FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Keitany Leads Kenyan Quartet for London Marathon Title
12 December 2011
Mary Keitany will lead a quality Kenyan quartet at the 2012 Virgin London
Marathon next April when she defends her women's title against many of the
world's top runners just three months before the London Olympic Games.
Keitany had a brilliant year in 2011 when she smashed the world half
marathon record, broke the 2 hours 20 minutes barrier with a memorable
victory in London, and ran the first half of the New York City Marathon in
November inside world record schedule before fading to finish third.
But the 30-year-old faces a tough task when she returns to London as the
women's field assembled by joint Race Director Dave Bedford, contains no
fewer than 15 women who have run the distance quicker than 2:25, including
the reigning World and Olympic champions, and three athletes who have
broken 2:20.
Not least among Keitany's opponents will be a trio of compatriots, all of
whom will be vying for spots on Kenya's Olympic team. They are the World
Champion, Edna Kiplagat, who was third in London last year after winning
the 2010 New York title; Priscah Jeptoo, this year's Paris champion and
silver medallist at the Daegu World Championships; and Florence Kiplagat
who was a brilliant winner of the Berlin marathon in September.
The impressive list of non-Kenyan entrants for the women's race is headed
by Germany's Irina Mikitenko, London champion in 2008 and 2009, and
includes six talented Ethiopians, the Olympic champion, Constantina Dita of
Romania, the experienced Russian pair, Inga Abitova and Mariya Konovalova,
Swedish record holder Isabellah Andersson, and Portuguese star Jessica
Augusto.
The Ethiopian women will also be fighting for Olympic berths. They include
Atsede Baysa, the double Paris marathon champion, Ejegayehu Dibaba,
runner-up in Chicago this year, Aberu Kebede, the 2010 Berlin champion,
Toronto champion Korene Jelila, and Bezunesh Bekele, who was fourth in
London and at the Daegu World Championships.
"This has to be one of the most talented women's fields we've ever had and
with numerous Olympic places up for grabs I'm sure we'll see a fantastic
race," said Bedford.
"We are delighted that our champion Mary Keitany is back following her
superb victory this year but she will have to be at her very best just to
win the battle of the Kenyans, while athletes from other countries have
great marathon pedigrees of their own and will have everything to prove
themselves ahead of the Olympic Games."
An intriguing race is sure to take place following UK Athletics' early
selection of Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi announced last week, securing the
one remaining women's Olympic place will be the chief concern of Britain's
leading entrants.
That won't be easy as the British pack contains two other athletes who have
achieved the qualifying time of 2:31 – Bristol-based Claire Hallissey, who
was sixth in Chicago in 2:29:27, and Winchester's Louise Damen who ran
2:30:00 in London in 2011 – plus the two-times Olympian and former
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Liz Yelling who has a personal best of
2:28:33.
Other Britons vying for Olympic places include Brighton champion Alyson
Dixon, Susan Partridge from Leeds, Sale's Amy Whitehead, Helen Decker of
Ipswich and Rebecca Robinson from Kendal, while Freya Murray and Sonia
Samuels will make their marathon debuts.
"The British battle for women's Olympic places will be an intriguing part
of next year's race," said Bedford, joint Race Director of the Virgin
London Marathon and a member of UKA's marathon selection panel.
"With the Olympic Games in London just a few months later the incentive for
British marathon runners couldn't be greater."
Dave Bedford was also recently announced as the new Chairman of the IAAF
Road Running Commission.
Elite Women PB
Mary Keitany (Kenya) 2:19:19
Irina Mikitenko (Germany) 2:19:19
Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) 2:19:44
Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) 2:20:46
Constantina Dita (Romania) 2:21:30
Atsede Baysa (Ethiopia) 2:22:04
Ejegayehu Dibaba (Ethiopia) 2:22:09
Inga Abitova (Russia) 2:22:19
Korene Jelila (Ethiopia) 2:22:43
Priscah Jeptoo (Kenya) 2:22:51
Bezunesh Bekele (Ethiopia) 2:23:09
Isabellah Andersson (Sweden)2:23:41
Mariya Konovalova (Russia) 2:23:50
Aberu Kebede (Ethiopia) 2:23:58
Jessica Augusto (Portugal) 2:24:33
Nadia Ejjafini (Italy) 2:26:15
Yuliya Ruban (Ukraine) 2:27:00
Leading British entrants
Women PB
Liz Yelling 2:28:33
Claire Hallissey 2:29:27
Louise Damen 2:30:00
Susan Partridge 2:34:13
Alyson Dixon 2:34:51
Amy Whitehead 2:35:39
Helen Decker 2:35:43
Rebecca Robinson 2:37:14
Freya Murray Debut
Sonia Samuels Debut
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