Kenyans dominate road races across the world one week after dismal performance at the IAAF world cross

Titus Eriku, Generali Marathon Milano, photo by PhotoRun.net

Vivian Kipligat wins Milano in 2:22.25, fastest time in Italy by women ever, and new Course record, photo by PhotoRun

Justin Lagat wrote this piece about the success of the Kenyans over the weekend of April 6-7. It was also the first weekend that two sub 2:05 marathons were run in the same weekend.

Kenyans dominate road races across the world one week after dismal performance at the IAAF world cross

With so many marathons happening across the world this weekend, Kenyan athletes confirmed their place in the world of long distance by dominating almost all the major road races that happened. It was as though, after the dismal performance at the IAAF world cross country championships last weekend, the Kenyan runners came out to reassure athletic fans across the world that they are indeed still the leaders when it comes to long distance running.

Except for Abraham Tadesse of Switzerland, who was chasing Mo Farah’s European marathon record, and Solomon Mutai of Uganda, the rest of the top ten positions at the Vienna City Marathon were all taken by Kenyans. Vincent Kipchumba had a terrific day after running conservatively till after the 35km point when he suddenly decided to show his true colors and left the rest of the elite field following him in a single file. He registered a huge personal best time of 2:06:56 to win the race.

Nancy Kiprop set a new course record of 2:22:12 to win the women’s race having ran most of the race alone at the front with a pace setter. Two other Kenyan women who happen to be training mates; Angela Tanui and Maurine Chepkemoi occupied the rest of the podium positions in Vienna.

Ruth Chepngetich ran an amazing time of 1:05:30 to win the Istanbul half marathon while Bernard Ngeno won the men’s race by running it in four seconds below the one hour mark.

Mathew Kimeli won the Prague half marathon on Saturday with an impressive 59:07 on his debut and, while still smelling Kenyan having just changed her citizenship to Kazakhstan, Caroline Kipkurui won the women’s race in 1:05:41. It was a clean sweep of the podium places by Kenyans in the men’s race and a similar feat for Kenyan-born women in the women’s race.

Titus Ekiru ran the fastest time ever run for a marathon in Italy to win the Milano marathon in 2:04:46 after leading four other Kenyans to a 1-2-3-4 top finish. Vivian Kipligat achieved the same feat as Ekiru in the women’s race after winning it in 2:22:25.

Marius Kipserem won the Rotterdam Marathon in a huge margin registering a new course record of 2:04:11, with Kenyan-born Kan Ozbilen and another Kenyan, Emmanuel Saina taking the rest of the podium places.

At the Berlin half marathon, Kenyan men took all the top five positions, led by William Wanjiku who won it in 1:01:00.

Author

Justin Lagat
Since 2013, Justin Lagat has written for RunBlogRun. His weekly column is called A view from Kenya. Justin writes about the world of Kenyan athletics on a weekly basis and during championships, provides us additional insights into the sport.
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