Edna Kiplagat now thirsty for third world marathon title

Kenya’s new Boston Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat and her camp now believe she can have a go at an unprecedented third world title at the IAAF World Championships in August.

Her husband, Gilbert Koech, and manager, Brendan Reilley, are both optimistic that if selected, Kiplagat will add another global title to the two she won in Daegu (2011) and Moscow (2013).

Koech, who is also Kiplagat’s coach, said proper planning, discipline and a serious training regime was behind Kiplagat’s victory in Boston on Monday which came in a time of two hours, 21 minutes and 53 seconds. She concentrated her training in Iten and was determined to perform well after a slump in her career.

“We really worked hard and the training went on well without any injuries. I must say that Edna followed the instructions that I gave her and that is why she made it to the podium,” said Koech.

The couple decided to give their two children — Carlos and Wendy — a dream trip to Boston where they hugged their mother after she crossed the finish line to win the race on her Boston debut.

Kiplagat said she started her training in December last year in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet County where she trained until last month before competing in the New York Half Marathon.

“I used the race to gauge my performance and being in the fourth position was not bad for me,” she told Nation Sport on telephone from Boston on Wednesday.

“After the half marathon, I went for body recovery and the weather in Boston being somehow hot, I was able to perform well since such conditions favour me a lot,” said Kiplagat, who forgot to pick her water at 20-kilometre drinks station mark, losing some rhythm. She wanted to finish first after being motivated by her children.

“I took my children Carlos (Kipkorir) and Wendy (Jemutai) to watch me run and knowing that they were at the finish line, I wanted them to see their mother winning. My husband didn’t make it due to visa issues but I’m happy he gave me all the support I needed in training,” said Kiplagat.

Kiplagat said that she will be happy to be named in the team that will be heading for the World Championships in London.

“I don’t know what criteria that will be used to select a team to the World Championships but I will love to represent my country as I go for my third gold medal in the championships,” said Kiplagat.

Concerning retirement, the athlete said that she has many more years in athletics.

“I don’t think I will be retiring anytime soon since I still have many years to run and win many races in future,” said Kiplagat, who was celebrating 20 years of athletics career.