Farah, Kosgei out to keep Chicago crowns

Brigid Kosgei and Mo Farah were the fastest in the 2018 Chicago Marathon.

Fresh from setting a new leading time in the half marathon in England, Brigid Kosgei will set her sights on a second straight Chicago Marathon title on 13 October.

A two-time winner of the Honolulu Marathon, the Kenyan finished second in 2017 and won with the third-fastest time in Chicago’s history with a time of 2 hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds.

Britain’s Sir Mo Farah skipped the Doha worlds to concentrate on his title-retention bid in the men’s field.

He topped Chicago last year in 2:05:11 to break the European record and record his first marathon victory.

“It was my first time to win a world marathon major and my time was a European and British record. I am looking forward to defend my title in Chicago. It is a fast course with good organization. I expect they will recruit a strong field to make it a great race,” said the 36-year-old Farah, who was born in Somalia and joined his businessman father in Britain when he was eight.

Farah is the most successful British trackster so far with six World Championships and four Olympic titles.

The Chicago race, one of the six major marathons, is limited to 45,000 runners and only those who will finish within 6 1/2 hours are officially timed.

To qualify, a runner must either meet a time qualifying standard or be selected through a general lottery.

Kosgei continued her momentum in April when she won the London Marathon with a personal best 2:18:20, making her the seventh fastest woman in the history of marathon running.

Her dominance in 2019 also extends to winning the Peachtree 10K and two half marathons.

Kosgei set a new course record in the Great North Run early this month and broke the world 21-kilometer record in 1.04.28, a good 23 seconds better than the previous record of 1:04:51 set by Joyciline Jepkosgei in 2017.

However, her finish was not ratified by the International Association of Athletics of Federation since the Great North Run is contested on a point-to-point course.

“As a point-to-point course and slightly downhill, it’s not valid for record purposes, but that shouldn’t take away from the performance by the 25-year-old Kenyan who dominated the race from the outset,” IAAF said in a statement.

Kosgei, who has finished first or second in nine of her 10 career marathons, will be up against compatriot Betsy Saina.

Saina enjoyed a flash of brilliance in the marathon when she won the 2018 Paris Marathon in 2:22:56.

After spending her career on the track, she experienced a rocky transition to the marathon in 2017, failing to finish both the Tokyo and New York City marathons. (The Guardian, The Star Kenya)

Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei crosses the finish line to win the elite women’s race of the 2019 London Marathon in central London on 28 April. (AFP)