The trio of Cosmas Birech, Dominic Nyairo and William Kibor are set to extend Kenya’s dominance at the Munich Marathon as they line up in the German city on October 13.
Kenya has ruled the men’s event for the past two years, with Philemon Kipchumba clinching victory in 2022 in 2:07:28, ahead of Ethiopia’s Mengistu Gezahagn (2:07:56) and Eritrea’s Berhane Tesfay (2:08:10).
Last year, Kenyan athletes swept the podium, led by Bernard Muia, who won in a time of 2:09:17, with Benson Nzioka (2:09:21) and Mica Cheserek (2:09:26) completing the podium.
Cosmas Kiplimo (2:10:07), Amos Birgen (2:11:15) and Luke Kibet (2:11:41) finished fourth, sixth and seventh respectively.
Race organisers expect a fast-paced event in the men’s race with a target of a 2:08 finish.
“We have produced the fastest times in the history of our event in the past two years. I hope we will once again see results in the region of 2:08 to 2:09,” said Gernot Weigl.
Birech comes with an impressive résumé, boasting wins at the 2018 Roma Marathon (2:08:03) and the Lugano Half Marathon (1:01:02).
Nyairo, on the other hand, is the 2021 Hofu Marathon champion (2:09:34) as well as the runners-up from the Aveiro Marathon (2:09:57) in April.
Kibor hold victories from the 2014 Verona Half Marathon (1:00:51) and the 2016 Las Vegas Half Marathon (1:01:21).
In the women’s race, Shamilah Kipsiror, the 2023 Ghent Half Marathon champion, will be looking to defend Kenya’s title.
In 2023, Kenyans secured the top five positions in the women’s event led by Catherine Cherotich (2:31:34). Teclah Chebet (2:32:13), Flomena Ngurasia (2:33:17), Caroline Chepkwony (2:36:32) and Beatrice Cheburet (2:46:42) followed in that order.
During the 2022 edition, Agnes Keino cruised to victory in 2:23:26 besting Ethiopia’s Dibaba Hurssa (2:24:12) and Morocco’s Souad Kanbouchia (2:27:35).
The target for the women’s event is 2:25; “In the women’s race, times between 2:25 and 2:27 should be possible,” added Weigl.
Kipsiror’s resume includes a third-place finish at the 2023 Bucharest Half Marathon (1:19:19), a fourth-place finish at the Roma Marathon (2:27:33) in March and a fifth-place finish at the Riyadh Half Marathon (1:14:09) in February.
