The names of the six athletes who will represent Kenya in the marathon at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games were confirmed by Athletics Kenya on Tuesday (10).
Ethiopia’s Feyisa Lilesa and Kenya’s Helah Kiprop took the honours at the Tokyo Marathon, with pride of place between the two winners going to the latter with a course record of 2:21:27 at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (28).
Stephen Kiprotich, Abel Kirui and Edna Kiplagat – all of whom have won two global titles each – are among the top athletes set to compete at the Tokyo Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on 28 February.
Ethiopian runners Endeshaw Negesse and Berhane Dibaba took the honours at the 2015 Tokyo Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, winning in 2:06:00 and 2:23:15 respectively on Sunday (22).
Many of the athletes who competed in last weekend’s Prague Grand Prix 10km will stay in the Czech Republic for the Mattoni Half Marathon in Usti nad Labem on Sunday (14) to compete against the fourth-fastest half-marathon runner in history at the IAAF Silver Label Road Race.
Geoffrey Mutai’s competitive edge could be tested to the limit in the Birell Prague Grand Prix 10km, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Saturday evening (6) by a fellow Kenyan who deserved the title of an unknown on the international scene two months ago.
Ethiopia’s Yacob Jarso, who was fourth over the barriers in the 2008 Olympic Games 3000m steeplechase, won the Seoul International Marathon in huge personal best of 2:06:17 on Sunday (16).
A Kenyan outsider triumphed in the men’s race at the Vattenfall Berlin Half Marathon on Sunday (7), while Helah Kiprop went one better than last year to win the women’s race on her 28th birthday.