The former world half-marathon record holder is the fastest in the women’s field
The 2009 World Cross-country champion Florence Kiplagat will finally open her season at the Gold Coast Marathon on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2, July after missing out on the Stockholm Marathon due to a visa hitch.
The Stockholm Marathon is scheduled for Saturday, June 3 and Kiplagat did not have ample time to secure her travel documents in good time and was forced to forfeit the race.
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Her last competition was during the 2019 Outdoor Meeting in Israel where she competed over the 10,000m and finished third.
She has been out of competition for four years due to a series of illnesses and the worldwide Covid-19 disruption of sporting events.
The former world half marathon record holder is the fastest in the women’s field with a Personal Best time of 2:19:44 that she ran to win the 2011 Berlin Marathon. She comes back to the field to test if she still has the endurance like back then.
She will be joined by the 2018 Gold Coast Marathon champion Ruth Chebitok and the reigning Copenhagen Marathon champion Rodah Tanui.
Chebitok lines up as the second-fastest in the field and she returns to Australia with sweet memories. She will be hoping for a repeat of 2018 or even a much-better performance than that. The 32-year-old already opened her season with a 10th-place finish at the Paris Marathon.
On her part, Tanui will also be returning after her big win in 2019 and will be anticipating for a repeat of the same. The duo will be banking on their mastery of the course to display great results.
In the men’s field, Wilfred Kimitei and three-time Warszawa Marathon champion Ezekiel Omullo are the only Kenyans confirmed so far.