Kenya's Chepngetich among favourites for marathon gold in Tokyo

Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich celebrates after winning the Women's Marathon at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha on September 27, 2019. (AFP)

Kenya's Olympic marathon contender Ruth Chepngetich has had a remarkable year in which she had to cope with the restrictions on training and racing brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic but managed to smash the half-marathon world record.

When the 26-year-old Chepngetich was getting ready for the Istanbul Half Marathon in April she was just focused on running a good, confident race but she ended up obliterating the world record by 29 seconds and fulfilling a dream.