Chepngetich, Kandie lead stellar Kenyan field eyeing circuit record in Spain
2nd February 2024
More than 28000 runners have registered for the half marathon which is the second biggest in the European continent.
- Ruth Chepngetich and Kibiwott Kandie will be seeking to lower the half marathon circuit records at the 2024 Mitja Marató de Barcelona race.
- The event is scheduled for Sunday, February 11.
- Kandie’s personal best of 57:32 is only one second slower than the current world record of 57:31 that was set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo at the 2021 EDP Lisbon Half Marathon.
Elite Kenyan athletes led by former world champion Ruth
Chepngetich and Kibiwott Kandie will be seeking to lower the half marathon
circuit records at the 2024 Mitja Marató de Barcelona race scheduled for Sunday,
February 11.
More than 28000 runners have registered for the half
marathon which is the second biggest in the European continent.
According to race director Mauro Llorens, they expect the
circuit records to be shattered this time round.
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“We will be looking for the circuit record, both for men and
women. We have a great line-up of international athletes, where we can
highlight the presence of the Kenyan athlete, Kibiwott Kandie, who holds the
second-best time in the world half-marathon (57:32).
And that of his compatriot, Ruth Chepngetich, world champion
in the Doha Marathon 2019 and who has the third-best half-marathon time in the
world for women (01:04.02),” explained Llorens.
Kandie’s personal best of 57:32 is only one second slower
than the current world record of 57:31 that was set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo
at the 2021 EDP Lisbon Half Marathon.
Besides Kandie, other Kenyan male runners who have been
confirmed for the race are Mathew Kimeli, Philemon Kiplimo and Hillary
Kipkoech.
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Kimeli and Kiplimo have personal best times of 58:43 and
58:11 respectively while Kipkoech clocked 59:22 in the fastest half marathon he
has ever run in his career.
Chepngetich, on the other hand, travels to the Catalan city
of Barcelona with several marathon titles under her belt.
Some of the coveted accolades that the 29-year-old boasts of
include two Chicago Marathon titles and a Standard-Chartered Dubai Marathon
laurel.
The Kenya Prisons athlete has also registered victories in
the past at the 2019 Istanbul Half Marathon, and 2023 Nagoya Women’s marathon.
Chepngetich is expected to gather at the starting point with
the likes of compatriots Joyciline Jepkosgei and Gladys Chepkurui.
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Marathon
Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi will also be in contention. Teferi
is a one-time RAK half Marathon and Media Maratón Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP
champion. She set her half marathon personal best of 1:05.32 in Valencia in
2019.
Some of 2024 Mitja Marató de Barcelona elite entries
Male Category
Kibiwott Kandie - Kenya
Hillary Kipkoech - Kenya
Philemon Kiplimo - Kenya
Mathew Kimeli - Kenya
Gerald Gabriel Geay - Tanzania
Peter Mwaniki - Kenya
Andreas Almgren - Sweden
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Female Category
Ruth Chepngetich - Kenya
Joyciline Jepkosgei - Kenya
Senbere Teferi - Ethiopia
Gladys Chepkurui - Kenya
Jessica Warne-Judd - England