Two-time New York Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor is hoping to shatter his personal best in his first 42km outing of the year at the Rotterdam Marathon on April 13.
Kamworor currently holds a personal best of 2:04:23 set during the 2023 London Marathon, where he finished second just behind the world record holder, the late Kelvin Kiptum.
The 32-year-old is eyeing an even faster time on one of the fastest courses in Europe.
“I’m coming to Rotterdam to break my personal best,” Kamworor shared through his training camp, NN Running Team.
The flat, record-friendly streets of Rotterdam have witnessed some of the fastest times in marathon history. Belgium’s Bashir Abdi holds the course record of 2:03:36, set in 2021 and came close to that mark again in 2023 with a 2:03:47 finish.
The Dutch city also boasts two former world records, courtesy of Portugal’s Carlos Lopes (2:07:12 in 1985) and Ethiopia’s Belayneh Dinsamo (2:06:50 in 1988).
Kamworor enters Rotterdam fresh off a 58:44 second-place finish at the Barcelona Half Marathon on February 16, where Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo stole the show with a stunning world record of 56:42.
The 2015 world 10,000m silver medallist is eager to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 season that saw him miss out on the podium at the New York Marathon, finishing fifth in 2:08:50.
Netherlands Abdi Nageeye (2:07:39) and Kenyans Evans Chebet (2:07:45) and Albert Korir (2:08:00) completed the podium in that race.
Despite last year’s struggles, Kamworor’s storied marathon journey spans over a decade. He made his 42km debut at Berlin 2012, finishing third in 2:06:12 behind compatriots Geoffrey Mutai (2:04:15) and Dennis Kimetto (2:04:16).
A year later, he finished third again in Berlin, clocking 2:06:26, as Wilson Kipsang shattered the world record with 2:03:23, ahead of Eliud Kipchoge (2:04:05).
In 2015, he secured a runners up finish in New York clocking 2:10:48 before a third-place finish in 2018 (2:06:26).
