The 2022 Rotterdam Marathon bronze medallist Reuben Kipyego will flex his muscles against 2022 French Riviera Marathon champion John Langat at the Madrid Marathon on Sunday.
The marathon will feature a full marathon, half marathon and 10km race with the event organisers noting a huge turnout in the half marathon.
“The biggest race will be the half marathon with 20,000 participants, followed by the full marathon with 11,000 and the 10km with 9,000,” a statement from the organisers read.
Kipyego holds a personal best of 2:03:55 set while winning the 2021 Generali Milano Marathon in Italy.
The 28-year-old is also the 2019 Abu Dhabi Marathon champion where he clocked 2:04:40. Also in that year, he won silver at the South American Marathon Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, clocking 2:05:18.
Langat holds a personal best of 2:07:11 set at the Eindhoven Marathon in the Netherlands in 2019, where he placed third.
In 2016, he clocked 2:10:49 to finish second at the Daegu Marathon in South Korea. The 30-year-old is also a bronze medallist at the Adidas Stockholm Marathon in Sweden clocking 2:12:39.
Joining the fray is Bernard Kimani, a bronze medallist at the 2020 Loop Den Haag Half Marathon.
The Ethiopian duo of Mumbai Marathon champion Haymanot Alew and 2022 Rome Marathon champion Fikre Bekele will prove a tough test for the Kenyans.
Also in the lineup is Taiyuan Marathon bronze medallist Hicham Laqouahi of Morocco.
The 2020 Sofia Marathon champion Naomi Jebet will lead the elite women’s race.
She will face off against Ethiopia’s Bontu Gada, Seville Marathon silver medallist and Ayantu Abdi, 2021 Istanbul Marathon bronze medallist.
Lisbon Half Marathon silver medallist Dominic Chemut will team up with Venlo Half Marathon bronze medallist Raphael Kolian to fend off the home contingent.
Tariku Novales, 2020 Spanish Half Marathon Champion and Jesús Ramos, Huelva 10km Road Race champion, will represent the host nation.
The 2018 Trento Half Marathon champion Joyce Chepkemoi eyes the women's title.
