Big show as top stars lock horns in Mumbai, Seville and Hong Kong tomorrow.
An electrifying action await as Kenyan athletes competed in road races and marathons in Europe and Asia tomorrow.
Bornes Kitur leads women’s charges and is back for another title at the Tata Mumbai Marathon, an IAAF silver label road race, alongside Joshua Kipkorir and Eliud Barngetuny, who were second and third in Mumbai last year.
They will be up against Ethiopia’s Solomon Deksisa, who will is among the four men that have run faster than 2:07:00 and six women who have gone faster than 2:29:00 will be on the start line.
Deksisa, whose best of 2:06:22 is more than two minutes quicker than the course record, is the fastest man in the field. The 23-year-old ran that time when finishing second at the 2016 Rotterdam Marathon and after a third-place finish at the Toronto Marathon last October, he will be bidding for his first marathon victory in Mumbai.
In Spain, the Cross Internacional de Itálica in Santiponce on the outskirts of the Spanish city of Seville – the third Spanish leg of the current IAAF Cross Country Permit series – always boasts a mouth-watering line-up, and this tomorrow’s action is no exception.
Leonard Komon, the holder of the world 10km and 15km records, will also be racing tomorrow after a disappointing 15th-place finish in Elgoibar. He will be joined by fellow Kenyan Conseslus Kipruto, although the world and Olympic steeplechase champion seemed to be far from his best fitness in Elgoibar.
In Hong Kong, defending Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon champions Melaku Belachew and Gulume Tollesa are aiming to win back-to-back titles at the Gold IAAF Gold Label road race tomorrow.
At 44, Kenneth Mungara is the oldest – and fastest – runner in the field. The Kenyan, who set a lifetime best of 2:07:36 in 2011, was recently selected for Commonwealth Games team. A consistent performer, Mungara clocked a season’s best of 2:09:04 last year when finishing second at the Gold Coast Marathon, a race he won in 2016 and 2015.
Robert Kwambai and Joseph Aperumoi, who have set respective PBs of 2:08:14 and 2:08:26 within the past three months, 2016 Hong Kong winner Mike Mutai, recent Buenos Aires Marathon winner Barnabas Kiptum and Duncan Maiyo will compete.
