World 3000m steeplechase record holder, Beatrice Chepkoech will battle for the top honors at the 58th edition of the San Silvestre Vallecana 10km Road Race that will be held on Saturday (31) in Madrid, Spain.
The 31 year-old who is also the 2019 World 3000m steeplechase chase champion, will face off with a deep elite field on the iconic New Year’s Eve 10km race that includes African 10,000m Champion, Tsehay Gemechu from Ethiopia and the 2016 and 2018 World 800m indoor champion, Francine Niyonsaba from Burundi.
Chepkoech who is also the 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist will have to get past the 24-year-old Gemechu, who comes to this race with huge expectations of extending the Ethiopian winning streak after Helen Bekele Tola, Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Degitu Azimeraw won the previous three editions.
Gemechu was placed fourth place at the 2019 world championships in 5000m outdoors, a sixth place at the world cross country championships of the same year. Gemechu who comes to this race with a life time best of 30:15 has set her focus on the three years course record of 29:54 set by Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei.
Another title contender is the two-time world indoor champion, Francine Niyonsaba, who became the first athlete to be identified as having DSD to officially break a world record when clocking 5:21.26 for 2000m, will be on the start line as she fights the two. The 29 year-old made her intent known two weeks ago when she took the Cross Internacional de Venta de Banos title. Niyonsaba who will be making her debut over the distance a holds a life time best in 5000m of 14:25.34 that she got last year at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme where she took the honors.
Double World U20 bronze medallist, Prisca Chesang from Uganda will also fight for the top title. The 19-year-old Olympian comes to this race with a personal best of 32:42 that she got this year at the TCS World 10K Bengaluru where she finished in tenth place.
Reigning Ethiopian 10km champion Mahlet Mulugeta has also been added to the elite list as she prepares to cause a storm at the race.
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