ATHLETICS – Page 197

Mary Keitany, Mary Jepkosgey Keitany, Vivian Cheruiyot, Priscah Jeptoo, Magdalene Masai, Caroline Chepkoech, Great North Run half marathon, Great North Run, Charles Koech, Kenya’s Mary Keitany took 41 seconds off the women’s-only world record* at the Virgin Money London Marathon, running 2:17:01 at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (23). Keitany said in the build-up to this year’s race she was in shape to break Paula Radcliffe’s mark of 2:17:42 and while she demurred when asked about the possibility of bettering Radcliffe’s outright mark of 2:15:25, Keitany was running minutes inside Radcliffe’s schedule in the first half. Paced by her training partner Caroline Kipkirui, Keitany cut loose from arguably the most accomplished field in race history with an astonishingly fast third mile 4:37. Through 5km in 15:31 and 10km in 31:17, Keitany was running at close to 2:10 pace while the second group – which was already beginning to splinter – hit 10km in 31:31, exactly half a minute faster than Radcliffe in 2003. Keitany, who covered the fourth and fifth miles in 4:56 and 4:59 respectively, was still within sight of the second group at 10km but the 34-year-old was away and clear with a succession of mile splits faster than 5:10 through the 10-mile mark in 50:41. Her half marathon split of 1:06:54 was the fastest in marathon history (Radcliffe ran 1:08:02 in 2003) and her advantage had extended to 59 seconds over the chasers, including track greats Tirunesh Dibaba, Vivian Cheruiyot, former winner Aselefech Mergia and world silver medallist Helah Kiprop. “I know Mary is a fast runner and I was following my own pace and until halfway, I was on track but I was never expecting she would go that fast and maintain it,” said an incredulous Dibaba after the race. This early pace had already torn the second group asunder. Former winner Tigist Tufa and world champion Mare Dibaba had lost more than three minutes on the second group with the latter dropping out after the 30km mark. Keitany was also beginning to slow with a 14th mile of 5:21 before four successive miles in the 5:14-5:18 range. Through 30km in a pending world record of 1:36:05, Keitany was still 31 seconds faster than Radcliffe in 2003 but her preceding 5km split of 16:22 was her slowest thus far. Keitany’s mile splits had started to drift into the 5:20 range and while Dibaba seemed to be running with more fluidity, her lead stayed at more than one minute through 35km in 1:52:39. The overall world record was beyond reach but Keitany was still on course to smash Radcliffe’s women’s-only world record. Dibaba was running at a fantastic pace in just her second marathon, but after such a fast start she had to stop due to stomach cramps in the 23rd mile. She quickly gathered herself, but in spite of her fantastic credentials over the shorter distances there was no way she was going to catch Keitany. After covering the preceding two miles in 5:27 and 5:25 respectively, Keitany spurted again with a 26th mile in 4:56 to ensure she would take a sizeable chunk off Radcliffe’s 12-year-old women’s-only world record with 2:17:01, the second-fastest time in the history of women’s marathon running. “I want to thank the pacemaker who was taking me all the way to 14 miles,” said Keitany. “From there, I started to go alone and see how my body was.” Dibaba rallied in the closing stages to finish second in 2:17:56, taking more than a minute from Tiki Gelana’s Ethiopian record and becoming the third-fastest woman in history. “I haven’t decided yet but my gut feeling is I’ll be running the 10,000m on the track,” said Dibaba on her plans for the IAAF World Championships London 2017 this summer. Mergia was beset by leg cramps in the closing stages but the 2010 champion accrued another podium finish in third in 2:23:08 while Cheruiyot, who equalled her half-marathon lifetime best of 1:07:54 en route, faded to fourth on her debut in 2:23:50.

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Mary Keitany: Time for charity after retirement

Four time New York City marathon champion Mary Keitany has focused on charity work after hanging her spikes in September 2021. The former world half marathon record holder, Keitany said that after quitting active running, she will be engaging more on charity by giving back to the community that has been supportive throughout her running […]

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Strong wind, lack of pacemakers slowed my time at Valencia- Ebenyo

Former San Silvestre Vallecana 10km champion Daniel Ebenyo Simiu has attributed his slow run due to the heavy win that has affected his faster time despite winning the Valencia Ibercaja 10km road race in Valencia Spain. Simiu, who won the men’s title in 26:58, failing to break the world record set by compatriot Rhonex Kipruto […]

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Jebitok, Kimeli win s Egoibar Cross Country titles

Former world under 20 1,500m silver medalist Ednah Jebitok and former Africa cross country champion Nicholas Kimeli Kipkorir were the winners of today’s Egoibar Cross Country championships. Jebitok won the senior women’s title in 26:02 ahead of world cross country junior champion Beatrice Chebet to second in 26:22 in a an all Kenyan 1-2 podium […]

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Kiprop and Cherop win as Bungoma dominate Western cross country championships

Kennedy Kiprop and Nancy Cherop were the winners of Athletics Kenya Western Region cross country Championships held yesterday in Kimilili, Bungoma County. With four counties- Bungoma, Kakamega, Busia and Vihiga teaming up, the hosts emerged victorious sweeping top six positions in each category. Starting from the 5km under 18 girls, 6km under 18 boys, 6km […]

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Ebenyo runs away with Valencia Ibercaja 10km title

Cape Town 12km champion Daniel Simiu Ebenyo ran away with Valencia Ibercaja 10km title held today in Valencia, Spain. The Nakuru City half marathon champion won the race, beating compatriots Jacob Krop and Kibiwott for the title in… The Iten based runner cut the tape in 26:57, failing to break the record that is held […]

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Jeruto wins Valencia Ibercaja 10km title

Former world Youth 2,000m steeplechase champion Norah Tanui Jeruto won the Valencia Ibercaja 10km Road race held today in Valencia, Spain. The former Commonwealth Youth Games 2,000m steeplechase champion won the race in 30:34 beating Norwegian’s Kaoline Grovdal to second in 30:37 and Swedish Meraf Bahta completing the podium in 31:23. The Baringo born runner […]

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Ebenyo to battle Krop and Boniface Kibiwott focused to win Valencia 10km title

Newly crowned Cape Town 12km road race champion Daniel Simiu Ebenyo will highlight the Valencia 10km road race set for next month in Spain, targeting his top performance as part of endurance ahead of World Indoor Championships. Ebenyo said that the January 9th 2022 race will kick-start his 2022 journey that is congested with many races […]

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Bett, Chebet dominate Central Rift cross Country meeting

Former world under 20 3,000m steeplechase champion Leonard Bett and World under 20 silver medalist Sandrafelis Chebet were the winners of South Rift Cross Country championship held today at the Njoro Boys High school in Nakuru County. Bett, the represented Kenya at the Olympic Games in Tokyo won the title in 28:23 for the title […]

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Chepkoech and Kiprotich triumph at Central Rift Cross Country championships

Reigning world under 20 3,000m steeplechase champion Jackline Chepkoech and Vincent Kiprotich guided Uasin Gishu County athletes to dominate the senior races at the Athletics Kenya Central Rift Region held today at the Lobo Village in Uasin Gishu County. The race, which was held by Nandi County in the three county competitions of Nandi, uasin […]

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Kipchoge, Kipyegon fall to Mbona for BBC Africa awards

Olympic Games 200m silver medalist Christine Mbona defeated top athletes like Olympic Games marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge and double Olympic Games 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon to win the BBC Africa Sports Athlete of the year. The Namibian youngster was voted the best on the continent to become the first female runner to win the title. […]