Skip to main content

Kenyans lead clean sweeps at the Chicago marathon


Abel Kirui celebrates winning the men's marathon at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Daegu, September 4, 2011. REUTERS

Abel Kirui celebrates winning the men's marathon at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Daegu, September 4, 2011. REUTERS
Two-time World Marathon champion Abel Kirui is this year’s Chicago Marathon winner, crossing the line in a time of 2:11:23.
Kirui was the Berlin 2009 and Daegu 2011 gold medalist.
The 34 year old led a Kenyan clean sweep of 1-2-3-4-5 to the finish line, probably announcing his return to form after four injury plagued seasons since he won silver at the London 2012 Olympics.
“I was putting in my prayers and efforts in winning today. I had a very strong mind, this time I knew it was a matter of life and death. The course favoured me and I was lucky that the weather was not so humid,” said the jubilant Kirui.
Kirui said that he now has his eyes set on winning in London next year.
“I was praying so hard that I get something here so that I request my manager to give me the three guys; Eliud (Kipchoge), Bekele (Kenisa) and Wilson Kipsang,” said Kirui after his triumph.
Dickson Chumba, who went into the race as the defending champion, was dethroned and came in second in a time of 2:11:26 despite displaying a spirited fight to retain the crown in the 42 kilometer race.
At some point, it appeared like the 29 year old’s dream would come true when he put Kirui to the task in the last final kilometer, but Kirui managed to pull away and held on to the finish line, capping his win with a majestic dance.
Gideon Kipketer came in third with a time of 2:12:20 seconds ahead of compatriot Paul Lonyangata who registered a time of 2:13:17.
Lonyangata had earlier in the race attempted to pull away at the 25 kilometer mark, but his efforts summed up a little more like pacesetting as he failed to shake off the chasing pack.
Lonyangata, 24, eventually gave up the fight with a few miles to the 40 kilometer mark and never recovered.
Compatriot Stephen Sambu stretched home behind him with a time of 2:13:35.
On the women side, Florence Kiplagat proved her prowess and defended her crown, the second woman to do so in the competition, coming home in a time of 2:21:32.
Kiplagat replicated her male compatriots by leading a 1-2-3-4 sweep for the ladies.
Edna Kiplagat came in second with a time of 2:23:28 followed closely by Valentine Kipketer who clocked 2:23:41.
Purity Rionoripo wrapped up the Kenyan sweep by hitting the crossing line at 2:24:47.
Top Ten Finishes at the Chicago Marathon
Men
1. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:11:23
2. Chumba, Dickson (KEN) 2:11:26
3. Kipketer, Gideon (KEN) 2:12:20
4. Lonyangata, Paul (KEN) 2:13:17
5. Sambu, Stephen (KEN) 2:13:35
6. Ayele, Abayneh (ETH) 2:13:52
7. Fukatsu, Takuya (JPN) 2:13:53
8. Estrada, Diego (USA) 2:13:56
9. Gokaya, Koji (JPN) 2:14:34
10. Kibet, Elkanah (USA) 2:16:37
Women
1. Florence Kiplagat (KEN) 02:21:32
2. Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 02:23:28
3. Valentine Kipketer (KEN) 02:23:41
4. Purity Rionoripo (KEN) 02:24:47
5. Yebrgual Melese (ETH) 02:24:49
6. Atsede Baysa (ETH) 02:28:53
7. Serena Burla (USA) 02:30:40
8. Agnieszka Mierzejewska (POL) 2:32:13
9. Sarah Crouch (USA) 2:33:48
10. Alia Gray (USA) 2:34:00


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who Is Zuleyka Rivera? 5 Things To Know About The ‘Despacito’ Actress

With ‘Despacito’ up for Record of the Year at the 2018 Grammy Awards, here’s everything you need to know about the music video’s actress — Zuleyka Rivera! 1. She’s a renowned beauty queen.  Not only did she claim the Miss Universe Puerto Rico title, Zuleyka eventually took the top prize and was later crowned Miss Universe in 2006. 2. After her huge Miss Universe win, she studied acting and eventually became a TV star.  She now lives in Miami where she’s frequently a special guest or a host on shows like  Un Nuevo Dia  on Telemundo and  Despierta America  on Univision. Before that, she became a breakout star by appearing on several Televisa soap operas in Mexico. 3. In addition to modeling, she also owns her own clothing line.  On top of running her own teen-ware clothing collection, she also has three fragrance lines called the Karisma, Zuleyka and Zuleyka 2010. If that wasn’t impressive enough, she also started an amazing swims...
Post a Comment
Read more

Celine Dion Gives a Tearful Interview After Her 2016 Billboard Music Awards Performance: "Music Is Extremely Therapeutic"

As  Céline Dion  sang, "The Show Must Go On"—and go on it did. At the  2016 Billboard Music Awards  Sunday, the 48-year-old diva brought down the house with her cover of  Queen 's "The Show Must Go On." Celine received a standing ovation inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and to top it off, she received the ICON Award from her 15-year-old son,  René-Charles Angélil . A surprised and emotional Celine thanked her fans, family, children, and "most importantly," her late husband  René Angélil , "who I know will continue to watch over me from above." Celine added, "René, this one's for you. The show must go on." Celine then made her way backstage to do interviews, but paused to watch  Madonna  and  Stevie Wonder 's tribute to  Prince . She danced, sang along and snapped her fingers as they performed"Nothing Compares 2 U" (which Prince wrote  Sinéad O'Connor ) and "Purple Rain." Afterward, C...
Post a Comment
Read more

Frank Ocean new album: How to listen and stream Boys Don’t Cry when it drops

After two missed release dates a year apart and a confusing decoy of a “live stream” video, Frank Ocean is set to finally release his second album,  Boys Don’t Cry , on Friday 5 August. It will be launched through an exclusive deal with Apple Music, according to the  New York Times , who cite a ‘person with knowledge of the release plans’. If indeed this is the case (and it would make sense, that live stream has an Apple watermark), it means you’ll need to sign up for Apple Music to listen to the  Channel Orange  follow-up, which costs £9.99 a month (£4.99 for students through Apple’s UNiDAYS promotion). You might want to turn off auto-renewal off though (Apple Music app > profile icon > View Apple ID. > Subscriptions > Manage > switch Auto-Renewal off), if you’re the kind of person who, like me, is liable to forget that you’ve signed up for the service indefinitely. Beyond Apple Music...
Post a Comment
Read more