Kenyan world record holder Brigid Kosgei has a scheduling conflict on her racing calendar, meaning she will have to choose between the London and Chicago Marathons with both races scheduled within a week of each other later this year.
The London Marathon is scheduled for October 4, with the Chicago Marathon pencilled in for October 11. The London Marathon was originally scheduled for April 26 but was postponed due to the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“My preparations for the London Marathon race where I was going to defend my title were in top gear because I had less than two months to finalise my programme before coronavirus disrupted it,” Kosgei was quoted as saying by Daily Nation.
Kosgei set a new women’s world record of 2:14:04 in the Chicago Marathon in October last year, shattering the previous mark, slicing a massive 81 seconds from the 2:15:25 record England’s Paula Radcliffe set in 2003.
The 26-year-old would have been one of the heavy favourites for the women’s marathon at the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for July before the quadrennial showpiece was also postponed to next year due to Covid-19.
Though Kosgei will have to wait another year to have a tilt at one of the few titles she is yet to win, she is confident she will still be in good shape in 2021.
“Now I have to wait for next year. I believe I will still be in good shape to run and win the race,” said Kosgei.
Now her choice is a simple one, and not much of a choice in reality – train alone in Eldoret, Kenya, where she is based or not train at all.
“When the camps were closed, the only thing possible was to train alone. So I am doing that here in Eldoret, but how I miss competitive running. I cannot wait for things to return to normal.”
In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo
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