Kenya’s Reuben Kipyego is the man to watch at the 44th edition of the Istanbul Marathon scheduled on November 05, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey.
The 27 year-old comes this race with a life time best of 2:03.55 that he got in 2021 at the Generali Milano Marathon, where he won the silver.
Kipyegon, who in 2019 made headlines at Abu Dhabi Marathon where he had been selected as a pacemaker but turned the tables as he ran away with the title beating runner-up Joel Kimurer by a minute and 41 seconds, will face a strong deep elite field that includes the reigning Zurich Maraton de Sevilla champion Gadise Shumie of Ethiopian who comes to this race with the second fastest time of 2:04.59 that he got in February this year. The 31 year-old who has two wins in his eight marathons he has taken part will be fighting to outshine Kipyegon.
The two will not have an easy time as they will have to go past the race defending champion Robert Kipkemboi from Kenya who out-kicked Kipyegon last year and went on to win the race in 2:10.18. The 34 year-old also holds a personal best of 2:07.09 that he got at the 2019 Seoul Marathon, where he finished in fifth place.
The 2019 Youth Olympic Games 3000m steeplechase bronze medallist, Moses Koech will be making his debut over the distance as he holds a life time best of 59:11 over the half marathon distance.
Online entry is still available until 16th October at: https://maraton.istanbul
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