NAIROBI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Champions Victor Kipchirchir and Pauline Njeru from Kenya, who are the course record-holders for the Warsaw Half Marathon, head the elite fields of the IAAF bronze Label road race on Sunday.
The course records of 1:00:48 for the men and 1:09:06 for the women are both Polish all-comers’ records. And with both record-holders back in action this year, these times may come under threat.
Kipchirchir is the fastest entrant in the men’s race with a 59:31 bets time and will face opposition from teammates Ezrah Sang (60:36) and Hillary Maiyo (61:05).
Kipchirchir set the current record in winning the 2014 edition. The following year, he finished fourth in what was his last outing in the race.
With 59:31 from The Hague in 2012, Kipchirchir is the only man in the field who has bettered the one-hour barrier.
“The focus is to win and boost my chances for selection in the Kenya team to the World Championships in 2019. However, I must appreciate the challenge I face in Warsaw. But am inspired with the fast course and hopefully, I will get my wish to set a new course record,” said Kipchirchir on Saturday.
The Kenyan has concentrated on the full marathon distance in recent years with substantial success, including a victory in Valencia in 2016 with a personal best of 2:07:39 and 2:08:52 in Seoul last year.
It remains to be seen whether his first half marathon in nearly two years will produce a performance of similar quality.
Should Kipchirchir falter, compatriot Ezrah Sang appears to be the man most likely to rise to the top while Hillary Maiyo, in contrast, is a familiar figure to Polish road running fans, with six half marathon victories in the country in the past year alone.
Njeru is also the fastest in the women’s race with a 68:20 bets time ahead of Ethiopia’s Birhan Mihretu (70:00)
Njeru, like her fellow course record-holder Kipchirchir, is returning to Warsaw after several years.
Since her victory in 2014, she has assembled an excellent competitive record, winning half marathon races across the world, including Birmingham, Marrakech and Madrid.
Others are Birhan Mihretu of Ethiopia, Christine Oigo, Joyce Kiplimo, Lilian Jelagat and Agnes Chebet.
