ISTANBUL, Turkey, Apr 28 -Kenyan Edwin Rotich and 2016 Olympic marathon silver medalist Eunice Kirwa lead their respective fields at the Istanbul Half Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Sunday.
Rotich ran his personal best of 59:32 in Valencia in October last year, and hasn’t competed in a half marathon since.
However, the Kenyan showed good form when finishing in 46:46 at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miles in Washington DC earlier this month.
He will start as one of the favorites in Istanbul in a field that includes six men who have broken the event’s one-hour barrier.
Kenyan-born Azerbaijani Evans Kiplagat returns to run the city’s major half marathon for the third year in a row. His winning time of 1:00:13 from 2015 stands as the race record, though it is 17 seconds shy of his career best.
Adugna Takele, the fastest Ethiopian over the distance in 2016 with 59:40, is another outstanding name in the field. The 28-year-old crossed the finish line in 1:01:14 at the RAK Half Marathon in Ras al-Khaimah in February.
There were to be two more fast Ethiopians on the starting line, however, both Tamirat Tola and Guye Adola withdrew from the race due to injury and illness respectively.
Other leading names include Kenya’s Vincent Kipsegechi Yator, who has a best of 59:55 from 2015, and Morocco’s national record holder Aziz Lahbabi with 59:25.
Peter Kwemoi Ndorobo is not to be written off in the battle for victory on Sunday. The Kenyan ran exactly the same time in Ostia in 2016 and 2017, 1:00:13, which stands as his best.
Also lining up will be Tanzania’s Ismail Juma, who was ninth in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships Guiyang 2015.
-Kirwa vs Degefa in women’s race-
The women’s race will host Kenyan-born Bahraini Kirwa, the Rio 2016 Olympic marathon silver medalist, who also took bronze in the event at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015.
The 32-year-old clocked 1:08:07 in Marugame in February, her only half marathon this year.
However, the fastest woman on paper is Worknesh Degefa of Ethiopia. The 27-year-old finished in a time of 1:06:14 in Prague last year to become the world all-time number 10 over the distance.
Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich has been a fast improver this year. Starting the year with 1:09:06 in Adana, she shaved off nearly a minute from that time to win in 1:08:08 in Paris in early March, following with an impressive 1:07:42 in Milan, another victory within the same month. The next target for Chepngetich would the fourth win of the year with another improvement.
Hiwot Gebrekidan will also be setting her sights on a podium finish after she won her first ever half marathon, clocking 1:08:00 in Copenhagen last September.
The Ethiopian, who will celebrate her 22nd birthday two weeks after her second race over the distance, is one of the youngest elite women to run in Istanbul on Sunday.