Jane Kiptoo wins the Geneva Marathon (© Organisers / Obrenovitch / mouv-up.com)
Organisers of the Harmony Geneve Marathon for Unicef have assembled one of its best fields to date, giving high hopes of a course record at the IAAF Bronze Label Road Race on Sunday (7).
Nine men on the start list have PBs faster than the 2:11:00 course record, while Jane Kiptoo returns to defend her title after winning in 2015 and 2016.
Ethiopian duo Abraham Girma and Dereje Debele are the fastest in the field. Girma’s best of 2:06:48 dates back to the 2012 Amsterdam Marathon, but he recently won the Castellon Marathon in 2:12:18, his fastest time in four years.
Debele has an even faster time to his name this year after finishing second at the Beppu-Oita Marathon in 2:10:23. He set his lifetime best of 2:07:48 when winning the 2013 Dusseldorf Marathon.
Fellow Ethiopian Shume Hailu will be returning to Geneva after finishing second in 2015. A 2:09:06 runner at his best, his last race was a 2:11:41 clocking at the 2016 Beppu-Oita Marathon.
Bahraini Olympian Ismaeel Khamis hasn’t raced since failing to finish the marathon at the 2015 IAAF World Championships. But with a PB of 2:07:59 from 2011, he should be a contender if he is anywhere near his best form.
Two-time Brighton Marathon winner Duncan Maiyo leads the Kenyan contingent. Earlier this year he finished 11th in Mumbai in 2:14:38, but twice ran faster than 2:10 last year, topped by a PB of 2:09:25 in Eindhoven.
He will be joined by compatriots William Yegon, Amos Kiplagat, Eliud Magut and Emmanuel Sikuku.
Jane Kiptoo will be aiming to become the first woman to win three times in Geneva. Now 34, the Kenyan has a best of 2:31:21, while her fastest time in the Swiss city is her 2:35:04 winning time from last year.
With a best of 2:27:38, Fellow Kenyan Ruth Wanjiru is the fastest in the field. Her PB was set back in 2009, but she came within two minutes of it in Warsaw two years ago.
A trio of Ethiopians could get in the way of another Kenyan victory. Chimdesa Chaltu, Alem Ourge and Megersa Motu all have PBs in the 2:30-2:32 range, which could be enough to win and perhaps even challenge the course record of 2:32:34.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
