Kenya the favourite to claim marathon titles at Olympics as qualification period ends

Kenya the marathon favourites at Tokyo Olympics

JOHANNESBURG, June 3 (ANA) – With the qualification period for the Tokyo Olympics marathon events for men and women closing on Wednesday, Kenya are favourites to claim gold in both races.

There is no greater talent in men’s marathon running than Eliud Kipchoge. He is the world record holder over 42.2km, with his Personal Best (PB) of 2:01:39. In fact, his unofficial personal best is 1:59:40 he managed in The Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna Austria in October 2019.

As the favourite to win gold, Kipchoge will lead the men’s Kenyan charge at the Olympics, and he be will joined by Lawrence Cherono, Amos Kipruto and Vincent Kipchumba. Though it will be the third Olympics for Kipchoge, it will be just his second competing in the marathon after claiming gold in Rio in 2016.

The other three will be making their debuts, and their is every chance that Kenya will claim a clean sweep on the podium.

Cherono’s PB of 2:03:04 is the seventh fastest of all time, and since he made his debut in the distance in 2014 he has made the podium in every race except for two.

Kipruto, meanwhile, has a PB of 2:03:30 which makes him the 11th fastest of all time. A World Championship bronze medalist in Doha 2019, he has also made the podium at the Tokyo and Berlin marathons.

For Kipchumba his 2:05:09 PB may not be good enough to rank inside the top-50 best times ever for the marathon, but has a victory in the Amsterdam Marathon in 2019 to his credit. He also has a runner-up finish at the London Marathon last year.

On the women’s side, Brigid Kosgei leads the team as the world record holder. She broke the long-standing women’s world record, which had stood for 16 years, at the Chicago Marathon when she claimed victory in 2:14:04. She has also won the London Marathon in 2019 and 2020, and will be the heavy favourite to claim gold in Tokyo in her Olympic debut.

Kosgei will be joined by Peres Jepchirchir, Vivian Cheruiyot and Ruth Chepngetich – all capable of winning gold. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman