Categories: Athletics Sports

Kenyan, Ethiopian athletes favourites in Olomouc Half Marathon

Nairobi, June 23 (IANS) Kenya's Kenneth Keter and Ethiopia's Worknesh Degefa stand out as favourites in Saturday's Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon in the Czech Republic.

The Kenyan has been on a strong course and has got everything to win the event, which is an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, reports Xinhua news agency.

"It is not won until the last metre. I have done my part in training and hopefully, I will be able to do well against some strong global challenge," said Keter in Nairobi on Friday before jetting out.

Keter, 20, set his 59:48 career in 2016, and on Saturday will be targeting his first win over the distance this year after three performances in the 1:01:05 to 1:01:50 range in the first half of 2017.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Kenyan Simon Cheprot, with a 59:20 lifetime best from 2013 to his credit, will start as the fastest in the field.

He is dipped under the 60-minute barrier on two other occasions --59:32 and 59:39-- but both of those came in 2015. He will bring a more modest season's best of 1:02:10 to the line of this eastern Czech city on Saturday.

Veteran Felix Kandie could also be a factor as well. With two sub-2:06 marathons under his belt, the 30-year-old has stronger credentials over the longer distance, but a 1:00:04 half marathon best set last year shows he can be expected in the mix.

Notable too is that his 2:06:03 personal best in the marathon was set in March, illustrating that he's in the shape of his life.

Also among the strong Kenyan contingent are Peter Some, with 1:00:21 and 2:05:38 (both from 2013) personal bests, and Josphat Kiptis, who won this race in 2015 in 1:00:21, still the 23-year-old's career best.

Also expected in the mix is rising British star Callum Hawkins, who's twice come close to breaking 60 minutes this year.

In February, he clocked 1:00:00 to win in Marugame, Japan, and followed up with a 1:00:08 run in New York in March, finishing second.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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