Kenyan trio plot London onslaught against Ethiopian favourites

All eyes might be on London Marathon's men's defending champion Shura Kitata as he takes to the streets of the United Kingdom capital on Sunday 3 October in an attempt to defend his 2020 title.

However, the 2:04.49 runner is not even in the top five list of competitors as organisers have gone out of their way to assemble one of the best fields London has witnessed in the recent past including three sub 2:03 runners. 

In the absence of four-time London champion Eliud Kipchoge, Kitata who is back on the road just 56 days after dropping out of the Tokyo Olympics marathon, will be up against the Kenya trio of London Marathon's silver medalist Vincent Kipchumba, Milan Marathon champion Titus Ekiru and Valencia Marathon champion Evans Kibet. 

Kipchumba, while making his debut in the World Marathon Majors held on for second place in the 2020 London Marathon clocking a time of 2:05:42 in harsh conditions that saw Kipchoge finish eighth. Before that, he had won the Amsterdam and Vienna Marathons in 2019. 

Ekiru, on his part, heads to London as the fifth fastest marathoner of all time and the third-fastest on the field behind Ethiopian duo of Birhanu Legese and Mosinet Gerenew. 

Ekiru won the Generali Milan Marathon for a second time on 16 May 2021, in a course record and world leading time of 2:02:57. 

This time improved the course record he set in 2019 of 2:04:46 by 1 minute 49 seconds, as he became the joint fifth fastest marathoner of all time. His winning time went into the records as the fastest time run in a marathon in May, and an Italian all-comers record.

Valencia champion, Chebet, on his debut in the London Marathon believes his past experience racing against the fastest man on the field, Legese, will come in handy on Sunday. 

"I competed against Legese in Valencia and I know his style of running. We have to be careful about him and other Ethiopian athletes. You cannot compete neck-to-neck against him and win, the secret is to drop him early," he told Daily Nation before leaving Eldoret in a private jet for London via Ethiopia. 

While Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele sit one and two on the all-time men’s marathon lists, one man, often overlooked in the great marathon rivalry is their NN Running Team colleague Legese who sits third on the all-timer list with a personal best time of 2:02.48. 

Heading to London, the 27 year old says that given the difficult last 18 months or so he has endured, he not prepared to make too many bold predictions.

“I don’t know what to expect," he told his NN Running stable in an interview. "I have undergone different preparations because of the lockdowns, a different training approach because I’m working with a new coach and because of some discomfort physically when I could not have physical treatment.

However, the last weeks of training have gone well. It is difficult to say how I will go but when I am racing, I will give it my all.”

In December he competed in the Valencia Marathon and despite the far from perfect preparation he still achieved a blistering time of 2:03:16 to place third and claim a fourth successive marathon podium.

“I was happy with the performance. But I know I can do better; I was not 100% fit,” he explains.”

Since his appearance in the Spanish port city he has undergone more strict lockdowns in Ethiopia. The spring marathon programme was restricted to a handful of races and he was forced to sit patiently on the sidelines waiting for his next competitive opportunity.

He has also undergone changes to his coaching set up. While his former coach Getaneh Tessema still plays a role as mentor the daily coaching is now carried out by Kenenisa’s coach Mersha Asrat.

The second fastest runner in the London field, Gerenew, will also be looking to upgrade his 2019 London Marathon silver to gold. In 2020, when the race was held in a loop at St James' Park, he finished fourth. 

London 2020 bronze medalist Sesay Lemma, 2019 bronze medalist Mule Wasihun and fellow Ethiopian Kinde Atanaw are also in the race. All are in the Sub 2:06 list.