The 2012 Olympic silver medallist Abel Kirui will face reigning Kobe Marathon champion Barnaba Kipkoech this Sunday in a thrilling showdown on the streets of Japan.
Last year, Kipkoech claimed victory in Kobe with a time of 2:11:19, edging out Australia’s Tim Vincent ( 2:12:05 ) and Morocco’s Hassan Toriss ( 2:13:06 ).
Kipkoech will be seeking to do a double in Kobe but will have a tough task of keeping Kirui at bay.
Kirui holds a rich resume, which includes his silver medal from the 2012 London Olympics.
He clocked 2:08:27 to finish just seconds behind Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich ( 2:08:01 ) and ahead of compatriot Wilson Kipsang ( 2:09:37 ).
Kirui, who is also a seasoned marathoner, also boasts world titles from Berlin 2009 ( 2:06:54 ) and Daegu 2011 ( 2:07:38 ).
His career highlights include a 2008 Vienna Marathon victory ( 2:07:38 ), a second-place finish in Berlin 2007 ( 2:06:51 ) and a thirdplace ( 2:05:04 ) at the 2009 Rot terdam Marathon.
Meanwhile, Kipkoech is fresh from winning the Belfast Half Marathon last September, where he clocked 1:03:48 to lead Ireland’s Finn McNally ( 1:07:04 ) and refugee athlete Brhane Gebrebrhan ( 1:08:24 ) to the podium.
Earlier this year, he finished 14th at the Rotterdam Marathon with a 2:10:48 in a race won by Abdi Nageeye in 2:04:45 with Amedework Walelegn ( 2:04:50 ) and Birhanu Legese ( 2:05:16 ) completing the podium.
Last year, he secured third place finish at Porto Marathon, clocking 1:01:54 behind Anthony Kimtai ( 1:01:39 ) and Mike Kiptum ( 1:01:42 ). Kipkoech’s titles include the 2022 Málaga Marathon ( 2:08:21 ) and the 2016 Nottingham Half Marathon ( 1:05:55 ). Timothy Kip korir and Josphat Kiprotich will join the line-up in Kobe to form a strong Kenyan contingent.
Kipkorir clinched the Gold Coast Marathon title in July in 2:08:52, ahead of Ethiopia’s Belay Tilahun ( 2:08:58 ) and Japan’s Kiyoshi Koga ( 2:09:22 ).
His other accolades include victory from the 2019 Incheon Half Marathon ( 1:03:46 ) and runners up finish from last year’s Milano Marathon ( 2:07:53 ).
Kiprotich also won the 2023 Rio de Janeiro title in 2:13:29 with Samwel Kiptoo ( 2:14:15 ) and Uganda’s Benson Karameka ( 2:17:31 ) completing the podium.
Hiroshi Ichida, Yamashita
Yuya, Keisuke Yokota, and Kumashiro Takuya will spearhead
the host’s charge, with Australia’s Liam Boudin adding further
depth to this star-studded field.
