Twenty six year-old Henry Kilagat won the 42k (marathon) in two hours, 16 minutes, and five seconds against his compatriot, Bernard Kipsang Chumba with a three seconds difference.
“Today’s race was tough, the competitors are tough, but I am very happy I got it and this is my first time to win the 42k,” Kilagat told Gulf Times. He bagged the second place in the half marathon (21k) in 2015, also in the same competition held at the Doha Corniche.
“The race is very nice, the weather is good, and I like this route,” he noted. “I’m very happy to win this race and I am planning to come back next year.”
About his preparations for the annual race, Kilagat said he started his training in Kenya in early September last year and focused on endurance.
Henry Kipsang, who was behind the 2016 marathon winner Amos Maindi, also from Kenya, took the third place this year with a time of two hours, 17 minutes, and 34 seconds.
Two other Kenyans, Benjamin Serem and Timothy Kiprop Kemei, bagged the fourth and fifth place while Moroccan runner Brahim Slimani took the sixth spot.
Speaking to Gulf Times, half marathon (21k) winner Alex Kibet, 27, echoed the statement of Kilagat saying the presence of many strong contenders made the race tougher this year.
“There were strong guys also, fellow athletes from Kenya, and Moroccans too, but thank God because my preparations paid off,” he pointed out. “I had training in Kenya.”
Kibet, a steeplechase runner, beat Bernard Korir by two seconds, finishing the race in one hour, one minute, and 52 seconds while Moroccan Aziz Lahbabi took the third spot in one hour, three minutes, and 52 seconds. Two other Kenyans, Collins Kiptarus Chebii and Ken Kibet, took the fourth and fifth spots.
“The guy was strong until the last five km, I tried to run away from him but he stick with me and I decided to stay with him until the last minute, the last 300m I kicked off and I won,” he said.
“I normally run steeplechase 5,000m, and sometimes 10,000m for endurance training, it is my first time to run 21k today, it is a sort of an experiment,” said Kibet, who is preparing for a steeplechase race in the upcoming London World Championship.
In the female category, Kenyan Georgina Rono won the marathon in two hours, 38 minutes, and 12 seconds against her compatriot Vicoty Chepkemoi with an eight-second difference.
In the half marathon, it took Kenyan Violah Jepchumba one hour, 11 minutes, and 41 seconds, an eight-second difference, to beat Faith Chepkoech, also a Kenyan.
Other winners include Louison Guilhem from France (1k), Enzo Cretin from France (3k), Mohamed Nasir from Morocco (5k seniors), Noor Aldeen Mahdi (5k Juniors), Alsadik Mikhou from Bahrain (10k), and Eilish McColgan (10k female).
Out of the 1,662 entrants from 85 nationalities, 1,458 participated in the actual race and 1,438 were finishers. The youngest participant was four years old while the oldest was 74.
Kenyan runner Henry Kilagat breaks away from compatriot, Bernard Kipsang Chumba in the final stretch of the 42k to win the Ooredoo Marathon. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam.
Male and female Kenyan runners dominated the 2017 Ooredoo Marathon on Friday, beating mostly their compatriots, as well as other competitors of different nationalities, in the major categories.
