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Kipruto will take on another strong field that includes the second and third-fastest runners in history.
London Marathon former champions Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Amos Kipruto will take on an incredibly strong field of runners at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on Sunday, April 23.
Kipruto is fired up to take on another strong field that includes Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele and compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, the second and third-fastest runners in history respectively. It will be the first time in history that two men with sub-2:02 Personal Bests (PB) will be on the same start line.
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19:30 - 21.04.2023
ATHLETICS Kelvin Kiptum confident of flooring bigwigs at the London Marathon
Kiptum is the third fastest marathoner in the world.
Bekele has a PB of 2:01:41 and is one of the all-time greats of distance running. A multiple world champion on the track and cross country, the Ethiopian has focused on the roads in recent years.
Despite being almost 41 years of age, he finished fifth in London last year in 2:05:53.
Kiptum produced one of the biggest road running surprises in 2022, winning the Valencia Marathon on his debut at the distance with 2:01:53, a time that has only ever been bettered by Bekele and world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge.
The 23-year-old has not raced since then, but the quality of the field assembled for London could help bring about further improvements.
World champion Tamirat Tola and fellow Ethiopians Birhanu Legese and Leul Gebresilase – the runner-up last year – add further depth to the field, as does two-time New York Marathon winner Geoffrey Kamworor.
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11:20 - 21.04.2023
ATHLETICS Injury-plagued Kamworor keen to emulate Eliud Kipchoge's heroics at London Marathon
He is the 12th fastest in the field with a personal best time of 2:05:23.
Multiple world and Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah, meanwhile, recently announced that this weekend’s race will be his final marathon.
Meanwhile, the women’s line-up features 10 runners who have broken 2:19 for the marathon, six of them with sub-2:18 PBs.
Yehualaw made her marathon debut in April last year, clocking 2:17:23 to win in Hamburg. She followed that with a 2:17:26 triumph in London in October.
But the 23-year-old Ethiopian, contesting just her third race at the classic distance, now faces her toughest marathon test to date. She will be taking on the duo of world record-holder Brigid Kosgei and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir.
In addition to that stellar trio, multiple Olympic champion Sifan Hassan will be making her marathon debut, taking on former track rivals Genzebe Dibaba and Almaz Ayana.
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10:45 - 21.04.2023
ATHLETICS Amos Kipruto's advise to fellow athletes on matters concerning doping
The latest doping case occurred on Thursday, April 20 and it saw Samuel Lomoi being sanctioned for four years
Kosgei, the winner in London in 2019 and 2020, admitted she may not be at her absolute best on Sunday, but she did not want to pass up the opportunity of racing in the British capital.
Hassan, who won the world 1500m and 10,000m titles in 2019, already has some experience on the roads. She set a European half marathon record of 1:05:15 in 2018, then ran two sub-66-minute half marathons in 2019.
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21:35 - 07.04.2023
ATHLETICS Peres Jepchirchir maintains eyes on the women's world marathon record
She will be making her debut at the London Marathon on Sunday, April 23.
Jepchirchir will be making her first appearance in London. The two-time world half marathon champion has won her past five marathons – a streak that includes the Olympic Games in 2021, the New York Marathon later that year, and the 2022 Boston Marathon.
Ethiopian duo of Ayana and Dibaba made their marathon debuts in Amsterdam last year. Ayana, the 2016 Olympic 10,000m champion, won in a course record of 2:17:20, while world 1500m record-holder Dibaba was second in 2:18:05.
Elite fields
Women
Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 2:14:04
Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:17:16
Almaz Ayana (ETH) 2:17:20
Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) 2:17:23
Sheila Chepkirui (KEN) 2:17:29
Tadu Teshome (ETH) 2:17:36
Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 2:18:05
Sutume Asefa Kebede (ETH) 2:18:12
Judith Jeptum Korir (KEN) 2:18:20
Alemu Megertu (ETH) 2:18:32
Susanna Sullivan (USA) 2:25:14
Sofia Yaremchuk (ITA) 2:25:36
Ellie Pashley (AUS) 2:26:21
Alice Wright (GBR) 2:29:08
Samantha Harrison (GBR) 2:32:22
Sifan Hassan (NED) debut
Dominique Scott (RSA) debut
Men
Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) 2:01:41
Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) 2:01:53
Birhanu Legese (ETH) 2:02:48
Amos Kipruto (KEN) 2:03:13
Tamirat Tola (ETH) 2:03:39
Kinde Atanaw (ETH) 2:03:51
Leul Gebresilase (ETH) 2:04:02
Seifu Tura (ETH) 2:04:29
Mo Farah (GBR) 2:05:11
Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) 2:05:23
Brett Robinson (AUS) 2:07:31
Dewi Griffiths (GBR) 2:09:49
Chris Thompson (GBR) 2:10:52
Tom Gröschel (GER) 2:11:03
Ben Connor (GBR) 2:11:20
Frank Lara (USA) 2:11:32
Luke Caldwell (GBR) 2:11:33
Weynay Ghebresilasie (GBR) 2:11:57
Emile Cairess (GBR) debut
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