Kenyan Team with Marathon World Cup flanked by Japan n Morocco
Abel Kirui, 27, successfully defended his marathon title in Daegu this morning in a 1-2 finish for the Kenyans, in a time of 2:07:38, 46 seconds slower than the championship record he set in the previous edition 2 years ago in Berlin but ahead of his compatriot Vincent Kipruto (2:10:06) by the biggest margin in the history of the championships.
Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia followed closely behind in 2:10:32 to take the bronze medal.
This is the 7th gold medal for Kenya in the championship which ends this evening with Men 4x100m as the closing event.
The Kenyans continue to show dominance in the only road race event of the championships following their female counterparts making a clean sweep in the opening event of women marathon.
Kenya won the Marathon World Cup for both the men and women team categories which carry a cash prize money of USD20,000 each.
Results of the World Cup Marathon Men (Teams of top 3 finishers) :
World Cup champions : Kenya - 6:29:23 - USD20,000 cash prize
Runners-up : Japan - 6:41:13 - USD 15,000
3rd placing : Morocco - 6:42:18 - USD12,000
4th placing : Spain - 6:53:41 - USD10,000
5th placing : China - 6:54:32 - USD8,000
6th placing ; Korea - 6:57:03 - USD6,000
Kirui was NOT even included in the Kenya's provisional list for Daegu in view of the enormous strength of the Kenyan marathon resources ! It was after selectors gave him a chance to defend his title n some top runners opted not to participate (like Emmanuel Mutai) that he joined the Daegu bound squad
ReplyDeleteHe Said : "They made a wise choice to recognize me,"
And he does not know whether it will be good enough for him to earn a spot at the 2012 London Olympics.