Olympic 5,000m silver medalist Hellen Obiri and reigning Chicago marathon champion Brigid Kosgei will be facing off at the new year’s opener San Silvester vallecana 10km race, the IAAF Silver Label road race.
The Kenyan duo will be facing off with ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba.
Obiri, the 5000m Commonwealth Games champion and the African 5,000m champion will mark Obiri’s competitive debut over the 10km distance.
Kosgei is much more accustomed to the roads. The 24-year-old won the Chicago Marathon in style with a 2:18:37 PB and seems ready to fight for the victory on Monday.
In men’s category, reigning world cross country bronze medallist Benard Ngeno will be up against Ugandan world U-20 10,000m silver medallist Jacob Kiplimo.
The Ugandan teenager, still 17, is unbeaten in four races this autumn season: a 10km event in Trento in October and three IAAF Cross Country Permit races in the Spanish cities of Atapuerca, Soria and Alcobendas.
Kiplimo clocked 28:17 at the Giro al Sas in Trento, his best 10km on the roads, a performance he will likely improve upon Monday in his quest for the win.
However, the reigning world U20 cross country champion will face dangerous rivals including Ethiopia’s Abadi Hadis,
The race is held on a slightly downhill 10km point-to-point course and starts alongside Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium before finishing on the pitch of another football team, Rayo Vallecano, in Madrid’s southern suburbs.
Forecasters predict a mild night on Monday with temperatures ranging between 8-10C and no rain expected when the gun sounds the start of the last IAAF Label road race of 2018.
Source: IAAF.ORG