Kenya’s Martin Kosgey will face a stiff challenge at the 37th edition of the the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon that will be held in October 20, 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Kosgey who finished the last year’s edition in fourth place with a time of 2:09.39 will once again face off with the defending champion Guye Adola of Ethiopia who comes to this year’s race with a personal best of 2:03.46. He got this time at Berlin Marathon which placed him with second fastest time in the world.
Adola is the marathon runner who almost broke the lengthy dominance of the Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge a year ago. Just before 40 kilometres in Berlin the 27-year-old was in the lead but Kipchoge, unbeaten in the marathon since 2013, was able to overhaul him.
Adola finished with a sensational marathon debut just 14 seconds behind the Kenyan and the second fastest time in the world. His time of 2:03:46 was also an unofficial world record for a debut marathon (official records for this category are not maintained) since no athlete had ever run faster in their first marathon on a record eligible course.
Adola’s performance in 2017 also made him the second fastest Ethiopian ever to run the marathon behind Kenenisa Bekele and ahead of the former world record holder Haile Gebrselassie.
“I really enjoyed everything about my marathon debut until the last few kilometres,” said Adola, whose time also earned him eleventh place on the world all-time list.
The organizers expect up to 15,000 entrants for this year’s edition of the Frankfurt Marathon which is an IAAF Gold Label race, the highest category in international road running. Entries for the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon are still accepted at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com
“We are looking forward to a thrilling men’s race with world-class runners,” said Race Director Jo Schindler. “We are pleased when athletes of this calibre choose Frankfurt for their autumn marathon. It is always our aim to present world-class athletes and at the same time to offer perfect conditions for every single runner.”
Kosgey, ran what was then a personal best of 2:07.22 to finish second at the 2016 edition but when he came back last year he was forced to finish in fourth place.
Japan’s Hiroyuki Yamamoto will lead a strong contingent in Frankfurt. He ran his best of 2:09.12 in Tokyo in 2017, finishing tenth.
German record holder Arne Gabius will be returning at the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon for the fourth time. The 37-year-old has run under 2:10 in all three previous marathons in Frankfurt and no other German runner has broken that barrier for over 25 years. “Frankfurt is the best place for me. Why should I do anything different?” said Gabius whose time of 2:08.33 he set in 2015 broke the German record of 2:08.47 that was set in 1988 by Jörg Peter.
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