Two time winner Wilson Kipsang, world half marathon record holder Abraham Kiptum and 2017 women’s runner up Brigid Kosgei have been named in the elite field for the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday, April 28.

Kipsang, who won the London Marathon in 2012 and 2014, returns for the first time since 2015 and joins the already announced Eliud Kipchoge and Mo Farah in the men’s field.

“The opportunity to come back again is really a great privilege for me,” said Kipsang. “For the few years that I missed London, I was really feeling that I’m missing something. I am looking forward to having a nice race and to compete. I think this will be a comeback race for me, to run a good time and focus on winning.”

The 36 year-old remains the only athlete to ever beat the current world record holder Kipchoge over 26.2 miles, running a then world best of 2:03:13 at the 2013 Berlin Marathon.

Kipsang’s record stood for only 12 months, with compatriot Dennis Kimetto clocking 2:02:57 the following year in the German capital.

The Kenyan runner’s most recent marathon performance was 2:06:48 in Berlin last September, where he finished third behind Amos Kipruto and of course Kipchoge’s sensational 2:01:39 world record.

Fellow Kenyan athlete Kiptum will also be on the start line to make his London Marathon debut. Last October, Kiptum ran a world half marathon record of 58:18 in Valencia, taking five seconds off the previous mark.

The 29 year-old brings a best of 2:05:26 from the 2017 Amsterdam Marathon to the spring showdown.

Meanwhile, after running 2:20:13 to finish second in last year’s women’s race, Kosgei is back aiming to take the top podium spot at the London Marathon.

The 24 year-old returns as a faster athlete after clocking a personal best 2:18:35 to win the Chicago Marathon last October.

The latest news on the London Marathon can be found here.

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The post Wilson Kipsang announced for London Marathon appeared first on Fast Running.

Eliud Kipchoge, Wilson Kipsang and half marathon world record holder Zersenay Tadese are confirmed as entrants in the 2018 BMW Berlin Marathon, organisers announced on Monday (June 11).

The 45th edition of the marathon major takes place on Sunday, September 16 and Kipchoge, who won his third London Marathon title in April, has stated he intends to break his personal best when he returns to defend his title.

“My preparation is entirely concentrated on the BMW Berlin Marathon on September 16,” said the Kenyan star. “I am confident I can beat my personal best on this fast course if conditions are good.”

Given that he is the Olympic champion and acknowledged to be the number one for the distance in recent years, this suggests the 33-year-old Kenyan is ready to produce something special. His best is currently 2:03:05, set in winning the 2016 London Marathon. This was eight seconds slower than the world record which remains in the possession of his compatriot Dennis Kimetto (2:02:57), when winning the 2014 race in Berlin.

Kipchoge’s mental as well as physical prowess has suggested for some time that the world record is within his reach. A strong contender will also be the former world record holder in the marathon Kipsang. Now 36, the Kenyan set his world record time of 2:03:23 in 2013 in Berlin.

Kipchoge and Kipsang lined up last year in Berlin with the target of breaking 2:03 as a key objective but such hopes were dashed by steady rain throughout. Kipchoge won in difficult conditions in 2:03:32 while Kipsang dropped out.

Another to be taken into consideration is Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea, five times a winner of the world half marathon title as well as the world record holder for the distance.

Eliud Kipchoge

Kipchoge has a strong claim to be the greatest marathon runner of all time. He is the reigning Olympic champion, having won the title in Rio in 2016, three times a winner in London (2015, 16 and 18), twice winner of the Berlin Marathon title as well as winner of the Chicago Marathon in 2014.

Photo: Virgin Money London Marathon

RELATED: Is Eliud Kipchoge the greatest marathoner of all time?

He finished runner-up in Berlin in 2013 when Kipsang broke the world record. He broke into new territory in May last year when running 2:00:25 for the marathon distance, achieved on the Formula One circuit of Monza in Italy though substitute pacemakers made the time ineligible as a record.

Wilson Kipsang

Kipsang’s best marathon time is not his world record from 2013 but ten seconds faster: 2:03:13 which he ran three years later in Berlin which left him runner-up behind Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia, whose time of 2:03:03 was only six seconds outside Kimetto’s world record.

Zersenay Tadese

Tadese of Eritrea is the oldest of the trio at 36 and, though highly experienced over the distance events in general, has the least experience of the three in the marathon. No-one has gone close to his world record of 58:23 for the half marathon, set in Lisbon in 2010.

His personal best for the marathon is 2:10:41, achieved in the London Marathon in 2012. However, he did run 2:06:51 in the Breaking2 event in May 2017. Additionally, he ran three more marathons between 2010 and 2017. Last October Tadese was eighth in Chicago with 2:12:19.

The super-fast Berlin Marathon course has been the stage for ten world records – three by women, seven by men. Since 2003 all six world marathon records were run in Berlin including the current top time of 2:02:57 by Dennis Kimetto. In 2001 Japan’s Naoko Takahashi became the first woman to break 2:20 when the Olympic Marathon Champion from the previous year ran 2:19:43.

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Keitany aims to become only the second athlete to win four consecutive New York City Marathon titles and her form in 2017 indicates its unlikely anyone will topple her off the podium. If the Kenyan achieves the honour she joins Norwegian great Grete Waitz with the honour in the Big Apple.

The 35-year-old set a fantastic personal best earlier this year to win the London Marathon in 2:17:01, and more recently in September, she won a third title at the Great North Run clocking 1:05:59. Keitany’s dominant victory in the half marathon showed her preparations have not faltered and will look to carry that momentum into Sunday’ race.

While Keitany is the strong favourite the leading challenge will come from compatriot Edna Kiplagat, who won the Boston Marathon this year in 2:21:52.

This summer the 38-year-old, who has a personal best of 2:19:50, won marathon silver at the World Championships in London clocking 2:27:18.

Keitany has also outlined that well as a fourth win, the course record on the rolling route which stands at 2:22:31, is a target.

Other leading entries in the women’s race include USA’s Shalane Flanagan, Betsy Saina of Kenya, Ethiopian Mamitu Daska and Jessica Augusto of Portugal.

Eritrean Ghebreslassie became the youngest men’s champion in the history of the New York City Marathon when he broke the tape at in 2:07:51 at 20 years and 358 days last year.

It was the third-fastest winning time in the history of the race, and a similar or better performance will be needed on Sunday if he is to retain his crown.

The 21-year-old, who won the world title in 2015 and finished fourth at Rio Olympics in 2016, hasn’t been in stellar form this year, clocking a best 2:09:57 at the London Marathon to finish sixth.

In New York, he faces 2014 champion Wilson Kipsang, who has a personal best of 2:03:13 set in Berlin last year.

At this year’s edition of the Berlin Marathon – billed as the showdown with Kenenisa Bekele and Eliud Kipchoge, the 35-year-old dropped out at 30km, but he feeling confident ahead of New York saying: “My training was excellent before Berlin, but I had a bad day there. Now, I am very happy and thankful I was given a chance to use my training effort in New York City and will try to win there as I did three years ago.”

Also aiming for honours are Ethiopian duo Lemi Berhanu and Lelisa Desisa, with bests of 2:04:33 and 2:04:45 respectively, and Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor, a two time World Half Marathon and World Cross Country champion. The 24-year-old has a 2:06:12 personal best over 26.2 miles.

Another worthy mention is American marathon great Meb Keflezighi will make his last career appearance over 26.2 miles.

The New York champion in 2009 and Boston champion in 2014 will be racing his 26th career marathon and 10th New York City Marathon. When the 42-year-old crosses the line on Sunday he will also set a new record for the most appearance in the elite division of the race.

In the elite wheelchair race, Marcel Hug of Switzerland and USA’s Tatyana McFadden aim to defend their titles. British interest comes with Jade Jones the women’s race and Simon Lawson and John Smith in the men’s. Richard Whitehead, the 200m Paralympic and world champion, also makes a return to the marathon for the first time in three years.

The weekend’s action get’s underway on Saturday with the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K which incorporates the USA Track & Field 5K Championships, and following the terrorist attack on Tuesday that killed eight in New York, race organisers released a statement to say they were “monitoring the situation closely with our city, state and federal agency partners”, to ensure the safety and security of runners and spectators, staff and volunteers, but the marathon and weekend of events will go ahead.

Leading entries in the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K/USA Track & Field 5K Championships include Molly Huddle and Abbey D’Agostino in the women’s field and Paul Chelimo and Ben True in the men’s.

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A marathon of this magnitude has never been seen, with the reigning Olympic champion Kipchoge, former world-record holder Wilson Kipsang, and Kenenisa Bekele, regarded by many as the best all-around long-distance runner, all ready to chase a world record in the German capital.

The three contenders have each run a marathon under 2:03:30 and all have the ability to break Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto world record of 2:02:57, set three years ago on the same course. Given what is likely to be excellent weather conditions on Sunday, an extremely fast race is in prospect.

In the Breaking2 project on the Monza’s Formula One circuit in early May, Kipchoge ran 2:00:25 but because of the user of interchanging pacers it didn’t conform to international rules and is not officially recognised as a world record.

“For me, this marathon was a big success and I have drawn a lot of motivation from it. I want to run the first half in 60:45 on Sunday,” said Kipchoge at Friday’s press conference.

The 32-year-old, who ran his best of 2:03:05 to win London in 2016, added “victory on its own is no success – it is simply a necessity. There are three of us and there will be only one winner.”

Bekele of Ethiopia triumphed last year in the 43rd edition of the race in 2:03:03, the second-fastest performance of all time.

“I think I can run faster than last year,” he said. If Bekele breaks the world record in Berlin, it will not only be a historic marathon moment but in the history of athletics, no runner has ever held world records for 5000m, 10,000m and the marathon at the same time.

But he won’t be following Eliud Kipchoge’s example and going off fast. “60:45 has no place in my plans. I shall follow the lead if I can. That way I shall not put myself under stress and listen to my body. I am well prepared,” he added.

Kenyan Kipsang, who leads the world ranking this year after his 2:03:58 in Tokyo finished second in Berlin last year. “This time it’s a different situation (than last year), there are three of us. The pacemakers are stronger this time. I believe we shall have more support. A halfway split of between 61:00 and 61:10 would be good for me,” said Kipsang.

One thing is for sure, with Kipchoge intent on starting out at a lightning quick pace the duo of Bekele and Kipsang will trail, and as the miles build and build, the tension will surely follow, and for viewers, it will truly be a spectacle of the physiological capabilities of the human body.

How to watch the race?
In the UK, the recently launched sports channel FreeSports, will broadcast the race for free. Freeview channel:95 and Sky channel: 424.

In many countries, including Ireland, FloTrack has exclusive broadcasting rights and to watch the live stream a subscription is required.

If you have a German IP address, you can watch a free live stream here.

In the U.S. you can watch on the NBC Sports Network.

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