After a disappointing outing at the Tokyo World Championships last month, 2023 Boston 10K runner-up Edwin Kurgat will be hoping to rediscover his spark when he lines up for the New York Dash to the Finish 5K road race on Saturday.
The race is a curtain-raiser for the highly anticipated New York City Marathon on Sunday.
In Tokyo, Kurgat hoped to end Kenya's 24-year drought in the 10,000m race. However, Kurgat’s dream outing didn’t materialise as he faded to seventh place in 28:57.83.
The last Kenyan to conquer the world over the distance was Charles Kamathi at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton.
The medals in Tokyo went to France’s Jimmy Gressier (28:55.77), Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha (28:55.83), and Sweden’s Andreas Almgren (28:56.02) after a fierce sprint finish.
After a turbulent 2025 campaign, Kurgat will be desperate to end the season on a high.
While Kurgat boasts vast experience on the track, his road racing resume remains light.
His only appearance over the 5K distance came in Boston in 2023, where he clocked 13:27 to finish third behind American Morgan Beadlescomb (13:25) and Canadian Benjamin Flanagan (13:26).
Over 10K, Kurgat’s strongest showing came at the 2023 Boston 10K, where he crossed the line second in 28:01, trailing Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay (27:49).
He also placed fourth at the Cape Elizabeth 10K (28:15), behind Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune (27:56), Conner Mantz (27:58), and Muktar Edris (28:06) that same year.
His 2025 season has been a mixed bag, highlighted by a fifth-place finish over 5,000m at the Doha Diamond League (13:19.32), sixth over 3,000m at the Philadelphia Grand Slam (8:04.18), fourth over 10,000m at the Prefontaine Classic (26:46.35) and sixth over 5,000m at the Lausanne Diamond League (13:09.91).
Joining Kurgat in New York is compatriot Amon Kemboi, who will be chasing his second podium finish over 5K this year.
Kemboi impressed on April 19, clocking 13:37 to finish third at the Boston 5K behind Eritrea’s Dawit Seare (13:33) and Britain’s Patrick Dever (13:35).
Also in the mix is Patrick Kiptoo, who has already savoured podium success this season after finishing third in the Chicago Half Marathon (1:01:19) on June 1.
Adding further depth to the New York field are Briton Adam Fogg and a strong American contingent featuring Ryan Fowkes, Abdihamid Nur, Cole Sprout and Drew Bosley.
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