2015 #londonmarathon Elite Races

8/9/2019 2015 #londonmarathon Elite Races

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VIRGIN MONEY LONDON MARATHON 2015

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Elite Men

Entries

Bib no. Name Nation PB Bib name 1 Wilson Kipsang KEN 2:03:23 KIPSANG 2 Dennis Kimetto KEN 2:02:57 KIMETTO 3 Emmanuel Mutai KEN 2:03:13 E. MUTAI 4 Eliud Kipchoge KEN 2:04:05 KIPCHOGE 5 Geoffrey Mutai KEN 2:04:15 G. MUTAI 7 Sammy Kitwara KEN 2:04:28 KITWARA 8 Tsegaye Mekonnen ETH 2:04:32 MEKONNEN

9 Stanley Biwott KEN 2:04:55 BIWOTT 10 Tilahun Regassa ETH 2:05:27 REGASSA 11 Samuel Tsegay ERI 2:07:28 TSEGAY 12 Serhiy Lebid UKR 2:08:32 LEBID 13 Aleksey Reunkov RUS 2:09:54 REUNKOV 14 Ghebrezgiabhier Kibrom ERI 2:10:00 KIBROM 15 Marcin Chabowski POL 2:10:07 CHABOWSKI 16 Koen Raymaekers NED 2:10:35 RAYMAEKERS 17 Scott Overall GBR 2:10:55 OVERALL 18 Michael Shelley AUS 2:11:15 SHELLEY 19 Javier Guerra ESP 2:12:21 GUERRA 20 Bekir Karayel TUR 2:13:21 KARAYEL 21 Hermano Ferreira POR 2:13:28 FERREIRA 22 Christian Kreienbühl SUI 2:15:35 KREIENBUEHL

23 Anuradha Cooray SRI 2:15:51 COORAY 24 Mert Girmalegesse TUR 2:17:45 GIRMALEGESSE 25 Cesar Lizano CRC 2:17:50 LIZANO 26 Stijn Fincioen BEL 2:17:57 FINCIOEN27 Matthew Hynes GBR Debut HYNES 28 Pedro Ribeiro POR Debut RIBEIRO 29 Guye Adola ETH Debut ADOLA

04 THE ELITE RACES


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Preview: A clash of the champions

Former world-record holder Wilson Kipsang willdefend his London Marathon title in a ‘clash of thechampions’ against against fellow Kenyan DennisKimetto, the man who made history last year when hebroke Kipsang’s record to become the first athlete everto run 26.2 miles in less than two hours three minutes.

Kimetto, who clocked 2:02:57 in September’s BerlinMarathon, will make his London Marathon debut, whileKipsang takes on the iconic course for the fourth time

having won in 2012 and 2014. The two are trainingpartners in the Kenyan town of Iten but have neverfaced each other over the marathon distance.

Kipsang set the former world record of 2:03:23 atthe Berlin Marathon in 2013 and broke the Londoncourse record last year when he won in 2:04:29. Nowhe is aiming to become only the fourth man in theevent’s 35-year history to claim a hat-trick of Londontitles. The 33-year-old has won eight marathons in hiscareer, including his last three races, and was crownedthe 2013/14 World Marathon Majors championafter winning the 2014 New York City Marathon lastNovember.

The 30-year-old Kimetto, a relative late-comer toworld-class distance running, was a London Marathonpacemaker in 2013 soon after clocking the fastestever debut marathon when he finished secondin Berlin in 2012. He has since won three WorldMarathon Majors races, taking victory at the 2013 Tokyo and Chicago Marathons before last year’striumph in the German capital.

The Kenyan pair are just two of the big hitters in anelite field that includes the three quickest marathonrunners of all time (on legitimate courses); five of theworld’s all-time top 10; and eight men in total who

have run sub-2:05.

Kipsang and Kimetto are joined by five other strongKenyans, including 2011 London champion EmmanuelMutai, who ran the second fastest time ever whenfinishing runner-up to Kimetto in Berlin last year;Eliud Kipchoge, the former world 5000m championwho won the 2014 Chicago Marathon last October;and Geoffrey Mutai, the former Boston, New Yorkand Berlin Marathon champion, who won the WorldMarathon Majors series in 2012.

There’s also Sammy Kitwara, who was second inChicago and third in Tokyo last year, and last year’srunner-up, Stanley Biwott, another sub-2:05 man, whoreturns to the London Marathon seeking to go onebetter in 2015.

The Ethiopian challenge is led by the 19-year-old 2014Dubai Marathon champion, Tsegaye Mekonnen, whowas fifth last year and holds the fastest ever marathontime by a junior. Former Rotterdam Marathonchampion, Tilahun Regassa, is the second Ethiopianin the field with a best of 2:05:27, while a pair ofEritreans, Samuel Tsegay and Ghebre Kibrom, add tothe strength of the east African pack.

Ukraine’s cross country specialist Serhiy Lebid is theleading European. The 39-year-old won nine Europeancross country titles before moving up to the marathon.Russia’s European bronze medallist Alexey Reunkovis also in the line-up, as is Australia’s GlasgowCommonwealth Games champion Michael Shelley.

Scott Overall and Matt Hynes are the two Britons onthe elite start line. Overall was fifth in the 2011 BerlinMarathon, while Hynes finished 10th in the recentParis half marathon and is looking to improve a five-year-old marathon time in his first serious attempt atthe distance.


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Olympic team, he stamped his authority on a high-quality field with two bold surges and crossed theline in 2:04:44, missing Mutai’s course record by fourseconds.

He returned to London that August to spearheadKenya’s 2012 Olympic bid. Despite establishingan early lead he could not maintain the pace andeventually finished third.

After his two appearances in London in 2012, he wenton to win the Great North Run in a quick time of 59:06and concluded 2012 with another victory, winning theHonolulu Marathon in 2:12:31.

He warmed up for the 2013 London Marathon withvictory at the New York half in 61:02, but he couldplace no higher than fifth in London, his lowest finishin 11 marathon starts. He skipped the Moscow2013 World Championships, saving himself for hisworld record assault in Berlin which he executedto perfection, breaking free after 30km to take 15seconds from Makau’s time.

Kipsang’s second London victory 12 months agoconfirmed his status as the world’s number one, a ranksince challenged by his training partner, Kimetto.

He won the Granollers half marathon on 1 February thisyear in 62:39, repeating his victory from 2013.

Personal notesKipsang was working as a travelling salesman offarm produce when inspired to take up runningby Paul Tergat’s 2003 marathon world record. Hebegan running for the Kenyan police force and wasdiscovered when he finished second in the TeglaLoroupe Peace Race over 10km.

He is married to Doreen Jepkechei Chebii and theyhave four children. He owns a 37-room hotel on theroad between Eldoret and Iten.

His full name is Wilson Kiprotich Kipsang.

WILSON KIPSANG (KENYA)Born: 15 March 1982 Keiyo DistrictMarathon best: 2:03:23 Berlin 2013

London Marathon record: 2012- 1st 2:04:44,2013- 5th 2:07:47, 2014- 1st 2:04:29Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2013- 1st 2:03:23New York: 2014- 1st 2:10:59Other major city marathonsFrankfurt: 2010- 1st 2:04:57, 2011- 1st 2:03:42Honolulu: 2012- 1st 2:12:31Otsu: 2011- 1st 2:06:13Paris: 2010- 3rd 2:07:13Marathons in major championshipsOlympics: 2012- 3rd 2:09:37

Career notes

Wilson Kipsang broke the course record to win hissecond London Marathon title last year, outbattlingStanley Biwott in the final mile and a half of the race tobeat Emmanuel Mutai’s mark by 26 seconds.

He’d arrived in the British capital as the world recordholder having broken Patrick Makau’s two-year-oldmark at the Berlin Marathon in September 2013.He may have lost that accolade to Dennis Kimettolast September, but he bounced back by adding afirst New York Marathon victory to his list of honoursin November and won half a million dollars as the2013/14 Series VIII World Marathon Majors men’schampion. The cold and windy conditions meant

his winning time was the slowest in New York since1995 and the second slowest of Kipsang’s 11 careermarathons.

His aim in London this year is to become only thefourth man to win the London Marathon three times,and the first to retain the title since Martin Lel in 2008. The 33-year-old has won eight out of 11 marathonsin his career so far, including his last three races, andremains third on the world all-time list thanks to hisformer world record of 2:03:23.

Principally a road runner, Kipsang’s main performanceof note before his marathon debut in 2010 was fourth

at the 2009 World Half Marathon Championships. Hewas also second at the 2009 Ra’s Al-Khaymah halfmarathon in 58:59, still his PB.

His first marathon came in Paris in 2010 when he wasthird in 2:07:13, half a minute behind winner Tadesse Tola. He won the Frankfurt Marathon that Octoberin a course record of 2:04:57, beating Tola by morethan a minute. He set another course record when hewon the 2011 Lake Biwa Marathon in Otsu in 2:06:13ahead of Deriba Merga.

He returned to Frankfurt in 2011 and made a boldattack on the world record. He put in a magnificent

effort over the last 5km but missed the target by fourseconds, settling instead for another course recordwith 2:03:42, more than a minute quicker than 2010.

Kipsang’s London Marathon victory in 2012 wassimilarly impressive. Competing for a place on Kenya’s


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By then, however, Kimetto already believed he had thepotential to break the 2:03 barrier and he lived up tothose predictions on 28 September last year when hishistoric run prompted a flood of speculation about theprospects of a sub-2 hour marathon, an achievementhe believes is just a matter of time.

Kimetto has never run in a major championships race,but he has said he would like to run for Kenya at this

year’s World Championships in Beijing and at the Rio2016 Olympic Games.

Personal notesHis full name is Dennis Kipruto Kimetto. He startedtraining in 2008 and did not develop into a world classrunner until his late 20s, spending the preceding yearsas a farmer earning money for his family by sellingcrops in Kenya’s Rift Valley.

“I would listen to the radio at home, and hearcommentary on athletics,” he explained. “That’s whatinspired me. It was the poverty that made me run; Ithought athletics was the way to escape the poverty.”

Kimetto started training alone on the trails around Iten,and was soon spotted by Kipsang and Mutai, whoinvited him to join their group. “It was really painfulat first because I couldn’t stay with them,” Kimettoremembered. “But in time I became as good as them.”

He is married to Caroline Chepkemei and they have ason Alphas Kibet, born 2012. He bought a new housefor his family in Eldoret with his prize money fromrunning.

He was presented with the World Record Award by the Association of International Marathons and Distance

Races (AIMS) in Ra’s Al Kaymah this February.

DENNIS KIMETTO (KENYA)Born: 22 January 1984Marathon best: 2:02:57 Berlin 2014

London Marathon record: None (2013- pace)Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2012- 2nd 2:04:16, 2014- 1st 2:02:57Boston: 2014- dnf Chicago: 2013- 1st 2:03:45 Tokyo: 2013- 1st 2:06:50Other major city marathons: NoneMarathons in major championships: None

Career notesDennis Kimetto became the first man in history tobreak two hours three minutes when he ran a 2:02:57world record at the 2014 Berlin Marathon. He did it inonly his fifth marathon by running the fastest second

half in history (excluding the downhill Boston course)at 61 minutes 12 seconds.

Kimetto took 26 seconds from his training partnerWilson Kipsang’s mark, set in the same race theprevious year, and also beat the unofficial world bestof 2:03:02 by Geoffrey Mutai, another training partner,set in Boston in 2011.

Kimetto covered the first half in 61:45 and increasedhis pace in the second, finally shaking off his lastchallenger, Emmanuel Mutai, with less than 5km togo. Mutai was also inside the previous record with2:03:13.

A latecomer to world class distance running, Kimettoran his first international race in Nairobi in 2011, aged27, when he won the half marathon in 61:30.

A recent recruit to Kipsang and Mutai’s training group,he progressed rapidly, winning the 2012 Berlin halfmarathon that April in 59:14 before, a month later,breaking the world record for 25km at the BIG 25 racein the German capital. He clocked 1:11:18.

He ran his first full marathon in Berlin too, inSeptember 2012, and finished second to Mutai in2:04:16, the fastest debut ever.

He stepped up again in 2013 when he won two WorldMarathon Majors events, starting with the TokyoMarathon in January, where he broke the courserecord in 2:06:50, followed by the Chicago Marathonthat October, where he ran 2:03:45, just 22 secondsoutside Kipsang’s then world record.

It was both a course record and a North Americaall-comers’ record. In the process, Kimetto becamethe first man ever to cover each 5km segment of amarathon in under 14:50.

The one blip in Kimetto’s meteoric rise came a year

ago at the Boston Marathon when he dropped outafter going through 30km in 1:32:31.


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After his big breakthrough in London in 2011, hereturned to New York that year to battle with GeoffreyMutai, eventually yielding victory to his namesake,although he was ahead of Kebede so won the 2010/11WMM Series V.

In January 2012 he was one of six athletes namedon Kenya’s provisional list for Olympic selection andwas later picked despite finishing seventh in London

that April. At the Olympics, he lost touch with his twocompatriots, Wilson Kipsang and Kirui, and struggledhome in 17th place.

After a disappointing 2012, he returned to London in2013 and seemed to have his second victory sewnup at 40km when he had a 28-second lead. But a hipinjury slowed him down and Kebede emerged in thefinal mile to steal his glory. He hung on for second in2:06:33.

He clocked his first sub-2:04 in Chicago that year andreturned to London last year with high hopes, only tofinish seventh again in his slowest time so far.

He ran 63:13 to finish eighth in this year’s Barcelonahalf marathon on 15 February.

Personal notesHis full name is Emmanuel Mutai Kipchirchir and he isbased in Kaptagat, 40km east of Eldoret.

He is no relation to Geoffrey Mutai but he is related toRichard Limo, the 2001 world 5000m champion, and iscoached by former steeplechaser, Patrick Sang.

He is married to Janet Jepkogei and they have twosons, Tony and Allan.

EMMANUEL MUTAI (KENYA)Born: 12 October 1984 Tulwet, Rift ValleyMarathon best: 2:03:13 Berlin 2014

London Marathon record: 2008- 4th 2:06:15,2009- 4th 2:06:53, 2010- 2nd 2:06:23,2011- 1st 2:04:40, 2012- 7th 2:08:01,2013- 2nd 2:06:33, 2014- 7th 2:08:19Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2014- 2nd 2:03:13Chicago: 2008- 5th 2:15:36, 2013- 2nd 2:03:52New York: 2010- 2nd 2:09:18, 2011- 2nd 2:06:28Other major city marathons Amsterdam: 2007- 1st 2:06:29Rotterdam: 2007- 7th 2:13:06Marathons in major championshipsOlympics: 2012- 17th 2:14:49Worlds: 2009- 2nd 2:07:48

Career notesMutai broke a sequence of second places when heran away from the field over the last 10km of the2011 London Marathon to break Sammy Wanjiru’scourse record. He covered the 5km from 30-35kmin 14:16 and won by the biggest margin since 1986.His winning time of 2:04:40 made him then the 10thfastest marathon runner in history.

He improved that position in Chicago in October 2013when he was second to Dennis Kimetto in 2:03:52,then the fastest non-winning time ever, making himone of just five people to break 2:04 on a legitimate

course.

And he went quicker still in Berlin last Septemberwhen he again followed Kimetto home. As hiscountryman made history by breaking the 2:03 barrier,Mutai lowered his own best to 2:03:13 to rank worldNo.2, a remarkable achievement in his 16th marathon.

Mutai’s marathon career began modestly in Rotter-dam in April 2007, but he produced a sparklingperformance later that year in Amsterdam, winningin an eye-catching 2:06:29.

He made his London debut the following year, finishing

fourth in 2:06:15 followed by fifth place in Chicago thatOctober. In London 2009, he was out of the medalsfor the second year in a row, but came close to his PBwith 2:06:53, fast enough to win a place on Kenya’sWorld Championship team. At the Worlds in Berlin heran side-by-side with Abel Kirui for much of the race.Kirui pulled away in the final stages but Mutai baggeda silver medal.

He arrived in London the following spring seeking tomake the podium for the first time. He achieved hisgoal by finishing second behind Tsegaye Kebede,clocking his fourth sub-2:07 time. In November thatyear he made his New York debut, and had to be

satisfied with second again, this time trailing GebreGebremariam to the line.


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ELIUD KIPCHOGE (KENYA)Born: 5 November 1984 Kapsisiywa, Nandi DistrictMarathon best: 2:04:05 Berlin 2013

London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors Berlin: 2013- 2nd 2:04:05Chicago: 2014- 1st 2:04:11Other major city marathonsRotterdam: 2014- 1st 2:05:00Hamburg: 2013- 1st 2:05:30Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesFormer world 5000m champion Eliud Kipchoge ranthe quickest non-winning time ever at the 2013 BerlinMarathon when he clocked 2:04:05 to finish secondbehind Wilson Kipsang’s world record-breaking run.

Both marks were surpassed at last year’s BerlinMarathon, and that time remains Kipchoge’s personalbest, but the 30-year-old former track runner provedhimself a new star of the roads in 2014 with anunbeaten record.

After winning the Barcelona half marathon lastFebruary, he triumphed at the Rotterdam Marathonin April in 2:05:00, then produced a magnificent latesurge to win last October’s Chicago Marathon in2:04:11, beating a high-quality field that includedEmmanuel Mutai and Kenenisa Bekele.

Kipchoge first made the move up to the marathonas recently as April 2013 when he won the HamburgMarathon in 2:05:30, beating the field by more thantwo minutes and setting a new course record.

Before then, Kipchoge was best known for his exploitson the track, not least his incredible upset victory atthe 2003 World Championships in Paris when, at theage of 19, he won the 5000m gold medal defeatingtwo giants of the distance, Kenenisa Bekele andHicham El Guerrouj. Earlier that summer he’d brokenthe world junior record at the Bislett Games in Oslo,running 12:52.61.

Kipchoge had won the junior race the World CrossCountry Championships earlier that year, but his Parisvictory was to prove his last at a major championshipsas in the following years he often came close butnever again reached the top of the podium.

At World Championships he won a 5000m silver in2007, but otherwise finished fourth in 2005, fifth in2009 and seventh in 2011, while he won an Olympicbronze in 2004 and silver in 2008, beaten by Bekeleboth times, and a Commonwealth Games silver in2010 behind Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro.

Aside from occasional 5km and 10km races,

Kipchoge made his first move on to the roads in2012 when he was sixth at the Kavarna World HalfMarathon Championships.

He won the Barcelona half marathon in 2013 beforemaking his marathon debut in Hamburg, but his halfmarathon PB stems from 2012 when he ran 59:25 inLille.

He finished sixth in this year’s Ra’s Al KhaymahInternational half marathon in 60:50.

Personal notes

Eliud Kipchoge was born in Kapsisiywa in the NandiDistrict in Kenya where his parents were farmers. Hestill lives mainly in Kapsisiywa.

He trains at the Global Sports camp in Kaptagat butis based in Nijmegen, Netherlands, during the trackseason.

Kipchoge has a daughter Lynne Jebet, born in 2006.


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GEOFFREY MUTAI (KENYA)Born: 7 October 1981 Koibatek District, Rift ValleyMarathon best: 2:04:15 Berlin 2012

London Marathon record: 2013- dnf,2014- 6th 2:08:18Other World Marathon Majors Berlin: 2010- 2nd 2:05:10, 2012- 1st 2:04:15Boston: 2011- 1st 2:03:02, 2012- dnf New York: 2011- 1st 2:05:06, 2013- 1st 2:08:24,2014- 6th 2:13:44Other major city marathonsDaegu: 2009- 8th 2:10:45Eindhoven: 2008- 1st 2:07:50, 2009- 1st 2:07:01Monaco: 2008- 1st 2:12:40Rotterdam: 2010- 2nd 2:04:55Seoul: 2009- dnf Marathons in major championships: None

Career notes The 2011/12 World Marathon Majors championproduced one of the most astonishing performancesin marathon history when he won the 2011 BostonMarathon in 2:03:02, then the quickest time everrecorded for the distance.

It didn’t count as a world record because of the point-to-point and downhill profile of the Boston course, andMutai was aided by a strong tailwind, although it wasstill a breath-taking run as he averaged four minutes41.5 seconds per mile.

Mutai went on to set the course record in New York City that autumn when he beat his namesakeEmmanuel Mutai in 2:05:06, slashing two minutes 37from a record that had stood for 10 years. Together,his times in Boston and New York that year set arecord for the fastest two-race total in a single year –4:08:08.

Mutai returned to defend his Boston title in April 2012but suffered badly in the extreme heat and droppedout, ruining his chance of a place in Kenya’s Olympicteam. He came back to win the 2012 Berlin Marathonin 2:04:15, his quickest ‘legitimate’ time, and clinchedthe World Marathon Majors Series VI crown.

He made his London Marathon debut in 2013, but itwasn’t a successful one as he dropped at 30km with ahamstring problem. He retained his New York title thatNovember (the 2012 race was cancelled) after cuttingloose in the second half and building a large lead.

He ran the same two races in 2014, finishing sixth inboth London and New York, some way short of hisbest at both events.

Mutai first ran the marathon at Eldoret, Kenya, inDecember 2007. He finished second in 2:12:50. Afterwinning two autumn marathons in Eindhoven in 2008

and 2009, he stepped up for his first WMM race inBerlin 2010 and came within two seconds of pullingoff an upset victory over Patrick Makau.

He has run five marathons of 2:05:10 or better, andwas one of the most consistent racers on the circuit fortwo years until the end of 2013.

He was due to race the Tokyo Marathon this Februaryand then run as a pacemaker in London, but wheninjury forced him to withdraw from Tokyo he decided torace in London instead.

Mutai set a new half marathon best of 58:58 whenhe was third at the Ra’s Al-Khaymah on 15 February2013. He beat Mo Farah to win the New York halfmarathon in March last year in 60:50.

He was the African Championships bronze medallistover 10,000m in 2010, Kenyan champion at crosscountry in 2011 and at 10,000m in 2013. He was fifthat the 2011 World Cross Country Championships.

Personal notesHe is the eldest of nine children and is married toBeatrice Chepkirui. They have two daughters, Micheleand Merica.

His full name is Geoffrey Kiprono Mutai. He is notrelated to Emmanuel Mutai.

He is based in Kapngetuny in Uasin Gishu County (theRift Valley). His training group includes Wilson Kipsangand Dennis Kimetto.


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SAMMY KITWARA (KENYA)Born: 26 November 1986 Sagat, Marakwet DistrictMarathon best: 2:04:28 Chicago 2014

London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors Chicago: 2012- 4th 2:05:54, 2013- 3rd 2:05:16,2014- 2nd 2:04:28 Tokyo: 2014- 3rd 2:06:30Other major city marathonsRotterdam: 2012- dnf, 2013- 3rd 2:07:22Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesSammy Kitwara chased Eliud Kipchoge home tofinish runner-up in the Chicago Marathon last year in2:04:28, a time that would have won every race in theevent’s history until 2013.

It was Kitwara’s third appearance in the Windy Citysince 2012 and in three years he has moved up fromfourth to third to second, improving his time on eachoccasion.

He arrives for his London Marathon debut in 2015 afterclinching two World Marathon Majors podium places in2014 – he was also third in Tokyo last February – andcurrently sits equal seventh on the WMM leaderboard.

Kitwara began his marathon career as a pacemaker atthe 2011 Rotterdam Marathon, and made his debutat the same race in 2012. He was in the lead pack at

half way (61:38), but dropped out after 30km. He wasin better form when he returned to Rotterdam in 2013,placing third in 2:07:22.

His marathon record to date reads six starts, fourpodium places but, as yet, no victory.

Before his marathon career took off, Kitwara was bestknown as a half marathon runner. He is one of only 13men to have broken 59 minutes which he has donetwice.

He placed 10th at the World Half MarathonChampionships in 2009, in Birmingham, having won

the Den Haag and Rotterdam halves in Holland earlierthat year, the former by beating Haile Gebrselassie, thelatter in a course record of 58:58.

He had also set a course record of 27:25.6 at theWorld’s Best 10K in February that year. He won thatrace again in 2011, one of only three men to win thePuerto Rico race more than once. His 10km road bestis 27:11, set when second in Utrecht in 2010.

He won a bronze medal at the 2010 World HalfMarathon Championships in Nanning and in 2011moved to fifth on the half marathon all-time list whenhe clocked 58:48 in Philadelphia, although he lost by

two seconds to Mathew Kisorio.

He also lost narrowly to Zersenay Tadese in that year’sLisbon half marathon when the Eritrean set a worldrecord of 58:23.

He ran the fastest ever time for 12km when heclocked 33:31 in the 2009 Bay to Breakers race in SanFrancisco, an event he has won three times.

On the track, Kitwara won the 10,000m title at the2009 Kenyan World Championship Trials, but wassubsequently removed from the team for Berlin by Athletics Kenya for participating in road races after the

Trials.

He won the World’s Best 10km race in San Juan forthe fourth time on 1 March this year in 28:51.

Personal notesSammy Kirop Kitwara was born in Sagat village, in theMarakwet District of the Rift Valley.

He went to Embomir Primary School and Kerio ValleySecondary school, from which he graduated in 2004.He took up running in 2007 because “I was not makingany progress in life and my family needed assistance.”

A policeman by occupation, he is coached by MosesKiptanui and has run for the Kenyan police team.


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TSEGAYE MEKONNEN(ETHIOPIA)

Born: 15 June 1995 North Shewa ZoneMarathon best: 2:04:32 Dubai 2014London Marathon record: 2014- 5th 2:08:06Other World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathonsDubai: 2014- 1st 2:04:32Marathons in major championships: None

Career notes Tsegaye Mekonnen made a sensational marathondebut in January last year when he won the 2014Dubai Marathon in 2:04:32 at the age of 18, beatingthe unofficial world junior record by one minute 19seconds.

It was the third fastest debut in history by a manknown previously only for finishing fifth in the WorldJunior 5000m final in 2012. His winning time madeMekonnen the 11th fastest marathon runner of alltime, with the 14th quickest time – he’s now 12th onthe all-time list with the 19th best time.

He made his London Marathon debut 12 months ago,finishing fifth, the third of a trio of Ethiopians followingthe Kenyan one-two, but ahead of the two Mutais,Geoffrey and Emmanuel.

Mekonnen had run as a pacemaker in Dubai in 2013

and was 14th in the Ra’s Al Khaymah half marathon inFebruary that year in 62:53. He was also 15th in theBangalore 10km in 29:33 last May, and has a 10kmroad best of 28:36 from 2012.

He also ran a half marathon best of 62:41 in Porto inSeptember 2013.

These were hardly performances to herald his amazingbreakthrough on Dubai’s superfast course last Januarywhen he broke away in the 36th kilometre and reeledoff km splits of 2:51, 2:52 and 2:54 to leave MarkosGeneti in second place.

He ran a personal best of 61:05 to finish seventh atthis year’s Ra’s Al Kaymah half marathon, just behindEliud Kipchoge.

Personal notesHis full name is Tsegaye Mekonnen Asefa. He is thefourth of nine children (six boys, three girls).

He started training while still at school four years agoafter being encouraged to run by his grandfather, Assefa Wake. He turned to the marathon after ‘only’finishing fifth in the 5000m at the 2012 World Juniors.

He owns and rides a horse called Hodolcha which he

keeps at his home town in the North Shewa Zone.Mekonnen trains in Addis Ababa.

His ambition is to break Haile Gebrselassie’s Ethiopianrecord of 2:03:59.


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STANLEY BIWOTT (KENYA)Born: 21 April 1986Marathon best: 2:04:55 London 2014

London Marathon record: 2011- pace,2013- 8th 2:08:39, 2014- 2nd 2:04:55Other World Marathon MajorsNew York: 2013- 5th 2:10:41Other major city marathonsCarpi: 2006- 7th 2:14:25Chunchon: 2011- 1st 2:07:03Paris: 2012- 1st 2:05:12Reims: 2010- 2nd 2:09:41São Paulo: 2010- 1st 2:11:19Shanghai: 2012- 3rd 2:09:05Marathons in major championships: None

Career notes

Stanley Biwott was the surprise package of last year’srace when he finished second in a personal best,breaking the 2:05 barrier.

Despite starting as only the eighth quickest man inthe field, the 2012 Paris champion ran stride-for-stridewith world record holder Wilson Kipsang until the finalstages of the race and followed his countryman acrossthe line in 2:04:55 to ensure 2014 was the first yearin 34 London Marathons that two men have broken2:05.

Biwott had taken nearly two minutes from his PBto win the 2012 Paris Marathon, crossing the line in

2:05:12, a course record. It was a significant moveinto world class for the Kenyan whose marathoncareer began six years earlier in Carpi, where he wasseventh.

He didn’t run a marathon again until 2010 when hewon the São Paulo Marathon in 2:11:19, the fastestever in South America.

He dipped under 2:10 for the first time at the 2010Reims to Toutes Jambes, where he was threeseconds behind winner Stephen Chebogut in 2:09:41.

At the Chunchon Marathon in 2011 he outran his

training partner Jonathan Kosgei Kipkorir and tookanother two and a half minutes from his PB with atime of 2:07:03, a course record.

Biwott began 2012 with another course record, thistime at the Paris half marathon which he won in59:44. That was on 1 March, and just six weeks laterhe returned to the French capital to repeat the featat the full distance. He took the lead at half way andcontinued to pull away from the field over the secondhalf.

He headed to USA later in the year and won boththe Beach to Beacon 10km, in a PB of 28:00, and

the Falmouth 7 miles road race. He was also acomfortable winner at the Philadelphia half marathon,finishing 40 seconds ahead of the field, and at theRock ‘n’ Roll half in San Antonio in November.

His good form continued in 2013 when he was secondat the Ra’s Al Khaymah half in a PB of 58:56, equal11th on the world all-time list at the end of 2014.

He ran well on his London Marathon debut in April2013 when he was leading the race with less than fivemiles to go until Emmanuel Mutai swept past him. Hestruggled on the run-in and eventually finished eighthin 2:08:39.

He was among the leaders in the New York Marathonthat November too, eventually finishing fifth in 2:10:41.

He withdrew from the 2014 Ra’s Al-Khaymah halfmarathon because of ‘leg pain’, but dipped under thehour again at the New Delhi half last November whenhe clocked 59:18 in fifth.

He ran the fastest half marathon in the world so far thisyear when he won the City Pier City race in Den Haagin 59:20 on 8 March.

Personal notes

His full name is Stanley Kipleting Biwott. He is marriedto Nancy Cherop Biwott and they have a son, AlanKipchumba.

His brother Norris Biwott ran 2:11:29 in 2013.

He worked on his family’s dairy farm before becominga runner. He began working with Italian coach ClaudioBerardelli in 2006.


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TILAHUN REGASSA (ETHIOPIA)Born: 18 January 1990 NazretMarathon best: 2:05:27 Chicago 2012

London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon MajorsBoston: 2014- dnf Chicago: 2012- 3rd 2:05:27Other major city marathonsEindhoven: 2014- 1st 2:06:21Rotterdam: 2013- 1st 2:05:38 Xiamen: 2015- 2nd 2:06:54Marathons in major championships: None

Career notes Tilahun Regassa made a spectacular marathon debutwhen he finished third at the 2012 Chicago Marathonin 2:05:27, then the third fastest debut on a standard

course. He kept Sammy Kitwara out of the medalscompleting an Ethiopian clean sweep led by two-timeLondon Marathon winner Tsegaye Kebede.

Regassa was familiar with most of the Chicago courseas he had been a pacemaker the previous year, whenhe passed 30km in 1:29:25 (at 2:06 marathon pace).

He followed his debut with two prestigious Europeanwins, first at the 2013 Rotterdam Marathon, when hetriumphed by more than a minute and finished just11 seconds outside his PB, and then last October inEindhoven, having failed to finish the 2014 BostonMarathon in April.

On 3 January this year he was second in the XiamenMarathon behind Moses Mosop. His four completedmarathons have all been inside 2:07 and he has won aplace on the podium each time.

Regassa is also a sub-one hour half-marathon runnerwith his best of 59:19 stemming from his victory inthe 2010 Zayed International in Abu Dhabi, worthUS$300,000. He ran for Ethiopia at the 2009 WorldHalf Marathon Championships in Birmingham,finishing 11th in 62:08 and winning a team bronze.

He set four PBs in 2012 including 27:18.90 for

10,000m when he was sixth in Hengelo and 43:01 for15km, his winning time in the Boilermaker road race inNew York State.

Personal notesHis full name is Tilahun Regassa Dabe.

Regassa’s parents divorced when he was three andhe was raised by his father until the age of 15, whenhis father died. He worked for a stone company andlived on the streets for three years, relying on foodhandouts.

At 16, he entered the Great Ethiopian Run and came

fourth. A year later he was ninth. Local coaches toldHussein Makke, an elite manager, of his potential, andMakke took him into his stable of runners to train full-time. He began competing in Europe in 2008.

Regassa was once described by his manager as “oneof the most talented athletes in the world”, but also as“a wild man, in every meaning of the word”.


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SAMUEL TSEGAY (ERITREA)Born: 24 October 1988 KudofelasiMarathon best: 2:07:28 Amsterdam 2011

London Marathon record: 2012- 9th 2:08:06,2014- 18th 2:19:10Other World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathons Amsterdam: 2011- 8th 2:07:28Marathons in major championshipsOlympics: 2012- dnf Worlds: 2013- 16th 2:14:41

Career notes Tsegay was ninth on his London Marathon debut twoyears ago, clocking 2:08:06, but he dropped out ofthe London Olympic race a few months later and was16th at the 2013 World Championships.

He returned to the London Marathon last year full ofconfidence after picking up a silver medal at the 2014World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagenlast March. Tsegay ran a personal best of 59:21 andhelped Eritrea to take the team gold for the first time.

But he again struggled to find his best form in theBritish capital, and slipped back over the second halfof the race to finish 18th in 2:19:10.

Tsegay claimed the Eritrean record from Yonas Kiflewhen he made his marathon debut in Amsterdamin October 2011, only to see it vanish a week later

when Yared Asmerom took a second from his time of2:07:28.

Tsegay finished eighth in the Dutch city, anencouraging step up for the then 23-year-old who hadtwice finished fifth at previous World Half MarathonChampionships and was an experienced crosscountry international at junior and senior levels.

He broke his national junior 10,000m record when hewas fourth at the 2006 World Junior Championshipsand lowered it again when eighth at the 2007 All- African Games. He also finished eighth in the juniorraces at the 2006 and 2007 World Cross Country

Championships.

At senior level he was 16th at the World Cross in2009 when the Eritrean team took bronze. He alsorepresented Eritrea over 5000m at the 2009 WorldChampionships in Berlin where he was eliminated inthe heats.

A fifth place at the 2010 World Cross gained him ateam silver but he was disqualified in 2011 after heand Abera Kuma began fighting in the final stretch. Tsegay accused the Ethiopian of deliberately elbowinghim and standing on his heels. He reacted by grabbingKuma’s leg and threw a punch before dashing to the

finish. The IAAF disqualified both athletes.

On the roads, Tsegay made an encouraging step up tothe half marathon when he was fifth at the 2009 WorldChampionships in Birmingham and he was fifth againin Nanning the following year.

He ran a personal best for 10 miles (44:38) in Zaandamin September 2011 before making his marathon debutin the same country a month later.

In 2013 he ran PBs for 10km and 15km and was sixthin the Lisbon half marathon while last year he won theEritrean half marathon championships in 59:42 beforehis medal-winning performance in Copenhagen.

Personal notesHis full name is Samuel Tsegay Tesfamriam.

He is coached by Jeronimo Bravo who also coachesworld half marathon record holder Zersenay Tadese.


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SERHIY LEBID (UKRAINE)Born: 15 July 1975 Dnipropetrovsk Marathon best: 2:08:32 Seoul 2014

London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathonsLisbon: 2013- 2nd 2:11:24Nagano: 2014- 1st 2:13:56Seoul: 2014- 4th 2:08:32Warsaw: 2013- dnf Marathons in major championships: None

Career notes The nine-times European cross country champion andformer world cross country silver medallist has movedup to the marathon in the last couple of years.

He dropped out on his debut in Warsaw in April 2013,but he was second in Lisbon later that year in 2:11:24before winning the Nagano marathon last April.

He made a major improvement to his time inNovember when he was fourth in at the SeoulMarathon in 2:08:32, taking almost three minutes fromhis PB to rank second in Europe behind Mo Farah.

Now 39, Lebid’s international career stretches backto 1997 when he was European under 23 silvermedallist at 10,000m. He went on to win three WorldUniversity Games 5000m titles – in 1999, 2001 and2003 – and represented Ukraine at that distance at

World Championships and Olympic Games from 1999to 2012. His best finish at global level came in 2000when he was seventh in the Sydney Games 5000mfinal.

At European level, he won a 5000m bronze medalat the 2002 championships in Munich. He was alsofourth at 5000m in 2010 and fifth at 10,000m in 2006.

His major successes have come at cross country ashe was the dominant European figure for a dozenyears and is arguably the continent’s greatest evercross country runner.

He won nine European golds between 1998 and2010 plus one silver and three bronze medals in that12-year period. Uniquely, he appeared in all of thefirst 19 editions of the championships from 1994 to2012. He also won a silver medal at the 2001 WorldCross Country Championships having finished eighthin 2000.

In all, he has won 13 national titles in Ukraine andbroken national records at 3000m (indoors and out),two miles indoors, and 5000m outdoors (13:10.78 in2002), while he also set national records at 5km and10km on the roads.

His half marathon best of 61:49 was set in 2003 whenhe was third at the Great North Run.

Personal notesHe was coached by Renato Canova earlier in hiscareer, and was often based in Italy.


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GHEBRE KIBROM (ERITREA)

Born: 1 February 1987

Marathon best: 2:10:00 Hengshui 2014London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathonsCologne: 2013- 8th 2:11:56Hengshui: 2014- 5th 2:10:00Milan: 2014- 3rd 2:11:12Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesGhebre Kibrom has produced three top 10 finishes inhis three marathons so far, most successfully whenthird in Milan last April behind Kenyans Francis Kipropand Stephen Tum.

His time of 2:11:12 improved his personal best fromhis debut in Cologne the previous October and helowered it still further in his third outing. That was inHengshui, China, last September when he clocked2:10:00 to finish fifth in a race won by EthiopianMarkos Geneti.

Personal notesHis full name is Ghebrezgiabhier Weldemicael Kibrom,sometimes written as Kibrom Ghebrezgiabhier.


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His half marathon best of 62:26 stems from 2011 whilehe ran 63:24 to finish 15th at this year’s New York halfmarathon on 16 March.

Personal notesHe is coached by former Russian record holder LeonidShvetsov.

MARCIN CHABOWSKI(POLAND)

Born: 28 May 1986Marathon best: 2:10:07 Düsseldorf 2012London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathonsDüsseldorf: 2012- 4th 2:10:07Eindhoven: 2014- 8th 2:15:04Lódz: 2014- 5th 2:11:23Warsaw: 2011- 6th 2:14:32Marathons in major championshipsEuropeans: 2014- dnf

Career notes

Marcin Chabowski made a bold bid for glory on thefinal day of the European Championships in Zürich lastsummer when he struck out alone at the start of themen’s marathon, throwing caution to the wind despitethe rising heat and brutal hilly course.

A former European junior steeplechase champion whoturned to the marathon in 2011, Chabowski led thefield by more than a minute at 25km before eventuallypaying the price for his suicidal pace. He was caughtshortly after passing 30km and later dropped outclutching his side less than 10km from the finish,leaving Italy’s Daniele Meucci to take the gold.

It was a disappointing end for Chabowski who finishedsixth on his debut in Warsaw in 2:14:32, a time heimproved by nearly four and a half minutes when hewas fourth in Düsseldorf the following year.

He didn’t attempt another marathon until 2014 whenhe was fifth in Lodz last April, winning his place onPoland’s team for Zürich.

After his crash landing in Switzerland, Chabowskireturned to action swiftly, running the EindhovenMarathon in October where he finished eighth, but inhis slowest time so far.

Chabowski had his first taste of internationalcompetition in 2003 when he was fifth in the 2000msteeplechase at the World Youth Championships.

The following year he was a 3000m steeplechasefinalist at the World Juniors. In 2005 he won theEuropean junior title in Kaunas and broke Poland’snational junior record for the distance with 8:30.40. Hisall-time PB is 8:25.90 from 2008.

In 2007, he was fifth at the European Under 23Championships, but in more recent years he hasmoved up in distance, becoming Poland’s senior10,000m champion in 2009 with a PB of 28:27.59,

and running 10,000m for his country at EuropeanCups in 2010 and 2011.

He has been Polish cross country champion fourtimes, 10,000m champion twice, 10km championtwice, and half marathon champion.


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KOEN RAYMAEKERS(NETHERLANDS)

Born: 31 January 1980 CothenMarathon best: 2:10:35 Rotterdam 2012London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathons Amsterdam: 2006- 16th 2:15:50, 2007- 14th 2:13:02,2009- 13th 2:12:59, 2011- dnf, 2013- dnf Eindhoven: 2012- 21st 2:19:17Rotterdam: 2007- 14th 2:19:44, 2008- 14th 2:15:07,2009- 15th 2:18:59, 2010- 9th 2:11:09,2011- 8th 2:13:41, 2012- 6th 2:10:35,2013- 8th 2:12:09, 2014- 11th 2:15:19Utrecht: 2006- 5th 2:23:38Marathons in major championships

Europeans: 2010- 17th 2:23:24, 2014- 31st 2:20:49

Career notesKoen Raymaekers is a veteran of 17 careermarathons, and has run all but two of them in hishome country, the Netherlands. His record includesfour Amsterdam Marathons since 2006 and everysingle Rotterdam Marathon since 2007.

But he won’t be running Rotterdam this April for the35-year-old makes his World Marathon Majors debutin London in the hope of dipping under 2:10 for thefirst time.

A former Dutch junior record holder at 5000m and10,000m, Raymaekers made his marathon debut inUtrecht in 2006 when he was fifth, which remains hishighest ever finish.

He has completed at least one marathon every yearsince and produced his best performance in 2012when he was sixth in Rotterdam in 2:10:35, a racewhich produced PBs for seven of the first 10 men,including the top two, Ethiopians Yemane Adhane andGetu Feleke, who both broke 2:05.

Raymaekers has been a Dutch international since1997 when he finished 17th in the junior race at the

European Cross Country Championships.

In 1998 he ran 5000m at the World JuniorChampionships, and the following year he was fourthat 10,000m at the European juniors. In 2001 he won asilver medal at the European Under 23 Championshipsbut he had to wait until he’d moved up to themarathon before winning his first senior Dutch vest.

That was in 2010 when he was 17th at the BarcelonaEuropean Championships. He was selected for the2014 championships too, and finished 31st in Zürich.

He has been a prolific half marathon runner in Holland,

his PB of 62:09 coming at the 2011 Den Haag race.He was 15th in Den Haag this year in 64:17 and 17that the Venloop half in 64:21.


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He broke his 10,000m track PB last Septemberwhen he ran 29:18.39, and he won the Reading halfmarathon last March in 64:44.

He was 12th in the World’s Best 10km race in SanJuan on 1 March this year in 30:19.

Personal notesBorn in Hammersmith, London, Overall began running

during physical education lessons at school.

A member of Blackheath & Bromley Athletic Club, heattended Leicester University then Butler University inIndianapolis, USA, where he studied economics, before joining Team Indiana Elite in Bloomington where hehooked up with the coach, Robert Chapman.

He is now based in Sutton, Surrey, and is coached by Alan Storey.

He used to train with Mo Farah and was an usher atFarah’s wedding.

Overall worked for the Sweatshop specialist runningretail outlet, and occasionally at the London Marathonhead office, before deciding to train full-time for themarathon.

His girlfriend is retired British international 800m runner Vicky Griffiths.

SCOTT OVERALL(GREAT BRITAIN & NI)

Born: 9 February 1983 Hammersmith, LondonMarathon best: 2:10:55 Berlin 2011London Marathon record: 2012- pace, 2013- dnf,2014- 19th 2:19:55Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2011- 5th 2:10:55, 2013- dnf,2014- 14th 2:13:00Other major city marathonsFukuoka: 2012- 13th 2:14:15Marathons in major championshipsOlympics: 2012- 61st 2:22:37

Career notesScott Overall became the first British man to qualify for

the London 2012 Olympic athletics team when he ran2:10:55 to finish fifth on his marathon debut in Berlin in2011. It was the fastest time by a Briton since Tomas Abyu was second in the Dublin Marathon in 2007.

Overall warmed up for the Olympics by winning theSilverstone Half Marathon in March 2012, finishingeighth at the New York City half marathon in a PB of61:25, and pacemaking British runners at the 2012London Marathon.

He then finished third at the Bupa London 10,000 atthe end of May, two places behind Mo Farah.

He was 61st in the Olympic race in 2:22:37 and endedthe year placing 13th at the Fukuoka Marathon in2:14:15 to rank third in the UK for 2012.

He was seventh in the 2013 New Orleans halfmarathon in 64:51, and won the Silverstone half againin March 2013 in 65:43, looking in good shape for hisLondon Marathon debut that April. But it turned out tobe a race to forget as he dropped out around 25kmtroubled by a knee injury.

He returned to the Berlin Marathon that Septemberbut again struck bad luck when he tore his calf halfway into the race.

The 2014 London Marathon was also a frustratingexperience. Overall set off with high hopes of a quicktime after what he described as “near enough perfect”training with Chris Thompson in Colorado Springs. Buthe finished 19th, suffering “a slow death” over the lastseven to eight miles, and ended with a time only justinside 2:20.

Things improved slightly when he placed 14th in Berlinlast September in 2:13:00, his second quickest timeand good enough to rank third in Britain for the yearbehind Mo Farah and Thompson.

Overall was the national 5000m champion on thetrack in 2009 and has represented Britain at Europeanindoor and cross country championships. He wassixth in the 2005 European under 23 5000m and hasa best at the distance of 13:28.33 from 2008. He isalso a four-minute miler with an indoor best of 3:58.61.


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He improved that by 15 seconds in Amsterdam thatautumn, and then finished 16th at the London 2012Olympics, one place ahead of Emmanuel Mutai.

He qualified for Glasgow by running 2:13:09 to place12th at the 2013 Chicago Marathon, won by DennisKimetto in 2:03:45. In Glasgow he timed his effort toperfection, producing his best time when it matteredmost.

“I’ve got to pinch myself, it is very exciting,” he saidafterwards. “I was just hoping to come back anddefend the silver medal, so to come back and win isindescribable.”

Shelley’s half marathon PB of 61:27 was set whenfinishing 10th in the 2012 New York half marathon. Hehas a 10km PB of 28:44, also from 2012.

On the track his 10,000m best is 27:59.77 and he’s run13:38.30 for 5000m, both in 2009.

Personal notes

Coached by Dick Trelford, Shelley trains in hot andhumid conditions on the Gold Coast.

He was introduced to running at primary school sportscarnivals, then attended the Helensvale State HighSchool, which also produced Olympic sprint hurdlesgold medallist Sally Pearson and tennis player SamStosur, a US Open winner. The school named its sportshouse after Shelley in November last year.

MICHAEL SHELLEY (AUSTRALIA)

Born: 10 October 1983 Southport, Queensland

Marathon best: 2:11:15 Commonwealths 2014London Marathon record: 2011- 10th 2:11:38Other World Marathon MajorsChicago: 2013- 12th 2:13:09Other major city marathons Amsterdam: 2011- 11th 2:11:23Oita: 2013- 6th 2:13:12Rotterdam: 2010- 12th 2:13:05Marathons in major championshipsOlympics: 2012- 16th 2:14:10Commonwealths: 2010- 2nd 2:15:28,2014- 1st 2:11:15

Career notes

Michael Shelley became the first non-African winner ofthe Commonwealth Games men’s marathon title fortwo decades when he triumphed in Glasgow’s pouringrain last July.

The 30-year-old from Southport in Queenslandpulled clear of Kenya’s Stephen Chemlany two milesfrom the finish to win by 43 seconds in 2:11:15before being embraced by Steve Moneghetti, the Australian marathon legend and 2014 chef de mission who was the last man from outside Africa to strikeCommonwealth gold in 1994.

The victory was the climax of a remarkable five-year

turn-around for Shelley who almost quit the sport in2009 after he suffered a stress fracture to his pelvisand lost funding from the Australian Institute of Sport.

It would have been a sad end for the promisingdistance runner who made his international debutas a steeplechaser at the 2002 World JuniorChampionships, represented Australia at four WorldCross Country Championships and finished 16th atthe 2008 World Half Marathon Championships.

With the encouragement of his coach, Dick Trelford,Shelley persevered, and his step up to the marathonin 2010 was an inspired move, bringing swift and

unexpected success. After running 2:13:05 on hisdebut in Rotterdam that April, Shelley was selected forthe 2010 Commonwealth Games where his pre-raceaim was merely to complete the 42km in Delhi’s harshconditions.

Yet the relatively slow pace worked to his advantage. After lying eighth at halfway, he finished strongly,overhauling Kenyan Amos Tirop Matui in the last 3kmto take the silver medal 53 seconds behind John Kelaiin 2:15:28.

“Being able to finish would have been an amazingresult – it’s my first Commonwealth Games and my

first multi-sport Games,” he said afterwards. “It was alearning experience and we’ll see what happens.”

What happened next was Shelley received aninvitation to run the London Marathon in 2011 andfinished a creditable 10th in 2:11:38.


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JAVIER GUERRA (SPAIN)

Born: 10 November 1983Marathon best: 2:12:21 La Coruña 2013London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathonsLa Coruña: 2013- 1st 2:12:21Marathons in major championships

Worlds: 2013- 15th 2:14:33Europeans: 2014- 4th 2:12:32

Career notesJavier Guerra missed a medal at the EuropeanChampionships in Zürich last summer by just 17seconds. He was fourth in 2:12:32, 11 secondsoutside his best on a tough course.

He set his personal best on his marathon debutin La Coruña to win a place at the 2013 WorldChampionships. He performed well in difficultconditions in Moscow to place 15th in 2:14:33, thefirst European finisher.

He ran for Spain again at the World Half MarathonChampionships in Copenhagen last March, setting aPB of 62:27 in 38th. Guerra first pulled on a Spanishvest as a junior in 2001 when he finished ninth at theEuropean Cross Country Championships. He also ran5000m at the 2002 World Junior Championships. Asa senior he has represented Spain at seven EuropeanCross Country Championships, finishing fifth in 2011,and at the 2010 World Cross.

On the track, he twice made the 5000m final at theWorld University Games, finishing seventh in 2009 andhas PBs at 5000m of 13:46.12 (2007) and 10,000m of

28:53.03 (2009).

He was second in the Granollers half marathon inFebruary this year, just six seconds behind WilsonKipsang in 62:44, 15 seconds outside his PB. He wasalso sixth in the Spanish cross country championships.

BEKIR KARAYEL (TURKEY)

Born: 10 May 1982Marathon best: 2:13:21 London 2012London Marathon record: 2012- 16th 2:13:21Other World Marathon Majors: None

Other major city marathonsDüsseldorf: 2011- 7th 2:19:40Hamburg: 2008- 27th 2:21:03Istanbul: 2006- 13th 2:17:03, 2008- 9th 2:20:38,2009- 11th 2:23:17, 2010- 5th 2:16:41,2011- 6th 2:15:48, 2013- 5th 2:20:27,2014- 14th 2:22:36Marathons in major championshipsOlympics: 2012- 76th 2:29:38Worlds: 2011- 47th 2:33:20

Career notesBekir Karayel smashed more than two minutes fromhis PB when he ran the London Marathon three

years ago. He’d run for Turkey at the 2011 WorldChampionships and represented his country again atthe London 2012 Olympics.

Most of his marathon running has been done onhome soil in Istanbul where he has raced seven times,finishing fifth twice and in the top 10 four times.

He also finished seventh in the Düsseldorf Marathonin 2011 but he has been below his best in the last twoyears.

He has represented Turkey at three European CrossCountry Championships and the 2010 European

Mountain Running Championships, while he rana PB of 62:48 in last year’s World Half MarathonChampionships in Copenhagen. He broke the Turkishhalf marathon record with 62:55 in 2012.


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HERMANO FERREIRA(PORTUGAL)

Born: 16 November 1982Marathon best: 2:13:28 Vienna 2010London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors: None

Other major city marathonsRome: 2013- 13th 2:14:53 Turin: 2011- 7th 2:13:28 Vienna: 2010- 10th 2:13:28Marathons in major championshipsWorlds: 2013- dnf Europeans: 2010- dnf, 2014- dnf

Career notesHermano Ferreira has had two top 10 finishes in hissix marathons, running exactly the same time on bothoccasions – 2:13:28 to place 10th in Vienna in 2010and seventh in Turin in 2011.

He has run three championship marathons forPortugal, but failed to finish in any of them.

His first international appearance was back in 2001,when he was 20th at the European Junior CrossCountry Championships. He has also representedhis country at World and European Cross CountryChampionships, while he was fourth in the 3000m atthe 2006 Ibero-American Championships.

His ran his half marathon PB of 61:24 when winningthe European Clubs event in 2010.

CHRISTIAN KREIENBÜHL(SWITZERLAND)

Born: 6 June 1981Marathon best: 2:15:35 Berlin 2012London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2012- 18th 2:15:35Other major city marathons

Zürich: 2011- 11th 2:21:48, 2012- 11th 2:19:38,2013- 7th 2:17:47Marathons in major championshipsWorlds: 2013- 34th 2:21:17Europeans: 2014- 23rd 2:18:36

Career notesChristian Kreienbühl was a member of Switzerland’ssix-strong bronze medal-winning marathon team atthe European Championships in Zürich last summer,along with the hosts’ favourite, defending champion Viktor Röthlin, making his farewell appearance, andformer Eritrean Tadesse Abraham, the big new hope.

While Röthlin was fifth and Abraham ninth, Kreienbühlfinished 23rd in 2:18:36 to ensure the host nation wona place on the team podium. It was the 33-year-old’ssecond appearance for his country as he also ran atthe Moscow 2013 World Championships where hefinished 34th.

Kreienbühl made his marathon debut in Zürich in 2011and has run three of his six marathons in the Swisscity. His best finish was seventh in 2013. He ran hisquickest marathon in Berlin in 2012 when he was18th.

He ran his half marathon best in Berlin that year too,

clocking 65:55, while he has a 10km PB of 29:50 andhas run 53:27 for 10 miles on the roads.

He was Swiss marathon champion in 2012, and the10,000m and half marathon champion in 2013.


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ANURADHA COORAY(SRI LANKA)

Born: 24 March 1978Marathon best: 2:15:51 Asian Games 2014

London Marathon record: 2005- 27th 2:20:16,2009- 21st 2:21:02, 2011- 27th 2:21:11,2012- 23rd 2:17:50, 2013- 16th 2:17:53Other World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathonsIslamabad: 2004- 1st 2:16:38Mahiyanganaya: 2003- 1st 2:16:39Pune: 2011- 10th 2:18:42Singapore: 2004- 7th 2:18:28Marathons in major championshipsOlympics: 2004- 30th 2:19:26, 2012- 55th 2:20:41Worlds: 2005- dnf Asian Games: 2014- 6th 2:15:51

Career notes Anuradha Indrajith Cooray broke his personal bestto finish sixth at the Asian Games in Incheon lastOctober.

He won his first two marathons and has since run fivetimes in London, his best performance coming in 2012when he clocked 2:17:50, while he was just threeseconds slower two years ago in 16th place.

He has represented Sri Lanka in the marathon at twoOlympics and one World Championships, while healso ran in the 2005 and 2014 World Half MarathonChampionships. Last year in Copenhagen he broke

his own national record with 65:20.

MERT GIRMALEGESSE(TURKEY)

Born: 30 November 1987Marathon best: 2:17:45 Tempe 2008

London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathonsIstanbul: 2014- 12th 2:21:43 Tempe: 2008- 6th 2:17:45Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesMert Girmalegesse finished sixth in the TempeMarathon in Arizona in January 2008 shortly beforeswitching allegiance from Ethiopia to Turkey.

He became eliglible to run for Turkey in February2008 and broke the Turkish 10,000m record clocking

27:29.33 to finish 11th in the Beijing 2008 Olympicfinal. Earlier in the year he set a Turkish 5000m recordof 13:26.14.

He became European under 23 cross country bronzemedallist later that year, and the under 23 10,000mchampion the following year. He also finished ninthin the 5000m and picked up a bronze at the 2009Mediterranean Games.

In 2010 he was ninth in the 5000m at the EuropeanChampionships and represented Europe in theContinental Cup. He was a World Youth bronzemedallist at 3000m back in 2003.

He ran for Turkey at last year’s World Half MarathonChampionships and finished 12th in the IstanbulMarathon.

Mert Girmalegesse was his Ethiopian name, but sinceswitching to Turkey he has been known as SelimBayrak.


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CESAR LIZANO (COSTA RICA)

Born: 7 March 1982Marathon best: 2:17:50 Chicago 2011London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors:

Chicago: 2011- 11th 2:17:50Other major city marathonsHouston: 2013- 11th 2:22:01Sacramento: 2014- 19th 2:18:20 Toronto: 2010- 19th 2:23:45Marathons in major championshipsOlympics: 2012- 65th 2:24:16

Career notesCesar Lizano set his personal best in his only previousappearance in a World Marathon Majors race, finishing11th in Chicago in 2011.

He ran his first marathon in Toronto the previous

year and represented Costa Rica at the London2012 Olympics, where he finished 65th. He was only30 seconds outside his PB when finishing 19th inDecember’s California Marathon in Sacramento.

He represented Costa Rica at the 2009 and 2014World Half Marathon Championships, finishing 84thboth times, running his PB is 66:07 on the secondoccasion.

STIJN FINCIOEN (BELGIUM)

Born: 29 December 1980Marathon best: 2:17:57 Eindhoven 2011London Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathons

Eindhoven: 2009- 25th 2:24:15, 2010- 13th 2:22:36,2011- 17th 2:17:57, 2012- 22nd 2:21:13,2014- 12th 2:19:30Rotterdam: 2014- 18th 2:19:10 Tourhout: 2013- 1st 2:22:50Marathons in major championships: None

Career notesStijn Fincioen has raced in the Eindhoven Marathonalmost every year since 2009, posting his PB therein 2011. He won the Tourhout Marathon on homesoil in Belgium in 2013 and finished in the top 20 atRotterdam last year.


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PEDRO RIBEIRO (PORTUGAL)

Born: 25 March 1981Marathon best: DebutLondon Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathons: NoneMarathons in major championships: None

Career notesPedro Ribeiro is a former Portuguese steeplechasechampion making his marathon debut afterrepresenting his country on the track at EuropeanChampionships and World University Games (2003and 2009), and at European and World Cross CountryChampionships.

Ribeiro twice finished eighth in the 3000msteeplechase at the World University Games while hewas sixth at the 2004 Ibero-American Championships.

He was selected to run for Portugal at the 2010

European Championships in Barcelona but could onlyfinish ninth in his heat.

He has run for his country at four European and oneWorld Cross Country Championships.

His half marathon best of 65:20 was set in 2007 whenhe was third in Ovar.

He won the Portuguese steeplechase title five timesbetween 2004 and 2010, and was second in 2012.His best time is 8:32.20 from 2006.

He ran a 10,000m PB last year of 29:36.98.

MATTHEW HYNES(GREAT BRITAIN & NI)

Born: 15 January 1988

Marathon best: DebutLondon Marathon record: (2010- 272nd 2:43:40)Other World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathons: NoneMarathons in major championships: None

Career notesMatthew Hynes regards this as his marathon debut,although he has run one before. He competed in the2010 London Marathon from the championship start, jogging home in 2:43:40.

He finished 10th in this year’s Paris half marathon on 8March in 63:54, a time which would have ranked him

fifth in the UK last year.

He ran a 10km road best in 2013 of 29:23 whenwinning the Leeds Abbey Dash. He was fourth in thesame event last year running just six seconds slower.He was second at last year’s Great North 10k and thirdat the Great Yorkshire Run in Sheffield.

He also ran a 10 miles road best of 48:48 last yearand clocked a 10,000m track PB of 29:20.07 to finishfourth at the England Athletics championships, justmissing a place on the Commonwealth Games team,but earning a British Athletics vest at the EuropeanCup 10,000m championships where he was second.


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GUYE ADOLA (ETHIOPIA)

Born: 20 October 1990Marathon best: DebutLondon Marathon record: NoneOther World Marathon Majors: NoneOther major city marathons: NoneMarathons in major championships: None

Career notesGuye Adola won a bronze medal at last year’s WorldHalf Marathon Championships in Copenhagen whenhe dipped below the hour mark for the first time. Heran 59:21, the same as Samuel Tsegay who snatchedsilver, and just 13 seconds behind the winner GeoffreyKamworor.

He’d already lowered his PB once that year, winningthe Marrakech half in 61:26, and he broke it a thirdtime in November when he won the New Delhi halfmarathon in 59:06.

He ran 60:45 to finish fourth in this year’s Lisbon halfmarathon on 22 March.

He was also fourth at the Ethiopian Championshipsand third in Luanda, two of his five races at thedistance in 2014.

He also set a 10km PB last year of 28:22.


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Elite Women

Entries

Bib no. Name Nation PB Bib name101 Edna Kiplagat KEN 2:19:50 E. KIPLAGAT 102 Mary Keitany KEN 2:18:37 KEITANY 103 Aselefech Mergia ETH 2:19:31 MERGIA 104 Florence Kiplagat KEN 2:19:44 F. KIPLAGAT 105 Priscah Jeptoo KEN 2:20:14 JEPTOO106 Tirfi Tsegaye ETH 2:20:18 TSEGAYE107 Feyse Tadese ETH 2:20:27 TADESE108 Jemima Sumgong KEN 2:20:48 SUMGONG109 Tigist Tufa ETH 2:21:52 TUFA 110 Tetyana Gamera UKR 2:22:09 GAMERA 111 Tatyana Arkhipova RUS 2:23:29 ARKHIPOVA 112 Ana Dulce Félix POR 2:25:40 FELIX 113 Sara Moreira POR 2:26:00 MOREIRA

114 Alessandra Aguilar ESP 2:27:00 AGUILAR115 Rkia El Moukim MAR 2:28:12 EL MOUKIM116 Iwona Lewandowska POL 2:28:32 LEWANDOWSKA 117 Mary Davies NZL 2:28:57 DAVIES118 Elvan Abeylegesse TUR 2:29:30 ABEYLEGESSE119 Diane Nukuri BDI 2:29:35 NUKURI120 Sonia Samuels GBR 2:30:56 SAMUELS121 Emma Stepto GBR 2:32:40 STEPTO122 Volha Mazuronak BLR 2:33:33 MAZURONAK 123 Rebecca Robinson GBR 2:37:14 ROBINSON


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Preview: Kenya’s fantastic four to fight for title

Edna Kiplagat will face two former champions and the fastest half marathon runner in history when she defendsher women’s title in what promises to be a clash of the Kenyans. The double world champion sprinted to victoryon The Mall last year, beating half marathon world record holder Florence Kiplagat by just three seconds in the

closest women’s race for 17 years.

The two Kiplagats will meet again this year when they face the 2013 champion, Priscah Jeptoo, and MaryKeitany, who topped the London Marathon podium in 2011 and 2012. The women’s elite field contains ninerunners who have completed the 26.2-mile distance in less than two hours 22 minutes, and no fewer than 11who have run quicker than 2:25. But it will be these four who are expected to battle it out over the closing stages just as they did in 2012 when Keitany smashed the Kenyan record.

Keitany’s return to the London Marathon will be keenly anticipated by marathon fans after she won her secondtitle in compelling style three years ago in 2:18:37, a time only world record holder Paula Radcliffe has everbeaten on the London course. Keitany made a spectacular return to marathon racing last year when she won theNew York City Marathon in November after taking a year out in 2013 to have her second child. Undefeated overthe London course, she is the quickest in this year’s line-up by more than a minute and is aiming to become onlythe fourth woman to win the London Marathon three times.

Both Edna and Florence Kiplagat have also dipped under 2:20 in the past, while Jeptoo set her personal bestof 2:20:14 when she was third in London three years ago. After failing to finish last year, the 2012 Olympic silvermedallist will be keen to make amends this time.

But Kenya’s fantastic four won’t have the race to themselves for Aselefech Mergia is in form to do some realdamage. The Ethiopian won the Dubai Marathon for a third time this January running just half a minute outsideher best. The former national record holder is eighth quickest of all time and has done well on the London coursein the past. She crossed the line third on her London debut in 2010, and the two Russians who finished ahead ofher that year have both since failed drugs tests. The 30-year-old could well win the title for real this time.

The Kenyan contingent is further strengthened by New York Marathon runner-up Jemima Sumgong, while Mergiawill have three strong compatriots alongside her in last year’s Tokyo and Berlin champion, Tirfi Tsegaye, Feyse Tadese, who was fourth here in 2014 and second in Berlin, and Tigist Tufa, who won marathons in Ottawa and

Shanghai in 2014.

The east Africans won’t have it all their own way, however, for the 2015 field has a strong European presencethanks to two women who have gone under 2:25 – Ukrainian record holder Tetyana Gamera, the three-timeOsaka champion who was seventh last year, and Russia’s 2012 Olympic bronze medall ist, Tatyana Arkhipova.

There’s also a pair of Portuguese contenders in Ana Dulce Félix, who was eighth last year, and Sara Moreira, whowas third on her marathon debut in New York last November. Spain’s Alessandra Aguilar could also target a top10 spot – she was fifth at recent World and European Championships – while Elvan Abeylegesse, Turkey’s formerworld 5000m record holder and double European track champion, will be looking to improve her best in her firstWorld Marathon Majors race.

The British athletes on the elite start line are Sonia Samuels, a top 20 finisher at the Moscow 2013 WorldChampionships, Emma Stepto, who was 14th in London last year at the age of 44, and Rebecca Robinson, who

ran for Britain at the 2010 European Championships.

Of course, much of the domestic attention will focus on Paula Radcliffe as the world record holder bids farewellto the event she won three times. Radcliffe will start with the club athletes and compete as one of the Britishchampionship runners.


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She was runner-up for the second year in a row at the2013 London Marathon, this time following PriscahJeptoo home in 2:21:32. But she was back on topof the podium in Moscow that summer – the only bigname to cope with the muggy conditions – beforefinishing the year at the New York Marathon, where shewas ninth in 2:30:04. She returned to New York lastNovember but fared no better, struggling in the cold

and windy conditions to finish 13th in 2:36:24.

Kiplagat’s half marathon PB of 67:41 was set at the2012 Great North Run when she lost a sprint finishto Tirunesh Dibaba. She was fifth in last year’s GreatNorth Run and won half marathons in Olomouc andGlasgow.

This January she had a rare cross country outing,finishing sixth in the Kenyan Police championships.

Personal notesHer full name is Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat. Herhusband and coach is Gilbert Koech, a marathon

runner with a best of 2:13:45 from Las Vegas inJanuary 2005. He also won the 2009 San AntonioMarathon.

When in the US, the pair live in Boulder, Colorado. Theyhave five children, two of their own, two adopted fromEdna’s sister who died of breast cancer in 2003, andone adopted from a neighbour who died in childbirth in2013. She established the Edna Kiplagat Foundationin 2013 to target breast cancer issues and raiseawareness of breast self-examination.

She was awarded the AIMS ‘Best Marathoner of the Year’ award in October 2013 in recognition of her

repeat victory at the World Championships.

She holds the rank of inspector in the Kenyan police.

EDNA KIPLAGAT (KENYA)Born: 15 November 1979 EldoretMarathon best: 2:19:50 London 2012

London Marathon record: 2011- 3rd 2:20:46,2012- 2nd 2:19:50, 2013- 2nd 2:21:32,2014- 1st 2:20:21Other World Marathon MajorsNew York: 2010- 1st 2:28:20, 2013- 9th 2:30:04,2014- 13th 2:36:24Other major city marathonsLas Vegas: 2005- 10th 2:50:20Los Angeles: 2010- 1st 2:25:38Marathons in major championshipsOlympics 2012- 20th 2:27:52Worlds: 2011- 1st 2:28:43, 2013- 1st 2:25:44

Career notes

Edna Kiplagat won her first London Marathon title last April at the fourth time of asking. The double worldchampion sprinted to victory on The Mall, beatinghalf marathon world record holder Florence Kiplagatby just three seconds. After finshing third in 2011,and runner-up two years in a row, it was a welcomechange of fortune for the 35-year-old who hadbecome the first woman to retain the world marathontitle in Moscow the previous summer.

Kiplagat made her marathon debut in December 2005in Las Vegas when she was 10th in 2:50:20, althoughher first appearance on the international stage camenearly 10 years earlier when she won a 3000m silver

medal at the 1996 World Junior Championships, aged16. She added a bronze at that event in 1998.

She began running road races in the United States 12years ago and produced PBs for 5km (15:20), 10km(31:18) and 15km (47:57) in summer 2010. The US-based Eldoret native emerged onto the world scenethat November when she surprised everyone to winthe New York Marathon, only her second world classrace at the distance. She broke away from debutantesMary Keitany and Shalane Flanagan on the testingclimbs of Central Park to win in 2:28:20. Added to herLos Angeles victory eight months earlier, the New Yorktriumph made her the first athlete to win marathons on

both coasts of the USA.

Six months later, she improved her PB by nearly fiveminutes to finish third at the 2011 London Marathonbehind Keitany and Liliya Shobukhova. At the time, itwas the best ever performance for third place.

That summer, she led a Kenyan sweep of the medalsat the Daegu World Championships, the first everin a women’s marathon at a Worlds or Olympics. Inpunishing temperatures and high humidity, Kiplagatromped home despite falling at a drinks station.

She improved both her PB and place at the 2012

London Marathon, finishing second behind Keitanyin 2:19:50, good enough to win selection for Kenya’sOlympic team. Her Olympic experience was not a happyone, however. After running with the leaders for 30km,Kiplagat struggled home in 20th place, suffering from flu.She finished nearly five minutes behind the winner.


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She returned to the New York Marathon in Novem-ber 2011 seemingly in pursuit of the marathon worldrecord. She swept through half way up on PaulaRadcliffe’s schedule (67:56) only to fade dramaticallyover the final 10km and finish third for the second yearin a row.

She won the RAK again in 2012 before her stunningsecond London Marathon victory. But there was disap-

pointment for Keitany in the British capital that summerwhen she missed out on an Olympic medal by lessthan half a minute. She finished fourth in 2:23:56.

Keitany skipped the 2013 season to have her secondchild, but made a spectacular return to competition lastyear winning the Great North Run half marathon in aPB of 65:39 before finally clinching the New York title in2:25:07, three seconds ahead of Jemima Sumgong. ina time considerably slowed by the cold and wind.

On the track, she has a 10,000m best of 32:18.07from 2007. She set a 5km best of 15:25 in Lisbon lastyear.

She ran a world leading time of 66:02 to win her thirdRa’s Al Khaymah half marathon title in February thisyear.

Personal notesMary Jepkosgei Keitany married Kenyan athleteCharles Koech on 31 December 2011. They havea son Jared Kipchumba, born in June 2008, and adaughter, born in April 2013.

She trains in Iten and is coached by Gabriele Nicola.

Her husband has run 61:27 for the half marathon.

MARY KEITANY (KENYA)Born: 18 January 1982 Kisok, Baringo DistrictMarathon best: 2:18:37 London 2012

London Marathon record: 2011- 1st 2:19:19,2012- 1st 2:18:37Other World Marathon MajorsNew York: 2010- 3rd 2:29:01, 2011- 3rd 2:23:38,2014- 1st 2:25:07Other major city marathons: NoneMarathons in major championshipsOlympics: 2012- 4th 2:23:56

Career notesMary Keitany returns to the London Marathon after athree-year absence seeking to become only the fourthwoman to win the title three times. Keitany’s 100%record on the London course began in 2011 when

she produced a brilliant victory to beat defendingchampion Liliya Shobukhova in a time only PaulaRadcliffe had ever beaten.

The then 29-year-old strode home in 2:19:19 to movealongside Irina Mikitenko as the fourth fastest inhistory. She defended her title 12 months later in evenmore impressive style, leading five Kenyans home –the first medal sweep in the women’s race – in 2:18:37to take Catherine Ndereba’s Kenyan and Africanrecord and rise to third on the all-time list.

Keitany announced herself on the world stage whenshe was second to Lornah Kiplagat at the 2007 World

Half Marathon Championships in Udine, running 66:48as Kiplagat broke the world record. She had her firstchild in mid-2008, and returned in 2009 to win theWorld Half Marathon Championships in Birminghamwith an African record of 66:36 improving ElanaMeyer’s 1999 time of 66:44.

The following May she won the Berlin 25km by almostfive minutes in 1:19:53, a world best for the distance.She then won the Bupa 10k in London, in another PBof 31:06, and warmed up for her marathon debut bywinning the Lisbon half in 68:50.

Before her marathon debut in New York, Keitany said

she had no idea how her body would react in the finalfew miles. In the event, she found herself in sight ofvictory with only compatriot Edna Kiplagat and USA’sShalane Flanagan for company. In the end, Keitanywas third in 2:29:01, losing out in the tussle over theups and downs of Central Park.

In February 2011 Keitany broke Lornah Kiplagat’sworld half marathon record when she won the Ra’s Al-Khaymah race in 65:50, taking 35 seconds from theprevious mark. En route to her historic sub-66 minutetime, Keitany went through 8km in 24:30 (a ‘worldbest’), 15km in 46:40, 10 miles in 50:05 (anotherworld best) and 20km in 62:36 (a world record). The

half marathon and 20km records have since fallen toFlorence Kiplagat.


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ASELEFECH MERGIA(ETHIOPIA)

Born: 23 January 1985Marathon best: 2:19:31 Dubai 2012London Marathon record: 2010- 2nd 2:22:38,2011- dnf Other World Marathon MajorsOther major city marathonsDubai: 2011- 1st 2:22:45, 2012- 1st 2:19:31,2015- 1st 2:20:02Paris: 2009- 2nd 2:25:02Marathons in major championshipsOlympics: 2012- 42nd 2:32:03Worlds: 2009- 3rd 2:25:32, 2011- dnf

Career notes

Aselefech Mergia has won the lucrative DubaiMarathon three times in the last five years, including2012 when she broke the course record and theEthiopian record with 2:19:31 as three women finishedunder 2:20.

Although her national mark fell soon afterwards to Tiki Gelana, Mergia is still placed eighth on the worldall-time list as one of just 18 women to have runsub-2:20. She was fractionally outside that time thisJanuary when she celebrated her 30th birthday bywinning her third Dubai title in 2:20:02. It was a perfectcomeback in her first marathon since 2012, andher first since the birth of her daughter in July 2013.

She beat Gladys Cherono by just one second in thegreatest women’s race in the event’s history.

Mergia makes her third appearance at the LondonMarathon this year after a gap of four years. Shefirst came to London in 2010 having clinchedthe world bronze medal in Berlin the previous August and finished third behind the Russian pairLiliya Shobukhova and Inga Abitova in a huge PBof 2:22:38, ahead of four of her more favouredcompatriots.

She was later promoted to second when Abitova wassuspended for a doping violation, while Shobukhova’s

result is also in doubt as she faces investigation for apositive drugs test announced last year.

After three years of success at the half marathon,Mergia made her marathon debut in Paris in 2009.She finished second in a swift 2:25:02 winning herplace on Ethiopia’s World Championships team.

In Berlin she shadowed the Asians for 40km beforedropping back to claim a bronze medal just 17seconds behind the winner, China’s Bai Xue, andbeating all of the more renowned Africans.

She continued her good form in London the following

April with a performance that may yet be rewardedwith a winner’s medal. She won the first of her threeDubai titles in January 2011 before returning toLondon where she dropped out after 30km havinglost touch with the leading group powered by MaryKeitany.

She failed to finish the testing Daegu 2011 WorldChampionships marathon that summer, dropping outin the final few kilometres, but was back to winningways in Dubai in January 2012, dipping under 2:20 fora national record that lasted all of three months untilGelana sliced half a minute from it in Rotterdam.

While Gelana went on to triumph at the 2012 Olympics,

Mergia struggled with London’s wet conditions andfinished well down the field.

She didn’t race again for nearly two years when shewas on maternity leave. She returned to action at ahalf marathon in Gothernburg last May and returned tothe marathon this January when she became the firstwoman to win the Dubai Marathon three times, takingvictory and the $200,000 prize with a sprint finishagainst Gladys Cherono.

In 2008 Mergia was second at the World Half MarathonChampionships in 69:57 and lowered her PB stillfurther in New Delhi with 68:17 just a second ahead of

Genet Getaneh.

That became 67:48 in 2009 when she was second inRa’s Al Khaymah, then 67:22 from RAK in 2010, and67:21 when third in New Delhi in November 2011.

Personal notes Aselefech Mergia gave birth to her daughter Sena in July2013. Her return to racing was delayed because shestruggled to lose weight again after the birth.

She is coached by Gemedu Dedefo (the same as Feyse Tadese).


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Kiplagat began winning international medals at a youngage, starting with a 5000m silver at the 2006 WorldJunior Championships, when she was 19. She wasfifth in the senior race at the 2007 World Cross CountryChampionships and, after becoming a mother in 2008,returned to win the 2009 World Cross in Amman.

Later that year she clocked 30:11.53 over 10,000min Utrecht to erase Linet Masai’s Kenyan record, but a

hamstring injury meant she could only finish 12th at the2009 World Championships.

Injury prevented her defending her cross countrytitle in 2010, but in September that year she made herhalf marathon debut, and a month later won the worldhalf marathon title in Nanning, defeating Dire Tune inthe final stages.

After last year’s London Marathon she returnedto the track, winning the 10,000m at the Kenyanchampionships and clinching a silver medal at theGlasgow Commonwealth Games. She was back onthe roads a few weeks later, setting a 10km road best

of 31:42 in Nairobi. She also won the New Delhi halfmarathon in November.

Personal notesHer full name is Florence Jebet Kiplagat.

She used to be married to Moses Mosop who ran2:03:06 when he was second at the 2011 BostonMarathon and set world track records for 25,000m and30,000m in 2011. She has two daughters, Faith and Aisha. Her uncle, William Kiplagat, is a marathon runnerwith a best of 2:06:50 from 1999.

She lives on a 20-acre farm in Eldoret with 1200

chickens, among other livestock. Edna Kiplagat is aneighbour. She is coached by Renato Canova.

FLORENCE KIPLAGAT (KENYA)Born: 27 February 1987 Kapkitony, Keiyo DistrictMarathon best: 2:19:44 Berlin 2011

London Marathon record: 2012- 4th 2:20:57,2013- 6th 2:27:05, 2014- 2nd 2:20:24Other World Marathon MajorsBerlin: 2011- 1st 2:19:44, 2013- 1st 2:21:13Boston: 2011- dnf Chicago: 2014- 3rd 2:25:57Other major city marathons: NoneMarathons in major championships: None

Career notesFlorence Kiplagat came to London full of confidencelast year as the reigning Berlin Marathon championand the new world half marathon record holder havingclocked 65:12 in Barcelona in February. En route to

that time she also broke the world 20km record.

It was well-placed confidence for Kiplagat cameas close as possible to winning her first LondonMarathon, losing out to her namesake Edna Kiplagatin a sprint down The Mall, the three-second differenceon the line the smallest losing gap for 17 years. Afterfinishing fourth in 2012 and sixth in 2013, it was somecompensation to finally make the podium.

She returned to Barcelona on 15 February this yearand lowered her half marathon record by threeseconds, clocking 65:09, breaking 15km and 20kmworld records along the way (46:13 and 61:54

respectively).

Kiplagat made her marathon debut in Boston in2011 but dropped out after going through half way in1:11:42 and 30km in 1:42:59. It was an inauspiciousstart that she soon put behind her by winning the firstof her two Berlin Marathon titles that September.

Kiplagat led from start to finish in Berlin and crossedthe line more than two and a half minutes clear aftershrugging off the attentions of two of the fastestwomen of all time, world record holder Paula Radcliffeand German record holder Irina Mikitenko.

She came to London in 2012 as one of five Kenyansvying for Olympic selection but finished fourth behindMary Keitany, Edna Kiplagat and Priscah Jeptoo andso missed out on an Olympic pl

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