A hotel owned by former World record holder Wilson Kipsang will host hundreds of fans who will be able to follow Sunday’s potentially record-breaking BMW Berlin Marathon live as the Bank of Africa’s World Marathon Majors viewing party shifts to Iten.
Bank of Africa has arranged an athletes’ seminar and viewing of the Berlin race at the Kipsang owned Keellu Resort with the first 300 athletes enjoying free breakfast from 7:00am.
Sunday’s Iten viewing, which is in its fifth year running, will provide budding and seasoned athletes an opportunity to receive financial advice, information on taxation, media training and professional advice on anti-doping for free.
“The viewing events not only bring together family, friends and relatives to watch the showdown live on a more enhanced television screen but have also been key in promoting financial literacy among these athletic communities,” said Bank of Africa’s head of marketing, Jimmi Wanjohi.
The Iten “viewerthon” will not just be about watching the race as, besides presentations by Bank of Africa, the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Anti-Doping Agency, who are other partners in the series, will also offer relevant advice to stakeholders.
Bank of Africa’s partners include LG Electronics who will showcase their products and services during the viewing party as focus shifts to Germany for the BMW Berlin Marathon with the main attention being on whether two of world’s greatest athletes will set a new world record.
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, 33, a strong contender to become the first athlete to complete a marathon in under two hours, and former world record holder Wilson Kipsang, 36, who set his world record time of 2:03:23 in 2013 on the same course, are the talk of town in the German capital.
Compatriot Dennis Kimetto, 24, currently holds the world record at a time of 2:02:57 having broken Wilfred Kipsang’s record in 2014, also in Berlin, by eight seconds.
Gladys Cherono and Edna Kiplagat will lead Kenya’s female line up at this year’s edition of the Berlin race.
Like Kipchoge, Cherono, 35, won last year’s edition at a time of 2:20:23 while Edna Kiplagat, 38, world marathon champion in 2011 and 2013, will be featuring for the first time in Berlin.
LG Electronics will also organise customer service sessions for their clients in Iten and Eldoret on the marathon weekend from today to Sunday.
In addition to sponsoring the marathon viewing parties, BOA offers a distinctive package for sportsmen and women through its ‘Mwanariadha Account’ whose features and benefits further contribute to their financial goals as athletes.
“Apart from the relation to the ‘Mwanariadha’ account, we see a need to interact with the people on the ground during the viewing parties,” Wanjohi said.
The BOA “Viewerthons” are a series of events where the bank invites elite and upcoming athletes along with the local community to follow the World Marathon Majors races from Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York while being taken through education programmes.
