Mary Keitany, photo by PhotoRun.net
Top names for NYC Marathon
NEW YORK (USA): Reigning champions Ghirmay Ghebreslassie from Eritrea and Mary Keitany from Kenya are confirmed for the New York Marathon on 5 November, informs organisers. Ghebreslassie is the sixth fastest entrant in the elite men’s field behind Ethiopians Lemi Berhanu (2:04:33), Lelisa Desisa (2:04:45), Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor (2:06:12), Switzerland’s Tadesse Abraham (2:06:40) and Kenya’s Lucas Rotich (2:07:17). Keitany is the fastest in the women’s race with her 2:17:01 clocking from the London Marathon in April but she will face strong opposition from former world champions Edna Kiplagat (2:19:50) and Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba (2:19:52) and former London Marathon winner Tigist Tufa (2:21:52). Top European entrants include France’s Christelle Daunay (2:24:22) and Portugal’s Jessica Augusto (2:24:33) while Kenya’s Betsy Saina is set to make her debut.