Week in Review: Kenyans roll + track notes
Victories in New York City cap stellar year for Kenya in World Marathon Majors
Evans Chebet combined patience, caution, and aggressiveness to win the men’s division of the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
On an unseasonably warm and humid day, when fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi won the women’s division by defeating several better-known runners in her marathon debut, the 33-year-old Chebet ran well within himself for much of the race before striking out in pursuit of race leader Daniel Do Nascimeto of Brazil shortly before the 25-kilometer mark. He passed him shortly after 33 kilometers as Do Nascimento’s bold early pace had taken a toll on him and forced him to stop running and collapse to the ground.
Chebet never relinquished the lead after that and crossed the finish line in 2 hours 8 minutes 11 seconds to become the first man since Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai in 2011 to win the Boston and New York City marathons in the same year.
He also became the second man – countryman Eliud Kipchoge was the first – to win two of the six World Marathon Majors races held this year.
Shura Kitata of Ethiopia finished second in 2:08:54, followed by Olympic silver medalist Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands in third in 2:10:31.
“Boston was actually harder, and it prepared him for the win in New York,” Chebet said through an interpreter. “He’s very thankful.”
Do Nascimento, whose personal best of 2:04:51 makes him the fastest marathoner in history from North or South America, threw caution to the wind early and paid dearly for it later.
The 24-year-old Brazilian surged into the lead in the second mile of the race and had a 29-second advantage over the chase pack when he came through five kilometers in 14:31. His lead had grown to a minute and 41 seconds when he passed the 15-kilometer mark in 49:42 and it was a whopping two minutes and 13 seconds when he came through the halfway mark in 61:22. That split was nearly two minutes faster that what Mutai had run while setting the course second of 2:05:06 11 years ago.
Do Nascimento had maintained nearly all of that advantage when he came through 25 kilometers in 1:13:29, but his race began to go awry after that. First, he made a brief pit stop at a porta-potty about an hour and 26 minutes into the race. Then he stopped about 10 minutes later to walk briefly before he could run no further four minutes after that.
Chebet, who had broken away from a chase pack of seven other runners 27 minutes earlier, passed Do Nascimento less than 30 seconds after he pulled off the course.
He said later he “felt bad for him, but had to continue to race.”
The interpreter said Chebet said he “knew it was hot and humid and [Do Nascimento] was going at a high pace. He has a lot of experience and he knew he was going to surpass him.”
Kitata, who trailed Chebet by 17 seconds at 35 kilometers, reduced his deficit to 6-7 seconds with about a kilometer left in the race, but Chebet pulled away from him down the stretch.
A celebratory post on Chebet’s Instagram page said, “At the moment I am simply speechless! So many people to thank! I will definitely find time in the next few days! By now thanks to all those ones who supported me and cheered for me in this amazing day! Thanks @nycmarathon !”
After the first three men, Mohamed El Aaraby of Morocco finished fourth in 2:11:00, followed by the Japanese duo of Sugura Osako in fifth in 2:11:31 and Tetsuya Yoroizaka in sixth in 2:12:12. Defending champion Albert Korir of Kenya placed seventh in 2:13:27.
Bend, but don’t break: The 28-year-old Lokedi, who moved to the U.S. when she was 14, showed a lot of poise in winning the women’s race in 2:23:23 while running against a field that included Hellen Obiri of Kenya, a two-time World champion in the 5,000, as well as a World champion in cross country, and Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia and Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel, the gold and bronze medalists from the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July.
Obiri, who was making her marathon debut, and Gotytom were regarded as the co-favorites in the women’s race and they were amongst a lead pack that went through 10 kilometers in 34:24 and 20 kilometers in 1:08:29 (34:05).
Salpeter led a group of about a dozen runners through the halfway point in 1:12:17 and Gebreslase led a group of eight runners past 25 kilometers in 1:25:46 after running the previous five kilometers in 17:17.
Obiri, Gebreslase, and Viola Cheptoo of Kenya comprised the lead pack when they came through 30 kilometers in 1:42:27 following a five-kilometer segment in 16:41, the fastest of the race.
Salpeter, Lokedi, and 42-year-old Edna Kiplagat of Kenya were 11-12 seconds back at that point, and appeared to be out of the race for first. But Salpeter and Lokedi had rejoined Obiri and Gebreslase in the lead group when they passed through 35 kilometers in 1:59:12.
Obiri dropped off the pace nine minutes later and Gebreslase was two seconds back when Salpeter led Lokedi through 40 kilometers in 2:16:07.
Lokedi looked extremely relaxed at that point and she began to pull away from Salpeter about a minute later. Although the toll of her effort began to show on her face with a little more than a kilometer left in the race, and Salpeter trimmed her deficit to about three seconds shortly after that, Lokedi drew away in the final stretch as Salpeter finished in 2:23:30, followed by Gebreslase in 2:23:39.
“I didn’t expect to win,” said Lokedi, who won the women’s 10,000 meters for the University of Kansas in the 2018 NCAA Championships. “I expected to run well. It was a good outcome and I’m really excited.”
Behind the first three, Kiplagat placed fourth in 2:24:16, followed by Cheptoo in 2:25:34, Obiri in 2:25:49, and American Aliphine Tuliamuk in 2:26:18.
Keira D’Amato, who set a then-U.S. record of 2:19:12 in winning the Houston Marathon in January, finished 15th in 2:31:31.
The 38-year-old mother of two, who was running in her fourth marathon of the year, was among the large lead pack through 10 kilometers. But she had fallen 13 seconds off the pace at the halfway mark and was 59 seconds back at the 25-kilometer point on the course.
Add top U.S. finishers: Emma Bates, who finished seventh in the World Championships, placed eighth in the women’s race on Sunday with a time of 2:26:53. Fellow American Nell Rojas finished 10th in 2:28:32.
Scott Fauble was the top U.S. finisher in the men’s race with a ninth-place time of 2:13:35 and was he followed by fellow American Reed Fischer, who placed 10th in 2:15:23.
Galen Rupp, who won the 2017 Chicago Marathon and was the bronze medalist in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, was amongst the eight-runner chase pack through the first 70 minutes of the race. But he did not finish, with reports stating he pulled off the course around the 19-mile mark.
Final tally: With the New York City Marathon concluding the six World Marathon Majors races to be run this year, it is interesting to note that Kenyan men won all six of the marathons held – in chronological order – in Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, London, Chicago, and New York.
On the women’s side of the ledger, Kenyan runners won four of the six races, with Ethiopians taking the other two.
Although the Valencia Marathon in Spain on Dec. 4 is not amongst the World Marathon Majors, it is being eagerly anticipated as multiple world-record-holder Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia is scheduled to make her marathon debut there.
Gidey, who won the 10,000 in the World Championships in July, holds the world record in that event at 29 minutes 1.03 seconds, in the 5,000 at 14:06.62, and in the half marathon at 1:02:52.
Coaching change: Athing Mu, the defending Olympic and World champion in the women’s 800 meters announced last week that she will be moving from Texas to Los Angeles to train with coach Bobby Kersee.
“I’m excited for this opportunity to train with the track and field legend Bob Kersee,” the 20-year-old Mu wrote in a social media post. “Coach Kersee has the capability to further enhance my running skills and implement the tools needed to reach my greatest potential.”
Mu set a collegiate record of 49.57 seconds in winning the 400 in the NCAA Championships as a Texas A&M freshman last year before turning pro and winning the Olympic title in the 800 with a then-U.S. record of 1:55.21.
She lowered her national record to 1:55.04 in winning the Prefontaine Classic shortly after the Olympics.
Mu ran a yearly world-leading best of 1:56.30 in winning the World title this year.
It is an interesting move by Mu as Kersee has had a tremendous amount of success coaching athletes who compete in events of 400 meters or less. However, he is not known as an 800-meter guru.
He currently coaches Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the defending Olympic and World champion in the women’s 400 hurdles, as well as a four-time world-record-setter in the event.
In addition, he coached sprinter Allyson Felix for nearly all of her career that saw her win 11 medals in the Olympics and an unprecedented 20 medals in the World Championships in the 200 and 400, as well as in the 400 and 1,600 relays.
Valerie Brisco-Hooks, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Gail Devers are three other Olympic champions whom Kersee coached.
Brisco-Hooks won the 200 and 400, and ran the anchor leg on the victorious 1,600 relay team in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Joyner-Kersee, to whom Kersee has been married since 1986, won a combined 10 Olympic or World Championship medals in the heptathlon or long jump during her career, and set the current world record of 7,291 points in the heptathlon in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. She was a double gold medalist in the heptathlon and long jump in the 1988 Olympics, as well as in the 1987 and ‘91 World Championships.
Devers won consecutive Olympic championships in the women’s 100 in the 1992 Games in Barcelona and in the ’96 Olympics in Atlanta. In addition, she won a World title in the 100 in 1993, and was the gold medalist in the 100 hurdles in ‘93, ’95, and ’99.
Brandon Miller, who represented the U.S. in the men’s 800 in the World Championships, has also announced that he will be coached by Kersee after winning the NCAA indoor title in March and placing third in the outdoor meet in June.
Miller, who is Mu’s partner, has a personal best of 1:45.09 in the 800.
In memory: Wilson Kiprugut, Kenya’s first Olympic medalist, passed away on Nov. 2. He was 84.
Kiprugut became the first Kenyan to win a medal in the Olympic Games in 1964 in Tokyo when he placed third in the men’s 800 meters behind Peter Snell of New Zealand and Bill Crothers of Canada.
Four years later, he was the silver medalist in the 800 in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City when his career best time of 1:44.5 pushed Ralph Doubell of Australia to a 1:44.3 clocking that tied the world record held at that time by two-time Olympic champion Snell.
“It’s a sad day for our sport. He was one of our greatest runners,” two-time Olympic and World champion David Rudisha told BBC Sport Africa. “Being the first Kenyan to win a medal in the Olympic Games, and the race being 800 meters, is really a great inspiration.”
Kiprugut was ranked among the top 10 800-meter runners in the world every year by Track & Field News from 1964-’68, topped by No. 2 rankings in 1965 and ’68.
Although Kip Keino, who won an Olympic title in the 1,500 in 1968 and in the 3,000 steeplechase in 1972, might be the most famous Kenyan runner of all time, Kiprugut exceled in an event in which he and his countrymen combined to win six gold, three silver, and five bronze medals in the Olympic Games.
Kenya, led by Rudisha’s victories in the 2012 and ’16 Olympics, has won the last four Olympic titles in the men’s 800.
In addition, Kenyan men have won seven gold, two silver, and four bronze medals in the 800 in the World Athletics Championships, which began with the inaugural meet in Helsinki in 1983.
“We Kenyans have lost a very important person who did a lot for athletics,” Keino told BBC Sport Africa. “We trained and competed together and travelled to many countries in the world, and came home with good results.”