Keitany, Kiplagat, Cheruiyot chase fast times in London Marathon
From left: Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot, Florence Kiplagat and Mary Keitany pose outside Tower Bridge in central London during a photocall for the Women's marathon elite athletes on April 19, 2017 ahead of the upcoming London Marathon. PHOTO | DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS |
What you need to know:
- Olympic 5,000 metres champion Vivian Cheruiyot isn’t targeting a specific time on her London Marathon debut.
- The result of Sumgong’s B-sample is still not yet known.
LONDON
Kenya’s trio of stars — Mary Keitany, Florence Kiplagat and Vivian Cheruiyot — are promising a fast time in Sunday’s London Marathon.
“I think what I can say if the weather will be fine for us, also all of us co-operate, we can run the best time,” said three-time New York City Marathon champion Mary Keitany, the fastest woman in the field with a 2:18:37 personal best. “I don’t know about the world record, but we will run the best time.”
Olympic 5,000 metres champion Vivian Cheruiyot isn’t targeting a specific time on her London Marathon debut.
“In London, I want to run for the experience and to run my best. I don’t want to say that I will run a particular time because it is my first marathon and I want to run without pressure,” she said.
Meanwhile, former world half marathon record-holder Florence Kiplagat, who is also chasing a fast time in London, said Jemima Sumgong testing positive for EPO “really embarrasses the sport.”
“For me it really embarrasses the sport. I am really ashamed. I am ashamed because we are losing top athletes like that,” she said.
Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba won a bronze medal behind Sumgong in Rio last summer and said it was difficult to learn the winner might have been taking banned substances. “It falls very hard on me to know that the Olympic marathon champion may have doped,” she said.
The result of Sumgong’s B-sample is still not yet known.
