th edition. As we prepare for the 10th edition, our goal is to elevate the race from Gold Label to Platinum Label status,” Yusuf Ali, the Race General Manager and former African record holder in the Long Jump said in an official statement issued.

Magdalyne Masai has been confirmed for the Sevilla Marathon where she hopes to start her season on a good note.

The 2023 Vienna City Marathon champion Magdalyne Masai has been confirmed for the Sevilla Marathon scheduled for Sunday February 18.

Masai will be opening her season at the event with the hope of stunning her opponents and continuing her hot streak from last season.

Last season, the Kenyan was on fire, winning the Vienna Marathon and also finishing third at the Roma Ostia Half Marathon. However, she stumbled at the Frankfurt Marathon where she finished ninth but she will be out to prove her marathon prowess once again.

She will be up against Namibian long-distance runner Helalia Johannes, who is aged 43 but still has it in her legs to run well.

The Namibian only competed once last season, at the Daegu International Marathon that saw her finish 10th and she will seek to start her season on a good note this year.

Azmera Gebru, an Ethiopian runner, has also been confirmed for the event and she will be out to give Masai a run for her money.

Gebru returns to competitive running after a mixed two years and she has her fingers crossed to run well this season.

Last year, she was in action at the Zurich Marathon in Barcelona which saw her finish sixth while in 2022, she was confirmed for the Prague Marathon where she failed to finish the race.

The race organizers of the event are still announcing the elite athletes of the event which will promise fireworks owing to the women who have already been announced.

44-year-old Edna Kiplagat has insisted that age is not an issue as she plans to continue conquering the world of marathon running.

Two-time Boston Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat does not see her age as an obstacle to her achieving her goals in life.

Kiplagat’s age has caught many by surprise, owing to the fact that she is still able to run well and finish races, especially the marathons. Speaking during a press conference before the Houston Half Marathon last weekend, the 44-year-old insisted that she does not view her age as a problem.

She added that the reason why she keeps going is to be a source of encouragement to young runners and her children too. The 2014 London Marathon champion explained that she wants youngsters to understand that anything is possible as long as they put their minds to it.

“I believe that what I have done or accomplished before is going to motivate most of the young athletes. I want them to know that if they work hard and focus on anything they are passionate about, then they will achieve their goals.

"I don’t feel that age is a huge factor for me but I know that as long as I feel healthy and I love what I do, I’ll keep on doing my best,” Kiplagat said.

Meanwhile, Kiplagat has been in the game for more than 25 years since she made her professional debut at the 1996 World Junior Championships where she bagged silver in the 3000m. The American-based athlete then proceeded to bag a bronze medal at the 1998 World Junior Championships.

Since then, Kiplagat just kept and she became the first woman to successfully retain her marathon world title.

She won the marathon title at both the 2011 and 2013 World Championships held in Daegu, South Korea and Moscow, Russia respectively. In 2010, Kiplagat bagged the New York City Marathon and Los Angeles Marathon titles.

40-year-old Melaine Walker has expressed her interest in competing at the Olympic Games after a long period of inactivity, a move that has elicited mixed reactions from athletics enthusiasts and fans.

Melaine Walker, a 40-year-old Jamaican hurdler has expressed her interest in representing her country in the 110m Hurdles at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

The 40-year-old won the 400m Hurdle race at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, and also won the title at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

The World and Olympic champion will now be seeking a chance of redemption after a long period of inactivity. Last season, she only competed once, at the GC Foster Classics where she sealed the podium in the 110m Hurdles race.

Speaking to Nationwide Radio Jamaica, she said: “The aim is to get to the Olympics…that is what everybody is working for.

"I want to focus on that…but I will need to come back first. I’m taking small steps in order to get myself back, and then I will be able to get myself in the mix.”

She added that she is aware of the tough competition that awaits her but she does not pay attention to the athletes but to herself and what she does offer.

However, some of her fans and athletics enthusiasts think it is not a good idea for her to set such lofty ambitions since she has been inactive in the sport for long.

One X (Twitter) user commented on the news saying: “She said this after winning the 400 meters hurdles in 2008 but did not carry through in 2012 and has been relatively inactive since. I wondered if she was alright then, a wondering again.”

Another user said: “Her last appearance was in Daegu in 2011 and that was 13 years ago. She would have to do a lot of work to get in shape to compete against the younger and fitter athletes. Don’t think it is a risk worth taking. Wish her well though.”

However, other fans seemed to have no problem with her goals and one commented on the post saying: “Some are yet to win medals even on church sports day but have the temerity to tell the world and Olympic champion what she can and cannot do.”

Another one said: “Nothing is impossible!!” Another user also supported her and said: “This has been her dream for a while now. Wish her all the best.”

Double world marathon champion Abel Kirui will highlight the Fukuoka Marathon.

The former Olympic Games marathon silver medalist said he will be targeting the podium this time round after failing last year due to an injury.

Kirui finished 5th in 2:07.38 during the race won by Israeli Maru Taferi last year in 2:06.43. Kenyan duo Vincent Raimoi (2:07.01) and Michael Githae (2:07.28) took second and third positions respectively.

“It has been 18 years of running and I am still keen to improve on my last year’s position. Unlike last year when I had an injury, this time round, I am all set,” he added.

The former Chicago Marathon champion said he has been in the career for long because of his discipline and hard work.

“I have trained well this time around here in Iten under the guidance of veteran coach Renato Canova and I have this good feeling that I will finish in the top three positions,” he said.

Kirui, who won the 2012 Olympic Marathon silver medal, said his ambition to represent the country at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris, France is still alive. He said he is still keen to qualify for the Summer Games.

His prayer is to run well in Fukuoka and even get a slot for the Tokyo Marathon next year.

The Olympic Games are a huge opportunity for any athlete and urged his compatriots to take the opportunity seriously if granted the chance.

“If you are selected in Team Kenya please strive to get medals because that is why you are there. This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” he said.

The man, who won back-to-back world marathon titles in 2009 and 2011 in Berlin and Daegu respectively, urged Athletics Kenya to support the athletes by offering better logistical plans.

“Paris will be very competitive and we must all plan early enough,” said Kirui who won the Chicago marathon in 2016 before finishing second the following year.

The senior police officer said he has been able to run for a long time because he is never driven or excited with the earnings.

Margaret Agai and Reuben Kiprop Kerio will be seeking to defend their titles at the Kosice Peace Marathon on Sunday in Slovakia.

Agai won the title in a new course record of 2:24.04, smashing the previous mark of f 2:24:35 held by Ethiopian Ayuntu Tadesse.

Agai, who has a personal best time of 2:23:28 set while winning the 2013 Daegu Marathon, starts as favourite in the race. 

The 2022 Kigali Peace Marathon champion is familiar with the course and will be up against the Ethiopian trio of Adawork Aberta (2:23:39), Ayantu Kumela (2:24:29) and Maeregu Hayelon(2:24:42)among others.

In the men's race, Kerio who will be chasing his fourth title, will be up against three-time Toronto Marathon champion Philemon Rono (2:05:00), Kebede Tulu (2:05:19), and Aychew Bantie (2:06:23).

Kerio, who won the title in 2:07:16 ahead of Ethiopians Bantie Dessie Aychew (2:07:19) and Mehasha Tadesse Yohans (2:07:19), will have a big task shaking off experienced Rono who has dominated many marathons across the world.

Coming into the race with a personal best of 2:07:00 set at the 2019 Eindhoven Marathon when he finished second, Kerio has won the race three times thus 2017, 2021, and 2022.

Kerio has also won in other marathons including victories at Rock and Roll in 2019 and Brescia in 2016. He finished second at the Eindhoven and 2020 Xiamen Marathon. He was fourth and fifth at the 2018 Kosice and Izmir marathons respectively.

Rono, popularly called the Baby Police due to his height and body size, will be the man to watch after winning the Toronto Marathon titles in 2016, 2017, and 2019.

Elsewhere, Kenyans will be chasing the Trento Half Marathon titles in Italy. Alex Korio with a personal best of 58:51 will be the best Kenyan on the course behind Ethiopian Muktar Idris with a PB of 58:40.

The duo will be up against the Kenyan pair of Dickson Nyakundi (60:39) and Bernard Wambua who has 60:51.

In the women's race, Ethiopian Worknesh Degefa Debele with 66:14 leads Kenyans Joyciline Cherotich, and Christine Mutua with Ethiopian Etenesh Diro making his debut in the race.

The Buenos Aires International Marathon takes place on Sunday, September 24 having attracted strong fields in both the men’s and women’s races.

Olympic 10,000m silver medalist Paul Tanui will be making his long-awaited debut over the distance and he will definitely be bracing up for a tough test. 

The 32-year-old intended to make his debut at the Daegu International Marathon but failed to finish the race and he will be hoping to have a better outing in Argentina.

Tanui has only competed once this season, at the Bogota Half Marathon where he finished fourth in a time of 1:05:02.

In the men’s race, there are four other runners who already have records under 2:10, led by Kenyan Cornelis Kibet. Edwin Kibet Kiptoo, runner-up of the 2022 Buenos Aires Marathon, will also be in the hunt for victory this time around.

The list of Argentines includes several of the most notable marathon runners in recent times such as David Rodríguez, Martín Méndez, Miguel Maza, José Félix Sánchez, and Pablo Toledo.

The men's record was set at 2:05:00 by Kenyan Evans Chebet in 2019 and no one has gotten closer to it since then.

Chebet went ahead to become one of the best marathoners in the world by winning major events such as Valencia (2:03:00), New York, and Boston.

In the women’s category, the circuit record was also achieved in 2019 by Rodah Jepkorir Tanui, with 2:25:46. Tanui now returns in search of her third consecutive victory (she also triumphed in 2022).

She will have strong rivals such as her co-patriot Pamela Jepkosgei and Sharon Jemutai Cherop, a former winner of the Boston Marathon, who arrives for the third time in the country

In the end, as he approached the finishing curve in the sunbathed Heroes’ Square, Victor Kiplangat could afford to snatch his national flag and savour his golden moment at the end of the men’s marathon on the morning of the final day of action at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.

For the second time in Budapest, Uganda had a world-beating hero to acclaim, Joshua Cheptegei having claimed the men’s 10,000m crown on the track on day two. Add in Jacob Kiplimo’s victory at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst in February, and the former third force of East African distance running could celebrate a hattrick of global successes in 2023.

Kiplangat hit the gold standard on the international scene at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year. Twelve months on, inspired by Kiplimo, the 23-year-old proved a class apart from the rest of the world, breaking clear from Ethiopia’s Leul Gebresilase with 3km to go and crossing the line in 2:08:53.The winning margin was 26 seconds and it was Israel’s Maru Teferi who claimed the silver, overtaking the tiring Gebresilase on the finishing curve to finish runner up in 2:09:12. In doing so, the 31-year-old – who was outsprinted for European gold by Germany’s Richard Ringer in Munich last year – was rewarded for a turbo-charged recovery after suffering a spectacular fall with 10km to go.

Gebresilase had to settle for bronze in 2:09:19, a disappointment for Ethiopia, who finished first and second in Doha in 2019 and in Oregon last year. His teammate Tamarit Tola, the decisive winner on the Oregon trail, was in the hunt until fading at 33km and eventually dropping out.

After Gebresilase came Lesotho's Tebello Ramakongoana, fourth in a PB 2:09:57, and then Kiplangat’s Ugandan teammate Stephen Kissa, who recovered from a fall of his own to finish fifth in 2:10:22.  

“This has been my dream and it has come true at last,” said Kiplangat, the second Ugandan to take the title, following Stephen Kiprotich’s success in Moscow in 2013.

“Last year I was Commonwealth Games champion and that made me think this year I must become world champion. Now my prayers have been answered and hopefully next year in Paris I will become Olympic champion too.  

“It was hard today because it was so hot but I felt comfortable because I prepared well for this weather. I knew it was possible because I had trained well. It was a dream and a mission and I did it today. 

“When I reached 30km I knew I felt strong and decided to push. I had great energy and that allowed me to go. Then at 35km I could surge again. That was always my plan and I managed to do it.

“I need to thank Jacob Kiplimo. He has given me a lot of motivation and inspired me with his performances. I am so grateful as well for his advice and guidance. Without that, I couldn't have won today.”Without picking himself up so smartly, and moving directly into overdrive, the terrific Teferi would not have claimed a silver medal lining.

“I am glad I managed to fulfil my dream,” he said. “I fell down and tore my vest but I tried to move on to finish the race in the best possible condition.” 

At the start of the race, Ser-Od Bat-Ochir set out like a bat out of hell. The 41-year-old Mongolian powered through the opening 1km in 2:57 and hit 3km in 8:55, 2:05 pace, building up a lead of 27 seconds. 

The most experienced campaigner in the 83-man field, Bat-Ochir was competing in his 11th straight World Championships marathon, his debut having come in Paris when he was a sprightly 21-year-old back in 2003. 

With a highest placing of 19th, in Daegu in 2011, and having finished 26th in Oregon a year ago, Bat-Ochir was never going to maintain his punishing early pace. His lifetime best of 2:08:50 dates back to 2014, his best this year being a more modest 2:24:46.

His determination could not be doubted. To acclimatise to cooler conditions for the Olympic marathon in London in 2012, he moved his family to the north-east of England for a year, training at Morpeth Harriers with some guidance from the great Jim Alder, winner of the Commonwealth Games marathon in 1966 and holder of the world track best for two hours since 1964.

Bat-Ochir kept his foot on the gas for a little while yet, passing 5km in 14:59, 35 seconds clear of Tola. Thereafter, however, the pace started to take its toll.

By 8km, his lead was down to 15 seconds and just past 9km he was swallowed by the pack of major players, with Kenya’s Timothy Kiplagat in the vanguard. Second in Rotterdam in April, the Kenyan led through 10km with a three-second advantage, but chose not to push on.Bat-Ochir started to pay the price for his bold effort. After passing 10km, he ground to a halt, clutching his right hamstring, stretching it out and starting again. Not that he was going to do a Sifan Hassan. After another couple of stops and re-starts, he hobbled off the course for good at 12km.

Meanwhile, back at the sharp end, Kenya’s Joshua Belet led through 15km in 46:09, upping the pace to match Bat-Ochir’s opening kilometre split of 2:57.

There were 30 men still in the lead pack at halfway, with Rwanda’s John Hakizimana at the front in 1:05:02. A surge from Kiplangat at a drinks station, however, succeeded in splintering the group.

Approaching 30km, Kiplangat injected a 2:54 split, drawing Tola towards the front for the first time.

The pack was down to six approaching Heroes’ Square for the penultimate time, then five when Kissa tripped and fell after clipping Kiplangat’s heels.

Then it was down to three: Kiplangat, Tola and Gebresilase. The Ugandan kept his foot down and just after 33km Tola started to drop.

After a split of 2:49, the fastest of the race, it was Kiplangat vs Gebresilase, Tola fading out of contention.

Kiplangat hammered away at the front, Gebresilase in his immediate slipstream, until the pressure finally told with 3km remaining. The Commonwealth Games champion opened a gap that swiftly grew into an unassailable one and Teferi also passed Gebresilase in the closing stages to secure the silver.

Uganda’s global distance running hattrick was securely in the bag.

In Oregon last year, Tamirat Tola ran his way into the World Championships history books with the fastest ever winning time in the men’s marathon: 2:05:36. Thirteen months on, the 31-year-old Ethiopian has the chance to add his name to the select band of marathon men to manage a successful title defence.

Only three have achieved the feat thus far: 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 was a class apart in 2022, the 2016 Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist showing his track pedigree as he blitzed the final 10km circuit in 28:31 to finish a decisive 1:08 clear of compatriot Mosinet Gerenew, also the silver medallist in Doha in 2019.

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 Kuptum (2:01:25) and Geoffrey Kamworor (2:04:23).

Neither of those two Kenyans will be on the start line in Budapest, but the defending champion will face two rivals from Kenya who have run faster than him in 2023. Timothy Kiplagat stands third on the world list with the 2:03:50 he clocked as runner-up to Belgium’s Bashir Abdi in Rotterdam in April. Abdi, the bronze medallist in Eugene, will be absent in Budapest but Kiplagat will be joined on the Kenyan team by Joshua Belet, runner-up at the Hamburg Marathon in April in 2:04:33. The third Kenyan in the field is Titus Kipruto, fourth at this year’s Tokyo Marathon in 2:05:32, who set a PB of 2:04:54 as runner-up in Amsterdam last year.

Ethiopians have finished first and second at the last two World Championships and Tola will have notable support in Budapest. Milkesa Mengesha, the 2019 world U20 cross-country champion, won the Daegu Marathon in April and clocked a best of 2:05:29 in Valencia last December. Chalu Deso won in Tokyo in March in 2:05:22. Leul Gebresilasie finished second and fourth at the last two London Marathons and has a best of 2:05:12. Tsegaye Getachew placed third in Tokyo in April in 2:05:25.

Not that the race looks like being an exclusive battle between the two established East African giants of distance running.

Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands was runner-up to Eliud Kipchoge in the 2021 Olympic marathon in Sapporo. The 34-year-old 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. Morocco’s Mohamed Reda El Aarby placed second in New York in 2021 and fourth last year.

There are a host of other sub-2:06 performers in the field: 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.

Ayale’s Israeli teammate Marum Terifi is the second-highest placed runner from last year’s race on the entry list. He finished 11th in Oregon and then took silver at the European Championships in Munich.

Veteran Spaniard Ayam Lamdassem was sixth in Munich but fifth at global level in the Olympic marathon in 2021. Another 41-year-old on the start line will be the remarkable Ser-od Bat-Ochir. The Mongolian is unlikely to be troubling the medal contenders but will be contesting his 11th successive World Championships marathon – his 16th successive global championship marathon, having also contested the past five Olympic marathons.

Women's marathon

In Oregon last year Gotytom Gebreslase won in the fastest ever time in a women’s championship marathon, 2:18:11, but the Ethiopian will have to beat two of the six fastest women of all time if she is to successfully defend her title in Budapest.

The 2011 world U18 3000m champion was unable to keep up with one of them on the rolling hills of Boston in April, finishing 10th in her only marathon of the year in 2:24:34 – eight places and 2:44 behind compatriot Amane Beriso Shankule, who was runner-up to two-time world champion Hellen Obiri.

At 31, the formerly injury-plagued Beriso produced a stunning performance in Valencia in December last year, upsetting world 10,000m champion Letesenbet Gidey’s world record attempt with a victory in 2:14:58, putting her third on the world all-time list behind Kenyans Brigid Kosgei (2:14:04) and Ruth Chepngetich (2:14:18).

Gebreslase will also have to contend with Rosemary Wanjiru, who moved above Gidey to sixth on the world all-time list with a winning time of 2:16:28 in Tokyo in March. The 28-year-old Kenyan, fourth in the world 10,000m final in Doha in 2019, clocked one of the fastest marathon debuts in history, 2:18:00, as runner-up to Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa in Berlin last year.

In addition to Gebreslase, five other finishers from the top 10 in Oregon last year will be on the start line: bronze medallist Lonah Salpeter from Israel and fourth-placed Nazret Weldu of Eritrea, plus Keira D’Amato of the US (eighth), Japan’s Mizuki Matsuda (ninth) and Mexico’s Citiali Moscote (10th).

The loaded field also includes the second-fastest woman of 2023, Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu, the runner-up to Wanjiru in Tokyo in 2:16:56, who finished fourth in the 5000m in Doha in 2019, and Bahrain’s 2017 marathon world champion Rose Chelimo.

The Ethiopian challenge will be strengthened by world 10km record-holder Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who ran 2:17:23 on her marathon debut last year then won in London later in 2022 before finishing fifth at this year’s edition of the race. Wanjiru, meanwhile, is joined on the Kenyan team by 2014 world half marathon bronze medallist Selly Kaptich, who was third in Berlin in 2019, and Shyline Jepkorir, a winner in Enschede in April in 2:22:45.

At 36, the veteran Kaptich is four years younger than Australia’s two-time Commonwealth medallist Lisa Weightman, who showed her enduring class with 2:23:15 for fourth place in Osaka in February.

Another notable entrant is Poland’s Aleksandra Lisowska, who broke away in the final 2km to win the European title in Munich 12 months ago.

Bat-Ochir made his world debut in Paris back in 2003 and boasts a highest placing of 19th in Daegu in 2011. He finished 26th in Oregon last year, his second-best global performance. His appearance in Budapest will match Portuguese race walker Joao Viera’s tally of 11 – two shy of Spanish race walker Jesus Angel Garcia’s record.

Two-time world marathon champion Abel Kirui has revealed he is two years away from hanging his spikes, but not entirely.

The National Police Service officer has outlined his plan for the next two years as he seeks to retire after the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will coincide with his 20th anniversary in distance running.

Kirui, who won the marathon titles at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and at Daegu two years later, is the proprietor of Grace Joy Educational Centre where, in addition to education, he hopes to churn future athletics prospects.

The 2016 Chicago Marathon champion said: "Having been in the game for 18 years, I feel I should hang my spikes in the next two years and embark on giving back to society."

"It is important for me to help upcoming athletes. I struggled to start my running at Samitui Primary School and, having succeeded in the sport over the years, I feel we must teach children to be patient and love the sport at an early age," he said.

Kirui, the 2008 Vienna Marathon winner, said most young people are always excited when they see him going for morning runs and he wants to capitalise on this to pull as many as possible into the sport.

He said he is already mentoring some pupils at Grace Joy.

"We always sit together. We watch my previous races on Youtube and they are motivated to train harder. I am part of the team. I am always practical to convince them that I am a human being, not an alien from another planet," he explained.

The 2012 Olympic Games marathon silver medalist revealed how he got into Grace Joy.

"I had an idea of establishing a school way back in 2008 when I was in New York. I used to tell my friends that I needed a school and years later, I found this school on sale and I realised my dream," he noted.

"My aim is to create champions at Great Joy Academy, which I refer to as Old Trafford since I am a Manchester United fan."

He said he will use both his resources and influence in the sporting circles to develop the facility into a world-class sporting institution. Kirui said despite being a successful runner, his focus is not just on his sport of choice.

"I have a guy from Nyanza who wants to train these kids in football, a friend from India is keen on making this place a cricket centre while an American friend wants to train them in baseball," said Kirui, who chalked up second place finishes at the 2007 Berlin and 2017 Chicago marathons.

Works have already started at Grace Joy, geared towards the establishment of a running track.

"We will first put murram but in the future, we shall have a tartan track," he said.

The school has six pupils preparing for the Uasin Gishu County Primary Schools track and field championships set for this Friday in Eldoret.

Naomi Jemutai (3,000m), Sarah Patience (100m), Ian Sum (3,000m), Charlotte Talam (5,000m), Mathew Kibet (1,500m) and Eugene Kiplagat will represent the school in the event.

Pius Waliala, a teacher at Grace Joy, observed that the current Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) is all about talent development and that's why they are emphasising on sports.

"Since the founder is a champion, his dream is to empower talented kids. Here, we help the learners explore their talents. We search for talents during game time and expose them through inter-class competitions," said Waliala.

Another teacher/coach, Stella Koech, added: "We have learners who are good in academics, others are good in sports and others are good in both. We always try to make sure that we strike a balance."

Commonwealth Games 10,000m bronze medalist Daniel Simiu has shifted focus on earning a slot in Team Kenya to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest after his victory at the Absa 10km Run Your City title in Gqebera, South Africa.

Simiu, who represented Kenya at the World Cross country Championships in Bathurst, Australia won the South African race with a course record of 27:21, beating hosts Precious Mashele to second in 27:35 and Thabang Mosiako in 27:51.

Another Kenyan, Dennis Kipngetich, finished fourth in 28:01.

"I came here with the purpose of winning and that has come to pass alongside a course record. Running 27 in 10km is easy for me and this has opened the door as I prepare for the World Championships in Budapest," said Simiu.

However, he said the world record of 26:11 by Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei is not in his plans but could give it a try later in his career.

"These things you don't plan but a time will come and they will be shown to the world. I don't normally have plans for myself but the coaches and management plan for me. I am only told that I have to prepare for a certain race," added Ebenyo.

In the women's race, Ethiopian Bekelech Wariyo won the title in 31:37 ahead of Kenyan Fridah Ndinda (31:41), Ugandan Docus Ajok (32:15) as another Kenyan, Diana Chesang, finished seventh in 33:39.

In China, Kenya's Kenyan Philemon Kiptoo and Meseret Abebayehu of Ethiopia were the winners of the Xiamen Marathon.

Running his maiden race in Xiamen, Kipchumba took the men's honours  2:08.04 ahead of Ethiopian Lencho Tesfaye Anbesa and Moroccan Omar Ait Chitachen, who they timed 2:08.29 and 2:08:59 respectively.

As Alemu won the title in 2:24:42, Kenyan Gladys Chesir was second in 2:25:51 followed by Ethiopian Guteni Shone in 2:25:58.

In South Korea, Ethiopian pair of Milkesa Mengesha and Ayantu Abera were the winners of the Daegu Marathon.

In men's race, Tolosa took the title in 2:06:49 followed by Kenyan Stanley Bett (2:07:00) and Ethiopian Berhane Tsegay (2:07.21).

Abera won the women's title in 2:25:44 followed by compatriot medina Deme Armino (2:27:27) as Kenyan Janet Runguru completed the podium places in 2:28.13.

Kenyans ruled the Ibiza Marathon as William Cheboi and Monica Cheruto emerged winners in men's and women's races in 2:11:31 and 2:35:17 respectively.

In Germany, Sebastien Sawe recorded his fourth half marathon victory at the Berlin Half Marathon.

The Rome-Ostia half marathon champion won the title in 59:01 in a Kenyan clean sweep that had Alex Kibet (59:12) in second and Bravin Kiprop in 59:22.

England's Eilish McColgan won the women's race won the title in 65:43 followed by the Ethiopian pair of Tisigie Gebreselama (66:13) and Yelemget Yeregal (66:27).

In France, Kenyan Helah Kiprop won the Paris Marathon in 2:23:19 ahead of Ethiopian Atalel Anmut in 2:23:19 as another Ethiopian, Fikrte Wereta (2:23:22) was third.

The men's title went to Abeye Ayana in 2:07:15 ahead of compatriot Guye Adolain in 2:07:35 and Josphat Boit was third in 2:07:40.

Two-time world marathon champion Abel Kirui returns to Daegu on Sunday, the city where he danced 14 years ago after winning the marathon race at the 2011 World Athletics Championships.

Kirui, who also won the marathon race at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, said he has been training for the Daegu Marathon for four months.

The 2016 Chicago marathon champion said: "I failed to perform well at the Fukuoka Marathon on December 4 due to my involvement in the 2022 general elections (as a police officer). However, I have prepared enough for Daegu especially after the organizers said I should return after 14 years."

The 2012 Olympic marathon silver medalist was scheduled to leave the country last evening. He said he is excited after having a chance to compete in another top marathon, even as his 20-year athletics career heads toward the horizon.

"After Daegu, I want to run in Chicago, go to Tokyo, then the Olympic Games next year in Paris, then go back to Berlin where I started and say bye-bye to sports. I began my marathon running in Berlin in 2006 when I paced for Haile Gebreslassie but decided to finish. It was so painful but I was happy to finish ninth," said Kirui.

"I am foreseeing another victory in Daegu, just like in 2009. It feels great that I am still running and I thank God for that. The majority of my running mates back then have since retired but I still have the energy to run and win. I have remained relevant in the game because of discipline and my love for the sport," he said.

Kirui recalled his rivalry against the likes of Robert 'Mwafrica' Cheruiyot, Martin Lel, Duncan 'Jamaica' Kibet, and Christopher Cheboibch among others.

Meanwhile, Kirui has called for the establishment of more local track events to stem the current situation where youngsters are heading for road races early in their careers.

"A motivating factor in this world is money, that is why many athletes are running in marathons. We want to see sponsors and race organizers pumping more money on track to avoid this mass movement into road running," he said.

Ethiopia’s Amedework Walelegn was a comfortable winner of the Seoul International Marathon on Sunday (19), crossing the finish line of the World Athletics Platinum Label road race in a PB of 2:05:27.

It was his second victory in the Korean capital, having won there just four months ago in 2:06:59 at the JTBC Seoul Marathon. On this occasion, the 2020 world half marathon bronze medallist went much quicker in what was just the third marathon of his career.

He ran as part of a pack for most of the way, passing through 5km in 14:51 and 10km in 29:33 before reaching the half-way mark in about 1:02:30, putting them on course for a finishing time of about 2:05 – just outside the course record of 2:04:43 set last year by Mosinet Geremew.

The pace dropped slightly leading up to 30km, which was reached in 1:29:31 with eight men still in the lead pack. Walelegn then put in a bit of a surge and covered the next 5km segment in 14:34 – the quickest of the race. It was enough to break away from compatriots Shifera Tamru, Haftu Teklu and Olika Adugna Bikila, who formed a three-man chase pack.

With a seven-second lead at 35km and a 27-second lead at 40km, Walelegn continued to pull away from his opponents, and went on to cross the line in 2:05:27.

The three chasers broke up in the final two kilometres. Tamru – a former winner in Seoul (2019) and Daegu (2022) missed out on adding another Korean marathon victory to his collection, taking second place in 2:05:41. Teklu, who was contesting just the second marathon of his career, was third in 2:05:53, finishing comfortably ahead of Bikila (2:06:29).

Only the men’s race had been granted a World Athletics label. The women’s race, entirely a domestic field, was won by Jeong Da-Eun.

Former 100m world champion Yohan Blake, who is also the third fastest man in history over 100m, will hang up his spikes after the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

The 33-year-old Jamaican sprinter revealed to insidethegames that the Paris Olympics will be his “last dance.” The four-time Olympic medalist will be 34 at the start of Paris 2024.

“Doing the 200, 100 and relays simply takes a lot out of you, so these are the events I want to focus on for 2024,” Blake said.

In 2011, at only 21, Blake became the youngest sprinter in history to win the 100m at a World Championships when he claimed gold in Daegu, South Korea.

A year later, Blake went on to win two silver medals at the London 2012 Olympics in the 100m and 200m behind his training partner Usain Bolt, who had been disqualified in Daegu for a false start.

His time of 9.69 seconds over 100m is the third fastest in history, behind only Bolt and Tyson Gay of the U.S.A. He also has the fastest 100m and 200m in Olympic history among athletes who did not win an individual gold medal.

Blake still won two Olympic golds as part of Jamaica’s 4x100m relay teams in London and Rio 2016. He will always be known for his nickname, “The Beast,” which represents his eccentric personality, his impressive physique and aggressive sprinting style.

At the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore., Blake bowed out of the semi-finals in the 100m and 200m, and it was the first time since 2000 that Team Jamaica did not reach the podium in the 4x100m relay.

After a marathon journey to get to Hawaii, a quartet of Ethiopian runners are looking forward to making the most of their first visit to the Aloha State. The group of athletes, coached by Yirefew Birhanu Derb, will line up Sunday before dawn for the 50th running of the Honolulu Marathon, America's fourth-largest marathon. The race features a more robust elite athlete roster following last year's slimmed down line-up coming off the pandemic.

Shifera Tamru and Asefa Mengstu lead the men's elite field, while Abebech Afework and Bere Ayalew are the top entrants in the women's division. After a trip that required more than 21 hours of air travel across multiple flights --from their home base in Addis Ababa to Frankfurt, then Los Angeles before reaching Honolulu-- they arrived late Wednesday. They immediately popped into a McDonald's for dinner, and have been getting acclimated to the local time zone, 13 hours behind Ethiopia.

They were all very happy to be invited to this race because they know it's a very good marathon," Coach Derb told Race Results Weekly during a photo shoot for the athletes on Waikiki Beach. "They are looking forward to racing and happy to have the chance to visit Hawaii."

Tamru, 24, is coming off October  Chicago Marathon, where he clocked 2:07:53 to finish fifth for the second consecutive year. He says that he has recovered well and is ready to go for Sunday. He has won three marathons in his career, all in South Korea: Chunchon in 2018, Seoul in 2019 and Daegu this past April. His personal best of 2:05:18 came at the Dubai Marathon in 2019.

The more experienced Mengstu --who represented Ethiopia as far back as the 2010 IAAF Half Marathon Championships-- has a resume with 13 marathon finishes, including the 2018 Dubai Marathon, where ran his lifetime best of 2:04:06. His most recent race was eight months ago, so he should be well rested. "I'm happy to be here and I'm expecting to win the race on Sunday," he said with a quiet smile as the athletes posed for photographs and chatted with the media.

The two men work well together in training, Derb says. But on Sunday, he points out, "it must be a competition." In addition to each other, they will have to watch out for a strong Kenyan, 36-year-old Barnabas Kiptum, who has a personal best of 2:04:17 (Milan, 2021). He dropped out of the Chicago Marathon this fall, but in July he proved he is still a contender by placing 15th at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon. Stanley Biwott, the 2015 New York City Marathon champion with a 2:03:51 personal best, had planned to run here but scratched.

The women race is likely to come down to a duel between Afework and Ayalew. Like their male teammates, they also have a strong friendship and symbiotic relationship. "They are happy when they are training together, and they can help each other when they compete," Derb said.

Afework, 31, is by far the more seasoned of the two. Her international racing career dates back to the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where she placed 18th. She has 20 marathon finishes to her name, and a personal best of 2:23:33 from Dubai in 2015. "I have a lot of experiences from other races and I'm expecting to use that previous experience to run well on Sunday," said Afework, who is coming off a DNF in October's Lisbon Marathon.

The 23-year-old Ayalew is a comparative novice, with four marathons in the books, but each one has been progressively faster. The most recent, in Eindhoven, Netherlands, in October, resulted in her quickest time yet (2:22:52). "My training has been good and I expect to show that on Sunday," she said.

The women's field also includes Canadian Olympian Lanni Marchant, who won this race a year ago on a short recovery from the New York City Marathon, and Japanese veteran Mai Ito (2:24:42 PB).

Should weather conditions cooperate --it's been very windy the last several days-- both the men's and women's course records could be in play. Titus Ekiru of Kenya holds the men's standard of 2:08:00 from 2019, while his compatriot Brigid Kosgei clocked 2:22:15 in 2017. (Kosgei set the current world record of 2:14:04 two years later.) Prize money will be paid three deep: $25,000-10,000-5,000.

The forecast for Sunday morning calls for a temperature of 74F/23C when the gun goes off at 5 a.m. Most of the race will be run in the dark, as the sun will rise just before 7 a.m. on race day.

Athletes from Ethiopia and Kenya lead the elite field for the historic 50th edition of the Honolulu Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, December 11. Founded in 1973, and historically one of the five largest marathons in the United States based on finishers, this year's race will have its first full elite athletes program since 2019, paying prize money three-deep for both men and women: $25,000-10,000-5,000. The race will be run on its traditional course starting at Ala Moana Beach Park, making a loop through Downtown, wrapping around Diamond Head, going out along the Kalanianaole Highway to Hawaii Kai, then returning to Waikiki to finish in Kapiolani Park just after sunrise.

The race was held virtually in 2020 because of the pandemic, and had only a limited elite athlete program in 2021. Organizers are excited to have athletes this year who are strong enough to challenge the course records which were both set by Kenyans: 2:08:00 (2:07:59.02) by Titus Ekiru in 2019 and 2:22:15 by now world record holder Brigid Kosgei in 2017.

"We are excited to welcome top professional athletes to attack our incredible course records for the 50th anniversary race," said Honolulu Marathon Association President Dr. Jim Barahal. "At its core the Honolulu Marathon is an athletic competition, whether against others or against oneself, and we are excited to see what transpires on December 11."

Shifera Tamru is the leading entrant from Ethiopia. The 24 year-old has a personal best of 2:05:18 (Dubai, 2019) and has three marathon wins and five podium finishes in eight starts. He won the 2022 Daegu Marathon in Korea last April in 2:06:31, and was most recently fifth at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October in 2:07:53. He'll be running the Honolulu Marathon for the first time.

His top rival is likely to be the Kenyan veteran Stanley Biwott, the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon champion who has a personal best of 2:03:51 (London 2016). Biwott, 36, has not completed a marathon since 2018 when he was fourth at the Abu Dhabi Marathon. He returned to racing after a long layoff earlier this year, clocking a 1:01:57 half-marathon in Padova, Italy. He has completed a total of 13 career marathons with four wins and eight podium finishes. Like Tamru, this will be his first run in Honolulu.

The other top contenders on the men's side are Asefa Mengstu of Ethiopia (2:04:06 personal best, Dubai, 2018) and Barnabas Kiptum of Kenya (2:04:17, Milano, 2021). Both men are veterans. Mengstu has completed 13 career marathons with 4 wins and 7 podium finishes. Kiptum has completed 18 marathons in 20 starts with 3 wins and 13 podium finishes. Neither man has ever run the Honolulu Marathon.

Two strong Ethiopian athletes lead the women's field. Abebech Afework (2:23:33 personal best, Dubai, 2015) and Bere Ayalew (2:22:52, Eindhoven, 2022) will both be making their Honolulu Marathon debuts. Afework, 31, is the more experienced athlete. She has completed 20 marathons in 21 starts, and has racked up three wins and seven podium finishes. She is coming back from a DNF at the Lisbon Marathon in October. Ayalew, 23, has only run four marathons. However, she's made the podium at all four including a second place finish at the Eindhoven Marathon in October of this year where she ran her personal best. Both athletes will be making their Honolulu Marathon debuts.

Reigning Honolulu Marathon champion, Lanni Marchant of Canada, is also in the field. The 38 year-old, who ran both the 10,000m and the marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympics, won last year's race in 2:41:25 on very limited training after finishing 11th at the TCS New York City Marathon a month before In her long marathon career, which began in 2011, Marchant has completed 15 marathons and made the podium three times. A criminal appeal lawyer based in Denver, she is the former Canadian record holder with a 2:28:00 personal best.

"It was a struggle out there," Marchant said after last year's race. "I dehydrated quick. Those last few miles I really had to find my purpose for running. I just got myself across the finish line."

Rounding out the elite field is Mai Ito of Japan. The 38 year-old --who competed in the 2016 Olympic Marathon and both the 2011 and 2015 World Championships Marathons-- has completed all 15 marathons she has started. Her personal best of 2:24:42 was set in Nagoya in 2015. This will be her first run ever at the Honolulu Marathon.

The course record and the Turkish allcomers’ record will be targeted at the N Kolay Istanbul Marathon on November 6. To achieve these goals for the men’s race organizers have put together an elite field with very good strength in depth. Seven men are on the start list who feature personal bests of sub 2:08. Bahrain’s Marius Kimutai heads the current list with a time of 2:05:47.

In the women’s race Kenyan Agnes Barsosio is the fastest on paper with a PB of 2:20:59. Turkey’s premier marathon race, which uniquely starts on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and then leads the runners over the July 15 Martyrs Bridge into the European part of the city, will be staged in Istanbul for the 44th time. A total of 60,000 runners are expected to take part including races at shorter distances.

“The world's only intercontinental marathon is being conducted for the 44th time. In the race which starts in Asia and ends in Europe with the bridge connecting two continents, the participants enjoy Istanbul, the Bosphorus, and the historical peninsula of the 2000-year-old city with its finish in Sultanahmet Square, the historical center of Istanbul. A fast race is anticipated among the elite athletes competing in the race,“ said Renay Onur, the Race Director from Spor Istanbul. His organizing team achieved a remarkable feat by staging the N Kolay Istanbul Marathon and its sister race, the N Kolay Istanbul Half Marathon, throughout the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 with an exceptional effort. Both events are Elite Label Road Races of World Athletics, the international athletics federation.

Back in 2019 Kenyan Daniel Kibet established the current record of 2:09:44 while Turkey’s allcomers’ record currently stands at 2:09:27. These are the times organizers had in mind when they assembled the men’s elite field. Former Kenyan Marius Kimutai ran his PB of 2:05:47 when he was third in Amsterdam in 2016. On two more occasions the 29 year-old achieved times faster than 2:07. Competing for Bahrain for the first time he took the Rotterdam Marathon with 2:06:04 in 2017 and a year ago he finished sixth in Barcelona with 2:06:54.

Two other athletes on Istanbul’s start list have run sub 2:07 times: Kenya’s Samuel Kosgei, who is the former 25k world record holder (1:11:50 in Berlin in 2010), won the 2021 Barcelona Marathon with 2:06:04 and Ethiopia’s Abayneh Ayele clocked 2:06:45 in Dubai where he was sixth in 2016. In the same year Ayele was fourth in the World Half Marathon Championships, where he just missed out in the fight for the bronze medal against Britain’s Mo Farah. Both were given the same time of 59:59.

Tadesse Mamo is a runner who has shown very promising form earlier this year. The Ethiopian ran the best race of his career when he took second in Rome with 2:07:04, which was his first sub 2:10 time. Meanwhile Robert Kipkemboi returns to the N Kolay Istanbul Marathon where he was the runner-up a year ago. Showing one of his best performances he clocked 2:10:23 in 2021 while his personal best is 2:07:09 from Seoul in 2019. The other two runners with PBs of sub 2:08 on the start list are Ethiopia’s Alemayehu Mekonen and Evans Kiplagat of Azerbaijan with 2:07:23 and 2:07:46 respectively.

In contrast to the men’s race Istanbul’s world-class course record of 2:18:35 set by Ruth Chepngetich in 2018 will most likely remain unchallenged. Fellow-Kenyan Agnes Barsosio is the fastest runner on the women’s elite start. She clocked 2:20:59 when she finished second in Paris in 2017. While this was five years ago and she turned 40 earlier this year Barsosio showed excellent form this spring: She won the Nairobi Marathon, running 2:24:45 despite the high altitude.

Three other athletes with personal bests of sub 2:27 have achieved strong results and PBs this spring: Sechale Dalasa was the winner of the Rome Marathon with 2:26:09 while fellow-Ethiopian Melesech Tsegaye clocked 2:24:47 for fourth place in Milan. Despite her age of 34 Judith Jerubet is still a newcomer in international road running. She ran her first major race in 2021 and this year improved to 2:26:17 when she was third in Daegu, South Korea.

Trying a comeback Turkey’s national record holder Sultan Haydar surprisingly entered the N Kolay Istanbul Marathon more than six years after competing in the Rio Olympic Marathon where she finished in 111th position.

The 35 year-old established the current national record of 2:24:44 back in 2015 in Dubai. It will be interesting to see what Sultan Haydar can achieve on home soil in Istanbul after such a long break.

Ruth Chepngetich and Seifu Tura will defend their Bank of America Chicago Marathon titles on Sunday (9) but will take on stronger fields than they faced last year at the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race.

Chepngetich, the 2019 world champion, has won six of the eight marathons she has completed to date, and has finished on the podium in the other two. The Kenyan’s most recent victory came in Nagoya earlier this year when she smashed the course record with 2:17:18, just 10 seconds she of the PB she set in Dubai in 2019.

She has set PBs at a range of distances this year, on the road and track, so she could be in form to improve on her marathon best this weekend, provided she doesn’t go out too hard like she did in Chicago last year.

Ruti Aga looks to be one of Chepngetich’s strongest opponents. The Ethiopian has won just one marathon to date, but she has reached the podium in six other races, including New York in 2019 and three times in Berlin. Her PB of 2:18:34 was set in the German capital four years ago, while her last completed marathon was in Valencia in 2020.

Kenya’s Celestine Chepchirchir heads into this weekend’s race in good form, having taken a few minutes off her PB to finish fourth in Seoul earlier this year in 2:20:10.

Compatriot Vivian Kiplagat won in Milan earlier this year in a PB of 2:20:18. She will be keen to improve upon her fifth-place finish in Chicago last year.

Haven Hailu is still a relative newcomer to the marathon, having contested just four races at the distance. She won in Rotterdam earlier this year in 2:22:01, not far off her 2:20:19 PB set in Amsterdam last year. Fellow Ethiopian Waganesh Mekasha is also one to watch. A 2:22:45 performer at her best, she will be contesting her first marathon in the US.

US women occupied two places on the podium in Chicago last year, and this Sunday Emily Sisson hopes to follow in those footsteps. A relative newcomer to the marathon, she clocked 2:23:08 on her debut at the distance in London in 2019. Earlier this year she broke the US half marathon record with 1:07:11 and has also set PBs for 15km, 20km and five miles.

One year on from his Chicago Marathon triumph, Tura returns to the US in good form as the Ethiopian aims to become the first back-to-back winner of the men’s race for more than a decade.

Tura, whose PB of 2:04:29 was set in Milan last year, started 2022 with a half marathon PB of 58:36 in Ras Al Khaimah. He followed that with a runner-up finish in Paris (2:05:10) and then went on to place sixth at the World Championships in Oregon.

Compatriot Herpasa Negasa has the fastest PB of the field, having clocked 2:03:40 in Dubai in 2019. He came close to that when finishing second in Seoul earlier this year in 2:04:49, but he is yet to win a marathon so he will be highly motivated this weekend.

Bernard Koech is another experienced marathon runner who has not yet won a race over the classic distance. He hasn’t raced since last October when he finished second in Amsterdam in a PB of 2:04:09.

Fellow Kenyan Elisha Rotich, meanwhile, is a winner of six international marathons. His most recent race over the distance was his 2:04:21 victory in Paris last year.

Former 1500m specialist Dawit Wolde, who represented Ethiopia in that event at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, has transitioned to the marathon in recent years. He was third in Rotterdam last year in 2:04:27 and has finished on the podium in his past four marathons, including a win in Prague in 2019.

Stephen Kissa is even newer to the marathon. The Ugandan track specialist made a promising debut in Hamburg earlier this year, setting a national record of 2:04:48, which is also the fastest season’s best of this weekend’s line-up.

Others to look out for include 2021 Boston winner Benson Kipruto, Ethiopian half marathon record-holder Jemal Yimer, Daegu marathon champion Shifera Tamru, fellow Ethiopian Abayneh Degu, and Kenya’s Eric Kiptanui.

Elite fields

Women

Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:17:08

Ruti Aga (ETH) 2:18:34

Celestine Chepchirchir (KEN) 2:20:10

Vivian Kiplagat (KEN) 2:20:18

Haven Hailu Desse (ETH) 2:20:19

Waganesh Mekasha (ETH) 2:22:45

Emily Sisson (USA) 2:23:08

Delvine Meringor (ROU) 2:24:32

Laura Thweatt (USA) 2:25:38

Sara Vaughn (USA) 2:26:53

Susanna Sullivan (USA) 2:26:56

Diane Nukuri (USA) 2:27:50

Men

Herpasa Negasa (ETH) 2:03:40

Bernard Koech (KEN) 2:04:09

Elisha Rotich (KEN) 2:04:21

Dawit Wolde (ETH) 2:04:27

Seifu Tura (ETH) 2:04:29

Stephen Kissa (UGA) 2:04:48

Abayneh Degu (ETH) 2:04:53

Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:05:13

Shifera Tamru (ETH) 2:05:18

Eric Kiptanui (KEN) 2:05:47

Kyohei Hosoya (JPN) 2:06:35

Hamza Sahli (MAR) 2:07:15

Amanuel Mesel (ERI) 2:08:17

Hiroto Fujimagari (JPN) 2:08:20

Guojian Dong (CHN) 2:08:26

Kiyoshi Koga (JPN) 2:08:30

Riki Nakanishi (JPN) 2:08:51

Jemal Yimer (ETH) 2:08:58.

The 2022 Bank of America Chicago Marathon got a boost in quality yesterday when race organizers announced some significant additions to the elite fields, led by Ethiopian national record holder Jemal Yimer on the men’s side and 2:18:34 marathon Ruti Aga on the women’s side. Aga is the more accomplished marathoner but she is the bigger question mark as she dropped out of New York last year and hasn’t raced at all in 2022 whereas Yimer, who has recorded marathon finishers only in Boston (3rd and 8th the last 2 years), has been on fire on the roads this summer.

Below we show you the new additions to the elite fields (We present them in order from most likely to win to least likely) and after that you will see the full elite fields.

The 2022 Bank of America Chicago Marathon got a boost in quality yesterday when race organizers announced some significant additions to the elite fields, led by Ethiopian national record holder Jemal Yimer on the men’s side and 2:18:34 marathon Ruti Aga on the women’s side. Aga is the more accomplished marathoner but she is the bigger question mark as she dropped out of New York last year and hasn’t raced at all in 2022 whereas Yimer, who has recorded marathon finishers only in Boston (3rd and 8th the last 2 years), has been on fire on the roads this summer.

Below we show you the new additions to the elite fields (We present them in order from most likely to win to least likely) and after that you will see the full elite fields.

Men

Jemal Yimer (ETH) –  2:08:58 pb (Boston, 2022).  26-years-old. Half marathon ace. 26:54 10,000 pb. Ethiopian national record holder in the half marathon, 58:33, which he ran in Valencia in 2018. Trivial: Did you know 12 Kenyans have run faster than that? His two marathon finishes have been in Boston where he was third in 2021 and 8th this year. In good form this summer. 3rd at Peachtree (27:50), 1st at Boilermaker (42:38), 1st in Larne half in 59:04 on August 28th.

Shifera Tamru (ETH) – 2:05:18 pb. Only 23. Won Seoul in 2019 (2:05:29) and Daegu (2:06:31) earlier this year. 5th in Chicago last year. Has ran under 2:06 in 4 of last 5 marathon.

Bernard Koech (KEN) – 2:04:09 pb (Amsterdamn 2021). 34-years-old. Has 5 times run run under 2:07 incluing twice in the 2:04s including in his debut in Dubain in 2013 without super shoes. Has never won a marathon but was s2nd in 2021 Amsterdam and 2014 Rotterdam. No races at all in 2022.

Guojian Dong (CHN) – 35-years-old. Three-time Olympian (2012, 2016 and 2020 marathon); five-time national champion on the track in the 10,000 and 5000m; marathon personal best 2:08:28 (Berlin, 2019). Chinese record is 2:08:15.

Women

Ruti Aga (ETH) – 2:18:34 pb (2018 Berlin). 28-years old. Hasn’t broken 2:20 in her last 6 marathons since running 2:18 in Berlin but did win Tokyo in 2019 in 2:20:40. DNF in NY last year. No results in 2022. Also 2018 Tokyo Marathon and Berlin Marathon runner-up.

Delvine Meringor (ROU) – 2:24:32 pb. 30-years-old. Former Kenyan. 2022 Los Angeles Marathon champion, and 2022 Romanian national champion in the 5000m and 10,000m.

Sarah Inglis (GBR) – 2:29:41 pb (Chandler, 2020). 31-years-old. 2022 Commonwealth Games competitor in the 5000m and 10,000m.

Elisha Rotich (KEN), Abayneh Degu (ETH), Amanuel Mesel (ERI), Masaya Taguchi (JPN), Jianhua Peng (CHN), Shaohui Yang (CHN), Steven Martinez (USA) have also been added to the 2022 elite open division race. Fidel Aguilar (MEX), Jose Pulido (USA) and Hannah Dederick (USA) have been added to the 2022 elite wheelchair competition.

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is thrilled to welcome elite athletes from around the world to its start line on Sunday, October 9. In addition to the previously announced field, the following athletes will be competing in 2022:

Bernard Koech (KEN) – Runner-up of the 2021 Amsterdam Marathon in a personal best of 2:04:09. Koech finished fifth in Chicago in 2014.

Shifera Tamru (ETH) – 2022 Daegu Marathon champion and 2019 Seoul Marathon champion with a personal best of 2:05:18 (Dubai, 2019). Tamru finished fifth in Chicago last fall.

Guojian Dong (CHN) – Three-time Olympian (2012, 2016 and 2020 marathon); five-time national champion on the track in the 10,000 and 5000m; marathon personal best 2:08:28 (Berlin, 2019).

Jemal Yimer (ETH) – Ethiopian national record holder in the half marathon, 58:33, and the 12th fastest half marathon runner in history; third place finish in the 2021 Boston Marathon (his marathon debut); marathon personal best, 2:08:58 (Boston, 2022).

Ruti Aga (ETH) – 2019 Tokyo Marathon champion and 2018 Tokyo Marathon and Berlin Marathon runner-up; marathon personal best, 2:18:34 (Berlin, 2018).

Delvine Meringor (ROU) – 2022 Los Angeles Marathon champion, and 2022 Romanian national champion in the 5000m and 10,000m; marathon personal best, 2:24:32 (Siena, 2021); the Chicago Marathon will be her third marathon.

Sarah Inglis (GBR) – 2022 Commonwealth Games competitor in the 5000m and 10,000m; marathon personal best, 2:29:41 (Chandler, 2020).

Elisha Rotich (KEN), Abayneh Degu (ETH), Amanuel Mesel (ERI), Masaya Taguchi (JPN), Jianhua Peng (CHN), Shaohui Yang (CHN), Steven Martinez (USA) have also been added to the 2022 elite open division race. Fidel Aguilar (MEX), Jose Pulido (USA) and Hannah Dederick (USA) have been added to the 2022 elite wheelchair competition.

Previously announced athletes Jeison Suarez (COL), Jerrell Mock (USA), Colin Mickow (USA) and Hiroki Nishida (JPN) have withdrawn from the 2022 event.

Tune into the 2022 Bank of America Chicago Marathon

Watch Live

NBC 5 Chicago and Telemundo Chicago will provide complete live local TV coverage of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in English and Spanish from 7 a.m. – 11 a.m. CST on Sunday, October 9. Expert analysts Ed Eyestone, Carrie Tollefson and Amanda McGrory will join Marion Brookes and Leila Rahimi on NBC 5 Chicago, with Juan Luis Barrios, Luis Posso and Saul Mendoza joining Anabel Monge and Héctor Lozano on Telemundo Chicago.

Covering the leaders and reporting along the course will be U.S. American Marathon Record Holder Keira D’Amato for the women’s elite open division and Olympian Diego Estrada for the men’s elite open division. A talented array of NBC and Telemundo reporters will join the broadcast at the start, finish and along the course.

The 44th running of the race will also be streamed live nationally on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 11 a.m. CST, as well as on nbcchicago.com and telemundochicago.com from 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. CST.

International viewers can watch the race via a variety of global broadcast partners, including Eurosport, SuperSport, ESPN Latin America, Sky New Zealand, Astro Malaysia and SMG China. Viewers are encouraged to check their local listings for timing.

Listen Live

670 The Score Sports Radio will provide complete live radio coverage of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on race day from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. CST. Fans of the sport can listen to Chicago’s Josh Liss joined by analysts Greg Meyer, Jenny Spangler, Treniere Moser and Chris Wehrman for a play-by-play of all the action. Listen from anywhere on Sunday, October 9 at 670thescore.com/listen.

About the Bank of America Chicago Marathon

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon welcomes thousands of participants from more than 100 countries and all 50 states, including a world-class elite field, top regional and Masters runners, race veterans, debut marathoners and charity participants. The race’s iconic course takes participants through 29 vibrant neighborhoods on an architectural and cultural tour of Chicago. The 2022 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, a member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, will start and finish in Grant Park beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 9. In advance of the race, a three-day Abbott Health & Fitness Expo will be held at McCormick Place Convention Center Thursday, October 6 through Saturday, October 8. For more information about the event and how to get involved, go to chicagomarathon.com.

Kenya's former Olympic and three-time world 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop has vowed to make a successful return to the track after his four-year doping ban elapsed on Wednesday.

Kiprop, 32, was suspended in April 2019 for taking the blood-boosting drug EPO but he has always protested his innocence.

"I was falsely accused of doping. But I have accepted my fate, served my time and now I am ready to return to the track," he told AFP.

He said his main target was the World Championships at Hayward Field, Oregon in June.

Kiprop became the first Kenyan to win the 1500m gold at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea in 2011.

He went to win two more world titles in 2013 and 2015 to add to the 2008 Olympic gold medal he was awarded after the original winner, Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain, tested positive for doping.

Kiprop, a police chief inspector, said he will make his domestic return at the Kenyan police track and field championships in Nairobi on April 6, where he will seek selection for the national championships and the world athletics trials.

But he will skip the 1500m and instead compete in the 800m, which was his initial event as a junior athlete.

"I want to start small and win for my employers, the Kenya police, who diligently stood by me all the four years," said Kiprop.

"I want to begin like an amateur," he quipped. "It is going to be a hard time since I have to shed my weight by five kilogrammes (11 pounds). I want to post good times and progressively go up the ladder and qualify to represent Kenya again."

"I don't anticipate any opposition from the Kenyan athletics federation, which have in the past refused to accept athletes who have served major doping suspensions from competing for the country due to the negative publicity that accompanies them."

Kiprop said he has undergone four out-of-competition tests since December, and was happy to be back in the approved list of Anti-Doping Association of Kenya (ADAK) accredited athletes.

World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that Trinidad and Tobago’s Olympic and world 4x400m medalist Deon Lendore has died at the age of 29 in a car accident.

The three-time Olympian, who anchored his nation to relay bronze at the 2012 Games in London, also claimed two world indoor 400m bronze medals and a 4x400m medal of the same color.

Born in Mt Hope on October 28, 1992, the sprinter started out at local club Abilene Wildcats before moving to the United States to take up a scholarship at Texas A&M University.

He made his global debut at the 2009 World U18 Championships in Bressanone and competed at the World U20 Championships in Moncton in 2010. The following year he ran at his first senior World Athletics Championships in Daegu and less than 12 months later, at the age of 19, he made his Olympic debut in London.  

After racing in the 400m heats in the UK capital, Lendore helped the Trinidad and Tobago team to two national 4x400m records, as they first won their heat and then improved again to claim the bronze medal behind the Bahamas and USA, with Lendore holding off Great Britain’s Martyn Rooney on the anchor leg.

He dipped under 45 seconds for 400m for the first time in 2013, running 44.94 to claim NCAA silver, and improved to his PB of 44.36 the following year. Lendore was unbeaten in individual events in 2014, counting the NCAA 400m titles among his victories, and he later received The Bowerman award. The 45.03 PB he ran indoors that year remains the national record.

Lendore claimed his first world medal in 2015, when he formed part of Trinidad and Tobago’s silver medal-winning squad in Beijing, and he secured two world indoor medals the following year, gaining bronze in both the 400m and 4x400m in Portland. He repeated his 400m feat indoors in Birmingham two years later and in 2019 he ran the opening leg as part of Trinidad and Tobago's winning 4x400m performance at the World Athletics Relays in Yokohama.

After his second Olympic appearance in Rio in 2016, Lendore competed at his third Games in Tokyo in 2021, helping his team to eighth place in the 4x400m final and reaching the 400m semifinals. He went on to finish third in the Wanda Diamond League 400m final in Zurich last September.

"Words cannot adequately express our sadness at the devastating and untimely loss of three-time Olympian and Olympic and World Championships bronze medalist Deon Lendore, who has been an inspiration and motivation to us all both on and off the track," read a tribute from the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee.

"Deon has flown the Trinidad and Tobago flag with pride, honor, patriotism and an indomitable will throughout his career while helping and inspiring many. We express our deepest and heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, teammates, coaches, Abilene Club, Community of Arima and all who he would have touched.

"It is a sad day for the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic and Commonwealth Sport Movement."

With less than three weeks to go until the third edition of the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon, race organiser, Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), and race title sponsor, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), have confirmed four more elite athletes that will be vying for the top spot in the highly anticipated race on November 26.

Following the recent announcement of the first group of world-class athletes, the latest additions to the elite category of male runners include the reigning 2019 ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon winner, Reuben Kiprop Kipyego.

Returning to try and beat his personal best race time of 2:03:55 while defending his crown, the Kenyan is ranked 20th in the world, and his recent successes include a second-place finish in 2019’s Buenos Aires Marathon and the 2021 Milano Marathon.

He will be joined by fellow Kenyan Abel Kirui, whose personal best record of 2:05:04 makes him a serious contender in Abu Dhabi. He has won both the 2009 Berlin Marathon and 2011 Daegu Marathon and was placed 4th in 2018’s London Marathon.

The confirmed female elite athletes include Kenya’s Vivian Kiplagat, who returns to the UAE in a bid to defend her 2019 ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon win. Kiplagat was also crowned the winner of the 2019 Milano Marathon and the 2018 Buenos Aires Marathon and will be going all out to beat her personal best record of 2:22:11.

Joining her will be Ethiopian, Alemu Megertu, who is currently ranked 40th in the world with a personal best time of 2:21:10. Her marathon achievements include 1st place in 2019’s Rome Marathon and 2nd place in the 2019 Frankfurt Marathon.

Speaking on the confirmation of the latest world-class athletes, Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said: "As we return for our much-anticipated third edition, this year’s elite level line-up will see some of the world’s best male and female runners heading to Abu Dhabi to compete for the top prize.

With two ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon champions returning in 2021 to defend their title, we can look ahead to an incredible display of competition and talent, further enhancing the event’s global reputation as one of the most prestigious races to participate at. We are proud that they have chosen our wonderful city and this fantastic event, and we look forward to welcoming them to the start line in Abu Dhabi."

Prior to the race, on November 22-25, a vibrant race village will be hosted at the ADNOC HQ Campus, welcoming participants and supporters with photo opportunities, family entertainment and a dedicated race pack collection area.

Open to 6 to 70 - year-olds and runners of all fitness levels, the family-friendly event aims to promote healthy lifestyles and elevate the physical wellbeing of the Abu Dhabi community. To register for the 2021 ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon, please visit:https://www.adnocabudhabimarathon.com/register-now/

The 2021 Paris Marathon will take place on Sunday 17th October 2021. The Paris Marathon is one of Europe's most popular sporting events. Your running journey will start on Les Champs Elysées before taking you on a truly spectacular journey through the City of Light. 

Marathon de Paris 2021 has announced the Elite Field!

Women race:

JEPTOO PRISCAH (KEN) 1984 - 2h20’14

Vice Championne Olympique du Marathon 2012 - 2h23’12

Vice Championne du Monde du Marathon 2011 - 2h29’00

1st Marathon de New York 2013 - 2h25’07

1st Marathon de Londres 2013 - 2h20’15

3rd Marathon de Londres 2012 - 2h20’14

4th Marathon d’Amsterdam 2016 - 2h25’57

MEKASHA WAGNESH (ETH) 1992 - 2h22’45

4th Marathon de Dubai 2019 - 2h22’45

2nd Marathon de Dongying 2019 - 2h23’19

1st Semi Marathon de Marrakech 2013 - 68’48

2nd Marathon de Shanghai 2019 - 2h25’37

MELAKU SIFAN (ETH) 2000 - 2h23'49"

3rd Marathon de Seville 2020 - 2h23’49

5th Marathon d’Istanbul 2019 - 2h25’29

4th Marathon de Seville 2019 - 2h26’46

KWAMBAI ANTONINA (KEN) 1992 - 2h24'40"

5th Marathon de Xiamen 2020 - 2h24’20

1st Semi marathon de Paris 2018 - 68’07

5th Marathon de Siene 2021 - 2h24’20

2nd Semi Marathon de Naples 2018 - 69’07

MEMUYE TIGIST (ETH) 1994 - 2h24'23"

2nd Marathon de Geneve 2021 - 2h24’23

2nd Marathon de Hannovre 2019 - 2h27’35

1st Marathon de Zhengzhou 2017 - 2h27’39

4th Marathon de Xiamen 2018 - 2h31’48

CHEKOLE YESHI (ETH) 1997 - 2h24’28

3rd Marathon de Abu Dhabi 2019 - 2h24’28

7th Semi Marathon de Valence 2018 - 67’58

9th Semi Marathon de Copenhague 2017 - 69’13

DINKESA YENENESH (ETH) 1994 - 2h24’50

6th Marathon de Milan 2021 - 2h24’50

3rd Marathon de Seville 2019 - 2h25’54

1st Semi Marathon de Rabat 2016 - 69’39

MEKONNEN ZINASH (ETH) 1996 2- h24’55

11th Marathon de Valence 2019 - 2h24’55"

11th Championnats du Monde Semi Marathon 2018 - 68’30

4th Marathon de Seoul 2019 - 2h25’42

7th Marathon d’Amsterdam 2018 - 2h25’55

JIMMA FANTU (ETH) 1987 - 2h26’14

14th Marathon de Dubai 2015 - 2h26’14

3rd Marathon de Xiamen 2016 - 2h26’53

2nd Marathon de Przgues 2014 - 2h27’3

7th Marathon de Dubai 2014 - 2h27’36

MELESESH TSEGAYE (ETH) 1994 - 2h26’44

2nd Marathon de Barcelone 2017 - 2h26’44

SHEMSU SOFIYA (ETH) 1994 - 2h27’51

6th Marathon de Istanbul 2019 - 2h27’51

2nd10km de Paderborn 2017 - 31’23

2nd 10km du Cape Town 2019 - 32’09

MULISA AYANA (ETH) 1993 - 2h28’02

8th Marathon de Prague 2021 - 2h28’02

6th Marathon de Seville,2019 - 2h28’49

3rd Marathon de Copenhague 2019

1st 10km de Langreo 2019 - 32’46

BERTONE CATHERINE (ITA) 1972 - 2h28’34

6th Marathon de Berlin 2017 - 2h28’34

8th Championnats d’Europe Marathon - Berlin 2018 - 2h30’06

4th Marathon de Prague 2016 - 2h30’19

RUGURU JANET (KEN) 1993 - 70’19

1st Semi Marathon de Tallin 2019 - 70’19

4th 0km de Valenciennes 2019 - 32’38

1st 10km d’Arras 2019 - 2019

CHESEREK BEATRICE (KEN) 1998 - 70’31

1st Semi Marathon de Goteborg 2021 - 70’31

 

Men race:

KIRWA NICOLAS (KEN) 1994 - 2h05’01

5th Marathon de Milan 2021 - 2h05’01

5th Marathon de Lisbonne 2018 - 2h08’22

5th Marathon de Chuncheon 2019 - 2h10’24

6th Marathon de Madrid 2019 - 2h11’01

ROTICH ELISHA (KEN) 1990 - 2h05’18

3rd Marathon d’Amsterdam 2019 - 2h05’18

2nd Marathon de Seoul 2019 - 2h06’12

10th Marathon de Milan 2021 - 2h06’44

1st Marathon de Eindhoven 2018 - 2h07’32

5th Semi Marathon de Lille 2019 - 60’42

FUFA ABDI (ETH) 1995 - 2h05’57

2nd Marathon de Sienne 2021 - 2h05’57

14th Marathon de Dubai 2020 - 2h07’51

5th Marathon de Shanghai 2018 - 2h09’24

3rd Marathon de Hangzhou 2017 - 2h10'41

KIMURER JOEL (KEN) 1988 - 2h05’19

8th Marathon de Milan 2021 - 2h05’19

2nd Marathon de Abu Dhabi 2019 - 2h06’21

1st Semi Marathon de Valence 2012 - 59’36

1st Marathon de Gongju 2013 - 2h07'48

CHEBOGUT STEPHEN (KEN) 1985 -  2h05’52

1st Marathon d’Eindhoven 2015 - 2h05’52

2nd Marathon de Paris 2017 - 2h06’57

7th Marathon de Amsterdam 2017 - 2h07’30

3rd Marathon de Hambourg 2015 - 2h08’01

1st Semi Marathon de Lille 2015 - 60’19

ABRAHA GEBRETSADIK. (ETH) 1992 - 2h06’23

3rd Marathon d’Amsterdam 2012 - 2h06’23

2nd Marathon de Daegu 2014 - 2h07’06

1st Marathon de Guangzhou 2019 - 2h08’04

5th Marathon de Paris 2016 - 2h08’17

1st Marathon de Prague 2017 - 2h08’47

KIPTUM MIKE (KEN) 1992 - 2h06’22

3rd Marathon de Seoul 2019 - 2h06’22

3rd Marathon de Guangzhou 2019 - 2h08’58

14th Marathon de Milan 2021 - 2h09’08

1st Semi Marathon de Porto 2018 - 60’53

MOGES ASHENAFI (ETH) 1994 - 2h06'12

6th Marathon de Valence 2019 - 2h06’12

8th Semi Marathon de Barcelone 2019 - 61’22

10th Semi Marathon de Barcelone 2020 - 62’15

2nd 10km de Paderborn 2019 - 27’55

2nd 15km du Puy en Velay 2019 - 43'11

YERSSIE BESHA (ETH) 1998 - 2h06’34

11th Marathon de Dubai 2020 - 2h06’34

9th Marathon de Milan 2021 - 2h06’40

3rd Marathon de Chuncheon 2019 - 2h08’37

GACHAGA MORRIS (KEN) 1995 - 2h06’24

7th Marathon d’Amsterdam 2019 - 2h06’24

4th Marathon Schneider Electric de Paris 2019 - 2h07’46

5th Semi Marathon de Ras Al Khaimah 2019 - 59’22

5th Semi Marathon de Ras Al Khaimah 2018 - 59’36

6th Semi Marathon de Manama 2019 - 60’09

KIPSAMBU HILLARY (KEN) 1985 - 2h07’20

9th Marathon d’Amsterdam 2018 - 2h07’20

3rd Marathon de Barcelone 2018 - 2h08’53

12th Marathon dAmsterdam 2017 - 2h09’28

1st Marathon de Kosice 2019 - 2h09’33

9th Marathon Schneider Electric de Paris 2019 - 2h11’53

GETACHEW TSEGAYE (ETH) 1996 - 2h06’50

8th Marathon de Valence 2019 - 2h06’50

4th Marathon de Shanghai 2018 - 2h09’24

1st Marathon d’Izmir 2021 - 2h09’35

LEMA ALEMAYEHU (ETH) 1997 - 2h07’23

9th Marathon de Seville 2020 - 2h07’23

1stMarathon de Leiden 2019 - 2h16’08

KIPYEGO BARSELIUS (KEN) 1993 - 2h07’58

5th Marathon Schneider Electric Paris 2019 - 2h07’58

4th Marathon de Seoul 2018 - 2h08’42

1st Semi Marathon de Usti Nad Labem 2017 - 59’14

2nd Semi Marathon de Prague 2018 - 59’30

KIMUTAI EDWIN (KEN) 1993 - 2h08’15

4th Marathon de Geneve 2021 - 2h08’15

2nd Semi Marathon de Karlovy Vary 2017 - 60’57

CHADHI HASSAN (FRA) 1989 - 2h09’15

22nd Marathon de Valence 2020 - 2h09’15

7th Marathon de Seville 2019 - 2H09’55

12th Marathon de Paris 2017 - 2h10’20

4th Semi Marathon de Paris 2015 - 61'42 

DIDA BONSA (ETH) 1995 - 2h09’04

2nd Marathon de Hengshui 2019 - 2h09’04

1st Marathon de Madrid 2017 - 2h10’16

2nd Marathon de Houston 2020 - 2h10’37

2nd Semi Marathon de Lille 2015 - 60’19

CARVALHO FLORIAN (FRA) 1989 - 2h10’24

34th Marathon de Valence 2020 - 2h10’24

11th Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris 2019 - 2h12’53

27th Championnats du Monde Semi Marathon 2020 - 60’58

4th Harmonie Mutuelle Semi Paris 2021 - 61’05

Champion de France 10000m 2021 - 27’55’'68

DURAND YOHAN (FRA) 1985 - 2h12’27

21st Marathon de Milan 2021 - 2h12’27

Champion de France Semi Marathon 2021 - 63’17

3rd Championnats de France 10km 2021 - 28’32

DEGU ABAYNEH (ETH) 1998 - 59’58

2nd Semi Marathon de Istanbul 2019 - 59’58

7th 10km de Valence 2019 - 27’51

15th Semi Marathon de Copenhague 2018 - 61’01

1st 10km de Valence 2018 - 28’05

KIROS. HAILELMARYAM (ETH) 1997 - 60’01

11th Championnats du Monde Semi Marathon 2020 - 60’01

4th Semi Marathon de Lisbonne 2019 - 61’08

1st 10km de Chemnitz 2021 - 27’59 

CHARIK ABDERRAZAK (FRA) 1997 - 62’45

18th Semi Marathon de Barcelone 2020 - 62’45

4th Championnats de France 10km 2021 - 28’36

57th Championnats du Monde Semi Marathon 2020 - 62’58

KIPKOECH BARNABA (KEN) 1993 - 64’30

8th Semi Marathon Nairobi 2020 - 64’30 

Five years ago, marathon world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge was the last champion crowned at the Olympic Games in Rio. He'll be aiming to replicate that achievement in Sapporo on 8 August, the final day of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Games.

Successfully defending any title over the marathon distance is no easy task. Only two runners have managed the feat at the Olympics: 1960 and 1964 champion Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia and East German Waldemar Cierpinski, the winner in Montreal in 1976 and Moscow in 1980. Over the course of his career, Kipchoge has arguably achieved more than both of those legendary marathoners: he's broken the world record, which currently stands at 2:01:39, and pieced together a 10-race unbeaten streak over a five-year stretch which included victories at most of the world's most prestigious races, a record unparalleled in modern marathon running.

That streak finally came to a halt at the London Marathon in 2020, where he finished eighth in 2:06:49, the slowest marathon of his career. But he bounced back in April, winning in Enschede in 2:04:30. Four men have run faster this year in a season still battered by pandemic cancellations, but it was nonetheless a performance which illustrated that Kipchoge is fully capable of winning, even at 36. Indeed, he's widely considered a grand old man of the distance these days, a characterisation that certainly fits at this year's Games when only 11 of the 115 entrants are older.

Picking favourites in a marathon is difficult at the best of times. Throw a pandemic into the picture that ravaged the road racing season over the past 16 months, and it becomes a near impossible task.

That said, Kipchoge can expect a strong challenge from the Ethiopian squad, led by world champion Lelisa Desisa, Shura Kitata and Sisay Lemma. Desisa hasn't run under 2:06 since 2018 but his performance in Doha's difficult conditions in 2019 bodes well for a mid-summer marathon that is also expected to endure warm temperatures. Kitata won the London race that ended Kipchoge's streak, clocking 2:05:41, while Lemma has raced well in recent big city marathons, finishing third in both Berlin in 2019 (2:03:36) and Tokyo (2:04:51) in 2020.

But both of Kipchoge's teammates have run faster more recently, suggesting ambitions to claim more than one podium spot. Lawrence Cherono and Amos Korir earned their spots after finishing second and fourth at last year's Valencia Marathon in 2:03:04 and 2:03:30, respectively, the second and fourth fastest times of 2020.

Stephen Kiprotich, the 2012 Olympic champion and 2013 world champion, leads the Ugandan squad, returning for another shot after a 14th-place finish in Rio. But his most recent top-two finish dates back to 2017 when was second in Fukuoka so Ugandans will have higher hopes for Felix Chemonges, who has a 2:05:12 lifetime best from the 2019 Toronto Marathon, and Fred Musobo, whose 2:06:56 best was set in Daegu in 2019.

Belgian Bashir Abdi could also be factor. The 32-year-old improved his national record to 2:04:20 at the Tokyo Marathon last year. Other notables include Galen Rupp, the 2016 bronze medallist, who earned his return ticket after his victory at the US trials in Atlanta in February last year.

The marathon-mad host nation's hopes lie with Suguru Osako, who broke his own national record with a 2:05:29 run at the Tokyo Marathon in 2020, finishing fourth. He'll be joined by Marathon Grand Championships winner Shogo Nakamura and Yuma Hattori who has a 2:07:27 PB from 2018.

The field also includes Tachlowini Gabriyesos, a 23-year-old Eritrean native who clocked 2:10:55 at the Hahula Galilee Marathon on 14 March to become the first refugee athlete to better an Olympic qualifying standard.

Stephen Kiprotich will join a select band of athletes to compete at three straight Olympic Games after he was chosen as one of Uganda’s three representatives in Tokyo this year.

Last week, the Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) technical committee led by Faustino Kiwa sat and chose Kiprotich for one of the three quota slots.

The 2012 champion will line up for the 42km race in Sapporo, Japan, on August 8 alongside Fred Musobo and Filex Chemonges.Kiprotich’s selection follows a heated quest for three places where nine men had beaten the 2:11:30 qualification mark over two periods.

The qualification window was open from January 1, 2019 to April 5, 2020 and upon postponement of the quadrennial Games due to the coronavirus pandemic, it reopened from December 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.

However, Kiprotich was still fourth in terms of best time behind Chemonges, Musobo and Solomon Mutai before Covid-19 pandemic. But UAF chose the 2013 world marathon champion thanks to a respectable show where he finished fifth with 2:09:04 at the NN Mission Marathon in Enschede, Netherlands on April 18.

“There was a comparison of performances before and after (the pandemic),” explained UAF’s secretary general Beatrice Ayikoru.

Before Covid-19, Chemonges had produced a national record of 2:05:12 in third place at the Toronto Marathon in Canada on October 20, 2019. Musobo, too, had a personal best of 2:06:56 in second place at the Daegu Marathon in South Korea on April 7, 2019.

On the same day, Mutai posted a PB as well, in third place at the Vienna Marathon in Austria yet Kiprotich’s best time was 2:08:31 at the Hamburg Marathon in Germany on April 28, 2019.“We had made it clear that those who qualified in 2019, we could not start selecting the team with 2019 qualification,” Kiwa said.

“We made it clear to all of them that they had to run afresh. So we used that for selecting. 2019 is long past, you can’t tell if one is still fit or not,” he added.

Post-pandemic, Kiprotich delivered a controlled race in Enschede ahead of compatriots Geoffrey Kusuro (2:09:53) and Chemonges (2:09:59), who finished sixth and eighth, respectively.

A week before Enschede, Mutai was undone by a stitch after 33km but Musobo braved the cold to post 2:08:04 in Siena, Italy.Kiprotich will become the first Ugandan to compete at three successive Olympic editions but his inclusion also means that 2015 world bronze medalist Mutai will miss a seventh straight 42km championship race.

Two-time world marathon champion Abel Kirui has landed an invite for the  Mumbai Marathon set for May 30 in India.

The assistant superintendent of police based in Mombasa, said said he is ready to make his debut in Mumbai, where he will be up against other bigwigs. 

Speaking at his Global Sports Communication training camp in Kaptagat, Kirui said he started his Marathon journey in Asia, specifically Singapore Marathon where he finished third in 2:15:2 and wants to improve on that.

“Now I still have about two months to prepare and as an athlete, I will be fighting for the title and nothing less. I expect a crowded field by considering my training, i believe I am up to the challenge,” said Kirui, who finished third at the 2007 Vienna City Marathon in 2:10:41 before winning the title the following year in 2:07:38. 

The 39-year-old first won the world title in 2009 in Berlin, Germany before  defending it in 2011 Daegu, South Korea. Kirui won silver at the 2012 Olympic Games in London . 

The former Chicago Marathon champion said he will be keen to lower his personal best of 2:05:04, which he set in 2009 Rotterdam Marathon. “ I always run well under warm weather conditions, which I expect in Mumbai City,” he added.

Two-time world marathon champion Abel Kirui is targeting a podium finish at the Valencia Marathon on December 6 to cure the pain of missing out on the Amsterdam Marathon that was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“We have been crying due to lack of races across the world and now a chance has come our way. I have to do my best to ensure I get to the podium,” Kirui said.

A late entry into the marathon start list, Kirui expects a tough race as all the other athletes have been training intensely with their eyes fixed on the prize. 

 "This will be the battle for the greats. All athletes heading to Valencia are ready and that shows the race will be tough. Expect fireworks at the finish line,” the 2012 London Olympics marathon silver medalist said. 

Kirui has had a chequered career in road races and will be relying on his pedigree to reap dividends despite the long period of sporting inactivity.  He won the world marathon title in 2009 in Berlin and defended the title in 2011 in Daegu. 

Kirui also crossed the finish line first and second at the  Chicago Marathon in 2016 and 2017.

Another marathoner hoping to reap from the virtue of patience is two-time Toronto marathon champion Philemon Rono who missed out on the Boston Marathon that was similarly cancelled due to the pandemic. 

Rono, who has been training at Kaptagat for the better part of the year, is confident his efforts will earn him a podium finish in the Spanish city. 

"This is my first race after Toronto Marathon in 2019 and it is one that came by chance. I have to secure good results because my fitness is in top gear,” Rono, who started out as a pacesetter, said.  

Popularly known the 'Small Police' in athletics circles, Rono won the Toronto marathon in 2017 before losing the title to Benson Kipruto in 2018. However, he reclaimed his title in 2019.