Boston Marathon: Kenyans hope to impress

Kenya's Geoffrey Kirui wins the men's race in the 2017 Boston Marathon [Courtesy]

The 123^rd edition of the Boston Marathon gets underway on Monday evening in Boston, USA as Kenyan athletes line up for victory.

The 2017 champions in men and women’s races duo Geoffrey Kirui and Edna Kiplagat will lead the Kenyan pack as they seek to reclaim their titles which they failed to bag last year.

Kirui snatched gold in 2017 after clocking 2:09:37 but failed to reclaim the title in 2018 as Japanese Yuki Kawauchi outclassed him to finish second.

Two-time world champion Edna Kiplagat will hit the ground running in Boston as she plots to dethrone the American defending champion Desi Linden.

Kenya’s top contenders in the men’s race include Lawrence Cherono, Kenneth Kipkemoi, Felix Kandie, Festus Talam, Wesley Korir and Benson Kipruto.

Kenya's Edna Kiplagat wins the women's race in the 2017 Boston Marathon [Courtesy]

In the women’s race, past winners Sharon Cherop and Caroline Rotich together with 2018 Paris Marathon champion Betsy Saina will lead the way.

Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai holds the record of 2:03:02 in the men’s race which he set in 2011 while in the women’s race Ethiopia’s Bezunesh Deba clocked 2:19:59 in 2014 to set the record.

The Boston Marathon debuted in 1897 and it is the world’s oldest annual marathon besides being among the six largest marathons that include London, Berlin, Tokyo, Chicago and New York City.

This year will mark the sixth anniversary of the deadly Boston Marathon bombings which took place on April 15, 2013, after two explosions were witnessed a few seconds apart at the finish line.

Kenyan athletes will now seek to redeem their glory in Boston after being dethroned of their dominance in the Paris Marathon by Ethiopians.