NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 29 – Valencia Marathon champion Nancy Jelagat will be hoping for top honors when she lines up among other elite female runners at the Berlin Marathon on September 25.
Jelagat timed 1:05:21 to finish second at the Berlin Half Marathon in August last year and will be keen on taking her race to the next level with a win in the German capital.
However, it will not be a walk in the park for the 2019 Standard Chartered Marathon 10km champion with the presence of other esteemed runners who will be undoubtedly eyeing the same prize.
Eight of the 21 runners enlisted for the women’s race boast personal bests (PB) of 2:21 and under, making them a formidable threat and best bet to raise the level of the marathon, which is renowned as one of the fastest courses of the World Marathon Majors.
United States’ Sara Hall, the third fastest American marathoner of all time, is expected to go full throttle for victory as she preps herself for the New York City Marathon, which is slated for November this year.
She will be joined by fellow American, Keira D’Amato, whose PB of 2:19:21 is the fastest among the competitors.
As usual, long-distance races are never complete without the longstanding Eastern African rivalry between Ethiopia and Kenya.
The Ethiopian contingent consists of Gutemi Shone Imana, Workenesh Edesa, Sisay Gola, Tigist Abayechew, Bekelech Gudeta, Meseret Belete Tigist Assefa and Nigsti Haftu.
Aside from Jelagat, other Kenyans who will be aiming for glory in Berlin include Enschede Marathon champion Maurine Chepkemoi and two-time Vienna City Marathon champion Vibian Chepkurui.
The 2015 African Games 5000m silver medalist Rosemary Wanjiru will be making her marathon debut in the race and couldn’t hope for anything other than a podium finish.
Wanjiru has been competing in the half marathons and 10km road races, posting good results in competitions, such as the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in 2020 (2nd), Valencia Ibercaja 10km race in 2020 (2nd) and this year’s Adizero Roads to Records Half Marathon (2nd).
