Kenya’s Marathon Team for World Athletics Championships Unveiled

Athletics Kenya (AK) has named a strong team that will be representing Kenya in the upcoming World Athletics Championships.

The championship is scheduled to be held in Budapest, Hungary from August 19, 2023, to August 27, 2023.

In a statement from the AK issued on Friday, 23-year-old Kelvin Kiptum will lead Kenya’s male team which is also comprised of Geoffrey Kamworor and Titus Kipruto.

2023 London Marathon champion Rosemary Wanjiru Monica will lead the female team.

Rosemary Wanjiru during the 2022 Berlin Marathon. She clocked 2:18:00, the fastest debut ever run to get silver in the race. — Rosemary Wanjiru during the 2022 Berlin Marathon. She clocked 2:18:00, the fastest debut-ever run to get silver in the race.

Others are Sheila Chepkirui and Bridgt Kosgey.

Timothy Kiplagat and Michael Mugo have been named as reserves for the male team while Selly Chepyego Kaptich and Margaret Wangari Muriuki are female team reserves.

Kiptum ran the fastest-ever marathon debut at the 2022 Valencia Marathon, becoming the third man in history to break two hours and two minutes. He is also the reigning London Marathon Champion.

On the other hand, Kamworor has an impressive record at the international level. He claimed victories at the World Half Marathon Championships three times in a row from 2014 to 2018.

Geofrey Kamworor when he won the 2018 Valencia Half Marathon.a — Geoffrey Kamworor when he won the 2018 Valencia Half Marathon.

He also won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics.

In the female team, Wanjiru won the 2023 Tokyo Marathon and placed second at the 2022 Berlin Marathon. With her Tokyo mark, she sits sixth on the marathon world all-time list.

Chepkirui on the other hand in September 2022, came close to the women-only 10 kilometres world record at the Brașov Running Festival in Brașov, Romania.

With her time of 30:07 Chepkirui, who set her 29:46 personal best in a mixed race in Valencia in 2020, broke the Romanian all-comers’ record by more than two minutes, and was only six seconds off the women-only world record.