Tag: Kenenisa Bekele

Bekele, Kipruto to light up London Marathon

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Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto will be the men to watch as the 2022 London Marathon gets underway on Sunday in the British capital.

An Ethiopian victory seems fairly likely as the five fastest athletes in the field – including multiple global champion Kenenisa Bekele and defending champion Sisay Lemma all hail from the East African nation. But recent form is important too, and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto and Belgium’s Bashir Abdi carry plenty of that into Sunday’s race.

Lemma, who won in the British capital last year in 2:04:01, has reached the podium in his past four marathon majors. The Ethiopian has a PB of 2:03:36 and will be keen to get close to – or improve on – that on Sunday.

Bekele ran two marathons in quick succession last year, finishing third in Berlin (2:06:47) and sixth in New York City (2:12:52). He warmed up for London with a 1:01:01 clocking at the recent Great North Run. It doesn’t suggest he’s in form to match his 2:01:41 PB, but he should still be competitive.

Two-time Tokyo Marathon winner Birhanu Legese finished fifth in London last year, but hasn’t raced at all since then. His 2:02:48 PB dates back to his runner-up finish at the 2019 Berlin Marathon. Fellow Ethiopian Kinde Atanaw also has a PB from 2019, his 2:03:51 set when winning in Valencia on his marathon debut.

He was 10th in Boston earlier this year, but the London course may be more to his liking.

Leul Gebresilase is another athlete whose PB dates back to his marathon debut. He clocked 2:04:02 in Dubai back in 2018, then went on to win in Valencia later that year. Highly consistent around the 2:05 mark, Gebresilase sas second in Rotterdam this year in 2:04:56.

Kipruto, the 2019 world bronze medallist, set a PB of 2:03:13 in Tokyo earlier this year when finishing second to Eliud Kipchoge, just 33 seconds adrift of the legendary Kenyan. Another run like that from Kipruto would be difficult to beat.

Abdi has proven himself to be capable of performing well at major championships and in big city marathons. When he last raced in London, back in 2019, he set a national record of 2:07:03. Now a world and Olympic bronze medallist, Abdi set a European record of 2:03:36 at the 2021 Rotterdam Marathon.

Japan’s Naoki Okamoto, Naoki Aiba and Kohei Futaoka add further depth to the field, as does Australia’s Brett Robinson.

 

World Athletics 

Ethiopia’s Adola wins 47th Berlin Marathon

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BERLIN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) — Ethiopia’s Guye Adola clinched victory in the 47th Berlin Marathon in 2:05:45 on Sunday, finishing ahead of Kenya’s Bethwel Yegon and compatriot Kenenisa Bekele.

After last year’s Berlin Marathon was canceled due to Covid-19, 24,796 runners from 117 countries and regions started this year’s event in clear and warm conditions in Germany’s capital.

Bekele was in search of his third win in Berlin after 2016 and 2019, when he narrowly missed the world record by two seconds, but had to slow down 50 minutes into the race and fell behind the leading group.

Adola and Kenya’s Philemon Kacheran took the front spots and worked out a lead together with the pacemakers, before Bekele recovered and bounced back to get within touching distance of the top group.

After 30km, it was a trio between Adola, Bekele and Yegon. As the race progressed, Bekele and Yegon couldn’t keep up with Adola, who increased the pace even though Eliud Kipchoge’s world record of 2:01:39 was out of reach.

To make things worse for Bekele, Yegon increased the pace as well and moved into second place.

Yegon gained momentum and then surprised Adola too, but the Ethiopian remained unmoved and attacked again before crossing the finish line first, followed by Yegon in 2:06:14 and Bekele in 2:06:47

“I really tried to win. Four years ago, I finished second, and I knew one day I would win this race and now I did it,” Adola said.

Said Bekele, “It was a tough race for me. I couldn’t expect a win here because my preparation wasn’t good enough. I had Covid eight months ago and I already had my doubts. I am now really tired, but I tried my best and took third place,” Bekele said.

In the women’s competition, Ethiopia’s Goytom Gebreslase won in 2:20:09, while compatriot and fastest women in the world this year Hiwot Gebrekidan crossed the line in 2:21:23 to finish second. Helen Tola clocked 2:23:05 to secure third place.

World robbed of blockbuster battle as Bekele withdraws from London Marathon

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The much-anticipated duel between two of the world’s fastest marathon runners, Eliud Kiochoge and Kenenisa Bekela, will not take place  after the latter withdrew from the Sunday’s Virgin London Marathon.

Bekele, who missed Kipchoge’s world lead time by just two seconds in September last year at the Berlin Marathon, withdrew from the London race with a calf injury.

This is a big blow to the Ethiopian who was touted as among the pre-race favourites.

The injury has clearly robbed the world of what would have been an epic battle of titans staring Bekele, a three-time Olympic champion, and Kipchoge, the reigning Olympic champion.

“This race was so important to me. My time in Berlin last year gave me great confidence and motivation and I was looking forward to show that again. I have worked so hard for it,” said Bekele.

The Ethiopian missed Kipchoge’s world record by two seconds when he won in Berlin in 2019 and he had promised to make up for the mishap in London.

But it is now clear that Kipchoge will head into the start line with a little pressure off his shoulder as he chases a record fifth London title.

Kipchoge posted the world’s fastest time: two hours, one minute, 49 seconds in 2018 in Berlin.

Kipchoge is a man of records, though. Last year, the Kenyan became the first human being to run a full marathon in under two hours at the INEOS Challenge where he cut the tape in an unofficial time of one hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds.

So a meeting with between Kipchoge, the world record holder, and the Ethiopian who holds 17 world titles over cross-country, track and road and the world record in 10,000m would have been an athletic blockbuster.

“To run against Eliud Kipchoge, the two of us, having prepared well. I’m sure something could have happened on that day,” Bekele was quoted by the Olympic Channel last year.

But unfortunately, Bekele could not recover from an injury he picked in Ethiopia in September.

Kipchoge predicts fast London Marathon race on Sunday

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NAIROBI, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) — One year since world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge ran a tantalizing INEOS 1:59 Challenge, finishing the race in 2:00:25 seconds, the Kenyan star says he expects a fast London Marathon race against his main challenger, Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele on Sunday.

On Sunday, Kipchoge led the Kenyan elite runners including world women marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei to London on private jet hired by London Marathon organizers to fly the athletes from Eldoret in northwest Kenya.

“I think the time will be fast, London is a big race and all the participants are in good shape and able to run faster times,” Kipchoge, who holds the official world marathon record of 2:01:39, told Xinhua on Sunday.

LONDON, Sept. 29, 2020 (Xinhua) — Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya walks to the COVID-19 testing area after arriving at the official hotel ahead of the historic elite-only 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon, in London, Britain, on Sept. 28, 2020. The 40th Race will take place on a closed-loop circuit around St James’ Park in central London on Oct. 4, 2020. (London Marathon Events/Handout via Xinhua)

“I will be competing for the first time since running under two hours at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge. I’m happy to race with the dominant athletes, that is how the sport is and should be treated like that. Competition makes the sport beautiful,” he added.

Given the restrictions arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the London Marathon event will be in an enclosed looped course in St James’ Park, but an unbowed Kipchoge said he did not adjust his training program to meet the challenge of running in a loop course.

“It’s truly my first time to race in a loop, but I have been training normally, no different at ups in my training. I trust my coach and I will put what I have been doing in that loop. Life is about making adjustments and I am ready for the loop challenge in London,” said Kipchoge.

Uganda breaks ceiling to join top tier of long distance running nations

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KAMPALA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) — Ugandan star athlete Jacob Kiplimo on Tuesday won the men’s 5,000m race, out-performing Selemon Barega of Ethiopia at the Ostrava Golden Spike in Czech Republic.

This win came weeks after another Ugandan star Joshua Cheptegei shattered Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-old 5,000m world record at the restart of the coronavirus-hit Diamond League in Monaco, France.

Cheptegei clocked in at 12 minutes 35.36 seconds to conquer Bekele’s previous best of 12:37.35 which was set in 2004.

Back in February before the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, the Ugandan had set a world 5,000 record on road, also in Monaco.  “It took a lot of mind setting to keep being motivated this year because so many people are staying at home but you have to stay motivated. I pushed myself, I had the right staff with me, the right coach,” he said.

“I’m also usually based in Europe, but being based in Uganda with my family was actually great.” Cheptegei is already the 2019 men’s 10,000 world champion and world cross country champion.

Cheptegei and Kiplimo are only part of the top tier of athletes that the East African country has to offer.

Over the years, Uganda has been a rising star in the world of long distance running, gunning to join the table of countries with world class long distance runners like neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Stephen Kiprotich won Uganda gold in the marathon race. He brought back the ‘sweet memories’ of the 1972 Munich Olympics where John Akii Bua won gold in the marathon race.

Uganda’s journey to stardom has been long, and full of trials and tribulations, according to analysts.

David Kimuli, a sports fan, told Xinhua in a recent interview that despite the little resources invested in sports, local athletes continue to prove that a lot more can be achieved if more is invested.

“Government should invest more in sports so that more medals are won and the country gets good branding out of it,” said Kimuli.

Jackie Nakiyingi, another sports fan, argues that recent wins are a testimony that Uganda has potential to do even better. Like Kimuli, Nakiyingi argued that government needs to invest more in sports.

Training at times with no appropriate gear like shoes, many athletes in Uganda persevere focusing on winning a medal someday.

Those with financial capabilities, cross to neighboring Kenya to train alongside the country’s giants in the sport. There has also been increased government support to athletics.

For instance the government, despite a Covid-19 lockdown, facilitated the travel of a team of athletes, headed by Cheptegei, to travel to Monaco for the Diamond League.

The country’s President’s office over the years started rewarding athletes who won medals on the international stage.

They are given a motivational token of 1,350 U.S. dollars for a gold medal, 850 dollars for a silver and 500 dollars for a bronze medal.

This is paid monthly once an athlete wins a medal at any international event. The government is also constructing a state of the art high altitude training facility in Bukwo in the eastern part of the country.

It believes that once the facility is completed by the end of this year, the country will win more medals.

From Kaptagat to the UK: Kipchoge steps up preparations for London Marathon

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London Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has heightened his preparations ahead of his title defence in the much-awaited event scheduled for October 4th.

Kipchoge, 35, is currently engaged in intensive training in Kaptagat, Rift Valley, Kenya, in anticipation of a fierce competition from Ethiopian long distance legend Kenenisa Bekele.

It will be yet another eye-catching race between two of the world’s finest athletes, each aiming to leave a mark in the 40th edition of the marathon.

Kipchoge has assured his huge following that all is well in his Kaptagat training base as he yearns to write yet another record in the books of marathon history.

“I can say that my training is going on well. It feels wonderful to focus my mind and body towards a new goal again and to put in the miles towards the London Marathon,” Kipchoge took to Twitter on Monday.

The soft-spoken athlete had earlier said Kaptagat has always been his favourite training site for long, thus enjoying every bit of the preparations in the location.

“Kaptagat has been my home away from home for the length of my career. Here we are all equal. As the running team we push each other to become better runners as well as human beings every day and it has brought so many great memories throughout the years.” He said.

Meanwhile, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist in both 5000m and 10,000m British Mo Farah has confirmed he will be a pacesetter for Kipchoge, Bekele and the rest of the competitors in the showdown. 

Farah, the British marathon record holder, finished third and fifth in 2018 and 2019 events respectively.

“The London Marathon has been so important to me since I was a schoolboy and when they asked me to do this I thought it would be great to help.

“I am in good shape. I’ll be in London that week, and it fits in with my training,” he said in a statement from the organizers.

“I know just how special it is just to compete for your country at theOlympic Games, and it would be great to help other athletes achieve this,” he is quoted by The Star.

Kipchoge, Bekele headline star-studded list for London Marathon

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Finally, the much-awaited race pitting two of the world’s greatest marathoners, Eliud Kipchoge and his fiercest rival, Kenenisa Bekele, is getting closer after the organizers of the 2020 Virgin London Marathon confirmed a strong field of participants ahead of the October 4th race.

This will only be the fifth time that Kipchoge, the reigning world marathon record holder (2:01.39), and Bekele, who holds the 5,000m world record, race against each other.

The first time the world had a rare opportunity to watch the greatest runners in the distance was in 2014 in Chicago.

Kipchoge has won all but one race of his marathon career.

He is the current Olympic champion and holds another rare record as the first and only human to have completed a full marathon in under two hours.

But he will face off against Bekele, a man who went unbeaten between 2003 and 2011 in the 10,000m before he switched to the road race the following year.

His marathon debut was in Paris where he had a resounding debut; then to Chicago where he raced against before he struggled with an Achilles tendon injury.

It is also chilling to remember that Bekele missed the world record by just two seconds on the streets of Berlin City.

With the these two marathon iconic figures set to face each other, on the one hand, the race promises to be an epic battle for both players, who are under the same stable, to enhance their reputations as well as seek an early ticket to the Olympics in Japan next year.

On the other hand, the race will be more of a Kenyan versus Ethiopia duel. Ethiopia is Kenya’s traditional rival in the long distance.

Kipchoge and Bekele will also face stiff competition from with six other top marathoners who have ran sub 2.05 in the past.

They include Mosinet Geremew (ETH) and Mule Wasihun (ETH) who were second and third respectively at the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon.

Others are Sisay Lemma (ETH), Tamirat Tola (ETH), Marius Kipserem (KEN) and Shura Kitata (ETH)and reigning European hour record holder Sondre Nordstad Moen (NOR).

The Norwegian broke the the mark in his native country earlier this month by running 21.132km.

Briton Mo Farah will be a pacemaker for this group of Olympic hopefuls.

The news that World Athletics will lift its suspension of the Olympic qualification system for marathon races from 1 September means there will also be a clutch of athletes racing with the ambition to achieve the Olympic standard of 2:11:30.

Farah, the four-time Olympic champion, said: “The London Marathon has been so important to me since I was a schoolboy and when they asked me to do this I thought it would be great to help. I am in good shape, I’ll be in London that week and it fits in with my training.”

“I’ve been training here in Font-Romeu with some of the British guys who are going for that Olympic qualifying time and they are good lads. I know just how special it is just to compete for your country at an Olympic Games and it would be great to help other athletes achieve this. With the current global situation and lack of races, the Virgin Money London Marathon in October is the best chance for athletes to run the Olympic qualifying time.”

At present only two British athletes other than Farah have run inside this time — Callum Hawkins, who has been pre-selected for the Olympic Games marathon and Jonny Mellor who ran 2:10:03 in Seville in January.

Farah himself has opted to run on the track at the Olympic Games.

The elite women’s field is headlined by world record holder Brigid Kosgei from Kenya who will also face a challenge from five other women who have run inside 2:20.

They include the current world champion Ruth Chepngetich (KEN), 2019 Valencia Marathon champion Roza Dereje (ETH), 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon champion Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN), 2019 Frankfurt Marathon winner Valary Jemeli (KEN) and 2019 Amsterdam Marathon champion Degitu Azimeraw (ETH).

Ashete Bekere (ETH), the winner of last year’s BMW Berlin Marathon, Alemu Megertu (ETH), the 2019 Rome Marathon champion, plus Sara Hall (USA) and Sinead Diver (AUS) are also included in a star-studded race.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the elite races at the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon will be held on a closed-loop circuit around St James’s Park in central London with the iconic finish on The Mall remaining the same as in previous years.

The races, which will also include a wheelchair race, will be held in a secure biosphere as has been the case with other major sporting events such as Test Cricket and Formula 1.

No spectators will be allowed on the road-side to watch. BBC Sport, however, is planning eight hours of live coverage of the event.

It will be the 40th race in London Marathon history and the first to have elite-only races.

Those with a place in the mass-participation 2020 event will still have the chance to take part in The 40th Race by running the famous 26.2 mile marathon distance from home or anywhere in the world on the course of their choice.

All finishers will receive the coveted finisher medal and New Balance finisher T-shirt. General entries open on Wednesday 26 August. In addition, all runners and charities will have the chance to defer their place to a future London Marathon – in 2021, 2022 or 2023.

Additional reporting by London Marathon website

Uganda’s Cheptegei refreshes 5,000m world record at return of Diamond League

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PARIS, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — World champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda on Friday conquered Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-old 5,000m world record by improving it by 1.99s at the restart of the coronavirus-hit Diamond League in Monaco.

The 2019 men’s 10,000 worlds champion clocked in 12 minutes 35.36 seconds to shatter Bekele’s previous best of 12:37.35 which was set in 2004.

“I think Monaco is a special place and it’s one of these places where I could break the world record,” Cheptegei, 23, said after the win.

Back in February before the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, the Ugandan had set a world 5,000 record on the road also in Monaco. Then, everything has been changed by the virus.

“It took a lot of mind setting to keep being motivated this year because so many people are staying at home but you have to stay motivated. I pushed myself, I had the right staff with me, the right coach,” he said.

“I’m also usually based in Europe, but being based in Uganda with my family was actually great.”

Kenya’s Nicholas Kimeli was the only other man who broke 13 minutes, as he finished a distant second in a lifetime best of 12:51.78.

Following two exhibition events in Oslo and Zurich in June and July, the event in Monaco marked the real comeback of the competitive season for athletics.

The next meeting is scheduled for August 23 in Stockholm, Sweden.

London Marathon to go as planned despite GNR cancellation, insists organizer

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The much anticipated 2020 London Marathon will go on as planned despite the cancellation of Great North Run owing to Covid-19 disruptions.

According to event organizer, the 40th edition of the run will get underway as earlier scheduled with the board insisting on Friday that it is still early to decide the final fate of the competition.

The race which had originally been scheduled for April 26 was pushed back to October 4th due to coronavirus scourge.

Similarly, the Great North Run, initially planned to commence on September 13th was on Monday cancelled, raising concerns about the possibility of London Marathon not taking place later in the year.

“There has been much speculation that this (Great Run cancellation) means the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon will also be cancelled. However, it doesn’t,” race organizer Hugh Brasher said in a statement.

Brasher went on to state that talks are still underway to ensure that the epic show will adhere to social distancing.

This means that Eliud Kipchoge still stands the chance to defend his 2019 title against his most fierce rival, Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele.

Kipchoge, the world marathon record holder (2:01:39) has been keeping fit in his Nandi rural home hoping to grace the event.

The 35-year-old long distance runner has also been engaging in virtual races during the coronavirus period with the London Marathon in mind.

On the other side, the world’s second fastest marathoner, Kenenisa Bekele (2:01:41,) will be looking for ways to dethrone Kipchoge in the mouthwatering clash in the British capital.

Fireworks expected as Kenenisa Bekele and Eliud Kipchoge to face off in London Marathon

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World  marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge will face off with three-time Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele for the first time in a marathon when the Kenyan and Ethiopian greats race each other on the streets of London at the Virgin Money London Marathon in April.

Kipchoge holds the world record of 2hr 01min 39sec set in Berlin in 2018, while the 37-year-old Ethiopian has two world record in 5000m and 10,000m which were set in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

After recovering from an injury that saw him miss the world record mark by two seconds last September, Bekele, who is also managed by the same stable as Kipchoge, NN Running, believes that he is at his best form at the moment and can even equal Kipchoge’s unprecedented feat of 1 hour 59 minutes and 40 seconds clocked last October at the Ineos Challenge in Vienna, Austria.

“Before last year I was struggling with injury. Everyone knows I’m a strong athlete from 15 years on the track. When we came to the marathon I’ve struggled maybe to achieve good results but of course this is because of injury, not a lack of training or my personality. I was a bit behind but my health came back and now I’m doing a lot better in the marathon,” Bekele was quoted by The Sun.

“When he (Kipchoge) ran under two hours, it made me very motivated. If someone like me also gets this big chance we will do a similar thing or do better. I believe in myself – you need the opportunity of course but some athletes will do a similar thing.”

The world’s greatest marathon runners at the moment have met just four times over 26.2 miles, with Kipchoge coming top in all the events but it should not be forgotten that Bekele enjoys a better head-to-head record across all distances and surfaces.

“I am looking forward to racing Eliud once again,” added Bekele. “We have had many great battles over the years on the track, roads and cross-country. My big dream is to break the world record and an amazing performance will happen at the London Marathon,” he told The Sun.

Most athletics enthusiasts thought that the duo will never race each other due to the fact that they share the same stable but after the organizers of the London Marathon confirmed their entry, this is going to go down as one of the races of the new decade.

Kipchoge, meanwhile, has promised “something special” for his fans. Having the world record and of course an unofficial world’s fastest time in the distance, the only other ‘special’ thing that the 35-year-old and Laureus Sports Award nominee can give the world is running an official sub-two in London.

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