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Articles tagged #Philemon Rono
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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.
(11/27/2020) Views: 89 ⚡AMPSammy Kiprop Kitwara set a Spanish all-comers’ record at the 2017 Maraton Valencia Trinidad Alfonso, the 31-year-old Kenyan produced a 2:05:15 effort to finish almost a full minute inside the previous record, moving to seventh on this year’s world list in the process. Ethiopia’s Aberu Mekuria Zennebe won the women’s race in 2:26:17 to improve on her fourth-place finish from...
more...Reigning Chicago and Boston marathon champion Lawrence Cherono can't wait for December 6 when he lines up against 16 other marathoners at the Valencia Marathon.
Cherono says he has missed road races after this year's Boston and Chicago marathons were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Waiting for a whole year to compete is torture but we can’t blame anyone because this was due to the virus. I consider myself lucky because I will be able to compete in this marathon after a long time out of action. Many athletes could have wished to compete but that never came,” Cherono said.
Despite inactivity, Cherono has been working hard in training to keep in shape despite the challenges experienced by the sports sector — athletics included.
“I shifted to Iten from Kaptagat after the government closed all training camps and I have been training in anticipation for a chance to compete before the year ends,” the two-time Amsterdam Marathon winner said.
He has been running a distance of 30-35km a day to ready himself for a podium push in Valencia.
Cherono will also be part of the Olympics marathon team that includes Olympic marathon winner Eliud Kipchoge and Kipruto.
Other Kenyans that will be battling for the marathon title in Valencia include world marathon bronze medallist Amos Kipruto (2:05:43), Abel Kirui (2:05:04), Reuben Kiprop (2:04:40) and Philemon Rono (2:05:00).
(11/19/2020) Views: 95 ⚡AMPSammy Kiprop Kitwara set a Spanish all-comers’ record at the 2017 Maraton Valencia Trinidad Alfonso, the 31-year-old Kenyan produced a 2:05:15 effort to finish almost a full minute inside the previous record, moving to seventh on this year’s world list in the process. Ethiopia’s Aberu Mekuria Zennebe won the women’s race in 2:26:17 to improve on her fourth-place finish from...
more...On Saturday, Kipchoge ran in a practice session at the Conservancy alongside Lewa Rangers to help drum up support for the virtual race.
The fastest marathoner in the world teamed up with World Half Marathon giant Geoffrey Kamworor alongside two other athletes, Philemon Rono and Jonathan Rotich.
Kipchoge’s presence at the Conservancy located in Kenya’s North was a boost for the wildlife rangers and Tusk’s Director of Programmes in Africa, Sarah Watson who joined them on the run.
“I urge everybody to participate and just run where they are. We are all part of the human family and we must keep strong, stay fit, observe directives from our government, and know this situation is not permanent.”
“I have never taken part in the Lewa (Safari) Marathon before, but it was very inspiring to run with the rangers today in this beautiful conservancy and motivate them. I would ask the rangers to continue doing a good job, because they are conserving our wildlife and environment.”
Kipchoge struck through the picturesque Lewa terrain, with a mouth-watering background of grazing elephants and buffalos as the Rangers struck in tow, looking to keep up with the pace of a world beater.
It was a win-win day for Kipchoge who also got to experience a different set-up from his Eldoret base where he has been training in isolation since all athletics camps were closed as the world battles to control the spread of the coronavirus.
“My team and I are honored and very excited to have run with Eliud and his team today. Eliud is our brother, friend and supporter who recognizes the challenges that we face as wildlife rangers. This run has boosted our morale and encouraged us to keep going in this difficult time,” said Edward Ndiritu, Lewa’s Head of Anti-Poaching.
Athletes who will have registered will run from wherever they are as they continue supporting the marathon which had hoped to raise close to Sh500mn this year to aid in Lewa’s conservancy projects.
This year’s race was set to be supported by Safaricom and Huawei, with Safaricom having stepped down their annual financial support and instead joined up with the Chinese electronics company to raise the annual budget.
(05/25/2020) Views: 300 ⚡AMP
The first and most distinctive is that it is run on a wildlife conservancy, which is also a UNESCO world heritage site. The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is home to a number of endangered and threatened species- and also a catalyst for community development for its neighboring communities. For the past 17 years, funds raised from the marathon have gone...
more...Former Toronto marathon champion Benson Kipruto has returned to training as he tries to regain fitness and compete in Boston after the race was rescheduled to September.
Kipruto, the tenth finisher in last year's Boston marathon, believes with better weather, he can improve on his time and position on return to the United States.
Organizers of the Boston marathon have rescheduled the event to Sept 14 from April 20 due to COVID-19.
"Boston was to offer me a chance to springboard my career. But the good thing is it will be returning in September, and I want to utilize the chance to stage a better show, run a fast time and prove my critics wrong," Kipruto said on Monday from Eldoret.
The 28-year-old had lost interest in training when COVID-19 wrecked the sports calendar, but he has returned to training now that World Athletics (WA) has confirmed the return of track and field competition in the Diamond League.
"Today, I train once a day, to keep fit. But I had done a lot in preparing for the Boston marathon and it will not be hard to pick up the pace and work around the clock to attain the optimum fitness to challenge for the medal," said Kipruto.
This year, Kipruto competed at the International Guadalajara Half marathon race in Mexico in February winning in a time of 62 minutes 13 seconds.
"It is important to be careful not to incur any new injuries, even now that we have cut down the training sessions," he added.
In Boston, Kipruto will come up against champion Lawrence Cherono, silver medalist Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia, Yuki Kawauchi of Japan and 2017 World Athletics Championships gold medalist Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya.
Throw in former Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, New York marathon silver medalist Albert Korir, Ethiopian Dejene Debela, runner-up to Cherono by one second in Chicago Marathon, Kenneth Kipkemoi, Philemon Rono and Felix Kandie, it is sure to be a hard fought contest.
(05/19/2020) Views: 265 ⚡AMPThe 124th Boston Marathon originally scheduled for April 20 was postponed to September 14 and then May 28 it was cancelled for 2020. The next Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 19, 2021. Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern...
more...The 2020 Boston Marathon announced its elite lineup on Wednesday morning, and 2018 third-place finisher Krista DuChene, 43, is on the list. DuChene will be returning for her third consecutive Boston Marathon.
DuChene had a strong 2019, with her most recent result coming from the Berlin Marathon, where she won the masters race in 2:32:27–her fastest marathon time since 2015.
The new qualification system for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games allows athletes who’ve placed in the top 10 at a World Major to be considered for entry. If DuChene can have a good day, her placing in Boston could also place her in the conversation for Olympic team selection. The team will be selected at the end of May, only six weeks after the Boston Marathon.
Other women on the elite list are Worknesh Degefa (2:17:41), Des Linden (2:22:38), Edna Kiplagat (2:19:50) and Magdalyne Masai, whose personal best 2:22:16 was from her victory at Toronto in 2019.
In the men’s race, Dylan Wykes, the fifth-fastest Canadian marathoner of all time, will also be on the start line. The former professional runner has been making his way onto the elite scene for the past year and a half. The race that really caught people’s attention was when he became the Canadian 10K champion in 2019.
Other elites to watch are Lawrence Cherono (2:04:06), Lelisa Desisa (2:04:45) and Philemon Rono (a.k.a Baby Police), the three-time STWM champion and Canadian all-comers record-holder, who holds a personal best of 2:05:00.
(01/23/2020) Views: 420 ⚡AMPThe 124th Boston Marathon originally scheduled for April 20 was postponed to September 14 and then May 28 it was cancelled for 2020. The next Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 19, 2021. Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern...
more...Last November, the 26-year-old won the men’s New York City Marathon for the second time in three years after clocking 2:08:13.
“My plan this year is to go to the Tokyo Olympics Games because the only medal lacking in my cabinet is an Olympic medal,” Kamworor said.
The athlete, who trains at the Global Sports Communication camp in Kaptagat, Elgeyo-Marakwet County alongside his mentor and World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge, said he has stepped up preparations.
Under the guidance of their coach Patrick Sang, Kamworor and Kipchoge have become two of the best marathoners in the world. Kamworor has been on the medal podium for each of the four New York City marathons he has run.
“I am working hard this time round to make sure that I go to the Olympics because I am focused on getting a medal,” the athlete said.
Kamworor was speaking to the press on Thursday at Kipsinende Primary School in Uasin Gishu County where he led fellow athletes in awarding the best 2019 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) performers in the school.
He was accompanied by Laban Korir (2014 Toronto Waterfront Marathon), Philemon Rono (2018 Toronto Waterfront Marathon winner), Sally Chepyego (former World Half Marathon champion), Hyvin Kiyeng (former world 3,000m steeplechase champion) and Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon.
(01/10/2020) Views: 567 ⚡AMPFifty-six years after having organized the Olympic Games, the Japanese capital will be hosting a Summer edition for the second time, originally scheduled from July 24 to August 9, 2020, the games were postponed due to coronavirus outbreak, the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8 in 2021, according to the International Olympic Committee decision....
more...The Kenyan, nicknamed ‘Baby Police’ for his role as a policeman, smashed his own Canadian all-comers’ record with a time of 2:05:00 at the IAAF Gold Label road race.
Behind him, Lemi Bernahu of Ethiopia, who had been leading until the final kilometer, took second in 2:05:09, Uganda’s Felix Chemonges third in 2:05:12 and defending champion Benson Kipruto of Kenya fourth in 2:05:13.
“It was important to win three times, because Toronto is like my home,” said Rono. “When I come here, I enjoy myself. I have a lot of friends from Kenya here. I am really, really happy to win today.”
While Rono achieved an incredible record, earning CDN$30,000 for the victory along with CDN$50,000 for the all-comers’ record, it was his compatriot Magdalyne Masai-Robertson who claimed the women’s victory with an enormous personal best of 2:22:16. That beat the course record set by Mimi Belete last year by 13 seconds and improved the Canadian all-comers' record by one second.
For the first time in its 30-year history, conditions were near perfect (8C and 5km/hr wind at the start).
A trio of pacemakers took a pack of six men through the halfway point in 1:03:08 and 30 kilometers in 1:29:24 before Lemi Berhanu hinted that the tightness in his legs, which had bothered him in the days immediately preceding the race, had vanished. By 38 kilometres he had surged to a lead of more than 15 seconds. But incredibly Rono closed the gap in the final two kilometres to snatch victory.
“I was running at my own pace,” Rono explained. “The pace at the front was really moving so I maintained my own pace. At 38km when he ran away I said ‘let me maintain my pace’. And I knew I could catch him.”
For his part, Berhanu, who was the 2016 Boston champion, complained of a stitch in his right side and was in distress. Disappointment registered on his face at the finish where he sat alone on the ground for 10 minutes before his coach Gemedu Dedefo collected him for the awards ceremony.
“I was thinking when I made the break I could run sub 2:05 and keep pushing, but after 40km I could not really move because of a stitch,” he explained.
Felix Chemonges took four minutes off his personal best to break 2012 Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich’s Ugandan record with his 2:05:12.
The women’s race was equally compelling as eight women ran together through 30km. Five survived Birktuyat Eshetu’s surges up until 35km including Kenya’s Betsy Saina, Rachel Mutgaa and Masai-Robertson and then the race blew up. The latter took off, fearful of being caught. At 40km she spared a look over her shoulder and realised her nearest pursuer was Eshetu and quite a distance separated them.
(10/21/2019) Views: 634 ⚡AMPThe Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half-Marathon & 5k Run / Walk is organized by Canada Running Series Inc., organizers of the Canada Running Series, "A selection of Canada's best runs!" Canada Running Series annually organizes eight events in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver that vary in distance from the 5k to the marathon. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Half-Marathon are...
more...Many target course records and victory in the weeks preceding a major marathon, but few can achieve this glory. Ethiopia’s Lemi Berhanu Hayle, however, has the fast times and experience to do it.
Berhanu has confirmed he will attack Philemon Rono’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon course record (2:06:52) on October 20th. With Rono also committed to this year’s event, plus last year’s champion Benson Kipruto, Lemi’s addition to the field sets up a compelling showdown for the CAN $30,000 first place prize and, if things go right, CAN $40,000 course record bonus.
Lemi is held in such high regard by Ethiopian selectors that he was selected to his nation’s 2016 Olympic team (he finished 13th). Earlier that year he won the 2016 Boston Marathon. But it was his victory at the 2015 Dubai Marathon in 2:05:28 - the fourth fastest time in the world that year - which introduced him as a world-beating athlete.
Though he was beaten during his Dubai title defence in 2017 he came away with a new personal best of 2:04:33, in second place. Against this backdrop a Toronto course record assault is more than viable.
"My target is to have the course record time and of course to win the race," he says adding he will ask the pacemakers to go through halfway in 1:03. It appears, too, that he is familiar with Toronto.
"I always watch the (Scotiabank) Toronto Marathon on television. I have never missed (watching) the race every year. I heard some of the things about the race from my teammates; that the course and the weather is good."
Lemi is coached by Gemedu Dedefo as part of the Demadonna Athletics Promotions group in Ethiopia. Several athletes from this team have raced in this IAAF Gold Label race over the years most notably past winners Shure Demise (2015- and 2016-women’s champion) and Derissa Chimsa the 2013 men’s winner.
Poring over his impressive competitive record with those fast times, he doesn’t have to think long to determine which of his races yielded the most enjoyment. His Boston and Rio Olympic experience are top of his mind.
"The 2016 Boston Marathon was my favorite race," he reveals. "During that time, I was in very good shape, so I easily won that race.
"As it was my first time to compete in the Olympics, I feel very proud, but I faced injury in my leg and was not in the top three. That didn’t make me to change my plan, rather, it makes me feel that I have the ability and potential next time on world stages."
Born in Asasa about 220 kilometers south of Ethiopia’s capital city of Addis he grew up to the exploits of the leading Ethiopian runners.
"I saw (Olympic champions) Kenenisa (Bekele) and Haile Gebrselassie running on TV. Their great talent inspired me to follow them. I started running school championships and, when I saw my results, I thought of continuing athletics," he explains.
In 2013 he moved to Addis to train with Gemedu and after a short time made his debut in the 2014 Kampala Marathon. He recorded his first victory at the Zurich Marathon the same year in an eye catching 2:10:40 - at age 19. Training with the group has certainly proven advantageous in several ways.
"We are all like friends with most of my teammates we go out together to some recreational areas when we have time," he reveals adding, "I married my friend and fellow athlete, Melesech Tsegaye, last year. We have no children for the moment."
With his previous earnings he has built his own house in Addis and has plans to start a business sometime in the future.
Lemi joins a strong field which includes his compatriot Abera Kuma (2:05:50 PB) and the Kenyan trio of Festus Talam (2:06:13 PB), the aforementioned defending champion, Benson Kipruto, and Canadian All-comers’ record holder, Philemon Rono.
(09/13/2019) Views: 764 ⚡AMPThe Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half-Marathon & 5k Run / Walk is organized by Canada Running Series Inc., organizers of the Canada Running Series, "A selection of Canada's best runs!" Canada Running Series annually organizes eight events in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver that vary in distance from the 5k to the marathon. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Half-Marathon are...
more...Philemon Rono of Kenya has won the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon twice–the first time in 2016, and the second time in 2017, when he set the Canadian all-comers record of 2:06:52 (also his personal best).
Rono, who trains with NN Running (marathon world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge’s group), was dealing with a calf injury and didn’t have a great race in 2018, finishing ninth in 2:13:36, but the diminutive runner they call Baby Police is healthy and will be back on October 20, hoping not only to win, but to lower his Canadian soil record.
Rono raced at Boston in April, finishing eighth, in 2:08:57–which he was happy with. He is currently running about 200K per week with the NN Training group in Kaptagat under the direction of coach Patrick Sang.
Kipchoge has a big influence on the training, Rono says. “We watch everything he does.” Many accounts of Kipchoge’s training make note of the fact that while living in camp from Monday to Saturday, he takes his turn mopping floors and scrubbing toilets like everyone else. When not working out, the group loves to watch soccer on TV. Like Kipchoge, Rono travels home to his farm on weekends, where he spends time with his wife and young son, and tends his cattle.
Rono’s stiffest competition so far announced will be Abera Kuma, who has a personal best of 2:05:50, and Benson Kipruto, who won last year’s marathon in 2:07:24 (which was seconds off his PB).
The race will also serve as the Canadian marathon championships and unofficial Olympic trials, with the top Canadian male automatically qualifying for Team Canada at Tokyo 2020 (provided he achieves the Olympic standard of 2:11:30 within the qualifying window).
Reid Coolsaet, Dylan Wykes, Rob Watson and Canadian marathon record-holder Cam Levins will all be on the start line on October 20.
(08/16/2019) Views: 769 ⚡AMPThe Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half-Marathon & 5k Run / Walk is organized by Canada Running Series Inc., organizers of the Canada Running Series, "A selection of Canada's best runs!" Canada Running Series annually organizes eight events in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver that vary in distance from the 5k to the marathon. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Half-Marathon are...
more...The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon has announced that the Kuma siblings of Ethiopia, Abera Kuma and his sister Dibabe Kuma, will toe the line this year on October 20. With personal bests of 2:05:50 and 2:23:34, both are in a position to contest not just the titles but the course records–and it would be a notable first for this event if a pair of siblings were to win at STWM.
This will not be the first Canadian marathon for Abera, 28, a former track runner who represented Ethiopia at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships: he finished second on a very humid day at this year’s Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon, in 2:08:14. His PB of 2:05:50 is from the 2018 Rotterdam Marathon, where he finished second.
Dibabe, 22, has always focused on the road since fairly early in her career, setting her marathon PB of 2:23:34 with her third-place finish at the Ljubljana (Slovakia) Marathon last October, and winning this year’s Hamburg Marathon in 2:24:42 (where Magdalyne Masai, who will also line up against Kuma at STWM this year, finished second).
Both siblings are considered to have potential to break the course records, depending of course on the weather. The women’s record of 2:22:29 was set last year by Mimi Belete, while Philemon Ronoholds the men’s course record of 2:06:52 (from 2017). Kuma says she is not daunted by the prospect of cold weather, having triumphed in cold and wet conditions in Hamburg.
It will be the siblings’ first time traveling together to race.
(08/08/2019) Views: 772 ⚡AMPThe Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half-Marathon & 5k Run / Walk is organized by Canada Running Series Inc., organizers of the Canada Running Series, "A selection of Canada's best runs!" Canada Running Series annually organizes eight events in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver that vary in distance from the 5k to the marathon. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Half-Marathon are...
more..."If I can defend my Toronto Marathon title it will be very good for me and for my marathon career," he declares with a smile. He remembers well the joy his 2:07:24 performance brought him and the festivities which followed upon his return to Kenya.
"I started the celebration at the (Eldoret) airport with my family, my friends and my training mates and also my coach," he recalls of the celebration which included drinking fermented milk called Mursik in the Kalenjin warriors’ tradition. "We extended the celebration to my camp. We feasted on some goats with my friends and training mates.
"This year I would like to run my personal best in Toronto. Hopefully, if the weather will be good and also, if the pacemakers do a good job, I am hoping to run maybe 2:06 and maybe try to run a course record."
Kipruto’s best is 2:07:11 set in finishing third at the 2018 Seoul Marathon and he also ran 2:07:21 at the 2017 Gongju Dong-A Marathon in Korea. With three recent 2:07 results he is clearly on the verge of another major breakthrough which could see him tackle the current Toronto course record held by his compatriot Philemon Rono (2:06:52 in 2017).
Asked what his greatest impression from last year’s five day visit to Toronto was he is quick to credit the organizers.
"The people I met, they are friendly like the first one, Alan Brookes the Race Director, he is very friendly," he reveals. "The course itself is good. And also, I think the weather that day was not so good."
Last year runners awakened to temperatures hovering near freezing point and also encountered a strong headwind coming off Lake Ontario. Still, winning this IAAF Gold Label race caught the attention of the world’s marathon running aficionados.
"I would say it opened doors to my future," Kipruto explains. "I was invited to the 2019 Boston Marathon because of Toronto. So my name has grown. (Toronto) was my first victory.
"Boston was a good performance for me; I managed to finish, first of all. I was injured during the race."
Kipruto’s feet were badly blistered during the race. But his coach Claudio Berardelli offers another explanation saying that he pushed Kipruto perhaps too much over the final three weeks of his preparation and so he was also over-trained. Ultimately, he finished a respectable 10th in 2:09:53 within two minutes of the winner Lawrence Cherono, also from Kenya.
Performing at this level has paid dividends for Kipruto. First place in Toronto earns CAD $30,000 while a course record is worth another CAD $40,000. In a country where the per capita income is less than $2,000 it is a lucrative business. He sees it as an investment for the future.
Though he was born in the village of Tolilet he recently bought some land 40 kilometres away in Kapsabet and moved his wife and one-year old daughter, who is called Princess Camille Chemutai, to the place.
Now his family is nearer to the training camp where he resides during the week and where he trains with such elite athletes as Amos Kipruto (2:05:43 personal best), Vincent Kipchumba (2:06:56), Solomon Yego (2:06:23) and Barselius Kipyego (2:07:57). He goes home on weekends.
(07/19/2019) Views: 1,031 ⚡AMPThe Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half-Marathon & 5k Run / Walk is organized by Canada Running Series Inc., organizers of the Canada Running Series, "A selection of Canada's best runs!" Canada Running Series annually organizes eight events in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver that vary in distance from the 5k to the marathon. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Half-Marathon are...
more...Two-time world marathon champion Abel Kirui has landed an invite for this year’s Hamburg Marathon set for April 28th in Germany.
The two-time world marathon champion, who registered back-to-back IAAF world marathon titles in 2009 and 2011, said he is already looking beyond the event as he wants to cap the year with his third World Championship marathon medal in Doha, Qatar.
“I have had a good training since joining Global Sports Communication and my skills have improved tremendously. I look forward to a good event in Hamburg,” said the Kapsabet-born runner.
The 2012 London Olympic Marathon silver medallist failed to retain his Chicago Marathon title last year after winning in 2016. Galen Rupp won the title in 2017 while multi Olympic champion Mo Farah won last year.
Kirui said has been motivating and refreshing training with top athletes including world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge (2:01.39), former New York marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor, two-time Toronto marathon winner Philemon Rono and 2012 Olympic marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda. Kirui, the 2008 Vienna marathon winner, suffered a knee injury that kept him off competition for about three years and on his return in 2016, he won Chicago (2:11.23).
“I want to end the Ethiopian dominance in Hamburg and I know I now have what it takes to deliver,” he added.
The man, who started his career as a pacesetter, finished second at the 2007 Berlin Marathon, third at 2009 Rotterdam Marathon, won 2007 Paderborn Half Marathon and finished 4th at 2010 London Marathon. Lucas Rotich is the last Kenyan to have won Hamburg in 2015 and Ethiopians have since dominated for the last three years.
(03/01/2019) Views: 993 ⚡AMPThe 2020 marathon is cancelled. The HASPA MARATHON HAMBURG is Germany’s biggest spring marathon and since 1986 the first one to paint the blue line on the roads. Hamburcourse record is fast (2:05:30), the metropolitan city (1.8 million residents) lets the euphoric atmosphere spill over and carry you to the finish. Make this experience first hand and follow the Blue...
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