Dominant Kenyan athletes reign supreme again in France, UK races
Titus Mbishei competes during a past race. Mbishei and Peris Chepchirchir from Kenya won the men's and women’s Marseilles-Cassis 20km races at France’s Mediterranean coast on October 26, 2014. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- Kenya’s James Rungaru produced exciting performance to take victory over 10 miles on the road at the Bupa Great South Run, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.
- The Kenyan dictated the pace in the second half of the race and with a kilometre to go, the 2008 world junior 10,000m silver medallist only had Wasihum for company.
- Peris Chepchirchir pulled off a surprise victory in 1:09:12.
Kenyan athletes continued to affirm their prowess in long-distance running, winning road races in France and the United Kingdom over the weekend.
The 2009 World Cross Country junior silver medallist Titus Mbishei and Peris Chepchirchir from Kenya won the men's and women’s Marseilles-Cassis 20km races at France’s Mediterranean coast on Sunday.
In Portsmouth, United Kingdom, Kenya’s James Rungaru produced exciting performance to take victory over 10 miles on the road at the Bupa Great South Run, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.
Their victories came a day after veteran soldier Mark Kiptoo claimed his maiden marathon victory, leading a Kenyan 1-2-3 sweep of Frankfurt Marathon in 2:06:49. The previous weekend, Eliud Kipchoge had also led a Kenyan sweep of the podium places in Chicago.
Mbishei confirmed his status as the favourite, winning over the undulating course in 59:12.
Mbishei thwarted the hopes of Mule Wasihum at achieving a rare back-to-back set of victories at the race and the 2013 winner had to settle for second place in 59:22.
DICTATED THE PACE
The Kenyan dictated the pace in the second half of the race and with a kilometre to go, the 2008 world junior 10,000m silver medallist only had Wasihum for company.
It had been a great eight-day period for Mbishei, slashing his half marathon personal best by more than a minute when he clocked 59:55 for fourth place in Valencia the previous weekend, and now triumphing in the 36th edition of the historic French race.
Kenya’s Isaac Langat and Uganda’s Solomon Mutai clocked 59:36 and 59:42 for third and fourth, respectively.
“My intention was to come here and win, and I’ve achieved that," said an elated Mbishei. "When we started the race I realised that this guy (Wasihum) is very strong but he did not want to help me with the pace, he wanted to stay behind me."
“I had to calculate when to push and pull away from him,” he added.
Chepchirchir pulled off a surprise victory in 1:09:12. She showed it was no fluke and she made it two wins in a row when she crossed the line in 1:10:04 to become the fifth different Kenyan woman to win the race in as many years.
Chepchirchir was a comfortable winner and came home more than a minute ahead of her nearest opponent, Ethiopia’s Bekelech Daba, who was second in 1:11:25.
In cool, blustery conditions, the 21-year-old Rungaru, who represented Kenya in the junior race at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, settled into a lead pack that included his compatriots Joel Kimutai - winner of the Bupa Great Birmingham Run last weekend - and Emmanuel Bett, who was second at that race.
