Former World Half Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor and world 5,000m champion Helen Obiri have been added to the Ras Al Khaimah race slated for February 19.
Kamworor, who is also a two-time world cross country champion and two-time New York Marathon champion (2017 and 2019) has been out of action for a year due to injury .
Also joining the list is Kenyan-born Reuben Kiprop Kipyego who will be making his half-marathon debut this year. He recently achieved his personal best time of 2.04.12 at the 2020 Valencia Marathon in October.
Kipyego also won the Abu Dhabi Marathon in 2019, coming in ahead of several other strong competitors. Kamworor and Kipyego will face off with World Half Marathon record holder Kibiwott Kandie at the event.
Also confirmed for the race is Ethiopian Shura Kitata, who has a personal best of 59.47 and the 2020 London Marathon title to his name. Joining the line-up of lightning-fast elite athletes in February is another Ethiopian athlete, Jemal Yimer.
Yimer holds a personal best time of 58.33 and was ranked second in the World Road Running Competition in both 2018 and 2019. He is also the current Ethiopian national record holder over the half marathon distance.
Joining the stellar line-up of top athletes are Italian elites, Yeman Crippa and Eyob Faniel, who will go head-to-head for the Italian national record. Ethiopian-born, Italian long-distance runner, Crippa, will be making his half marathon debut in February and he is the current Italian record holder for 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m races.
He is also the 2018 European bronze medallist in 10,000m and the 2019 European Cross-Country silver medallist.
Meanwhile, Faniel is the Italian record-holder in the marathon and 10K distances (equalled on December 31, 2020). In the women's category, Obiri will be making her half marathon debut at the event.
Obiri holds the Olympic silver medal in 5,000m from the 2016 Olympics and she is the former world Indoor and outdoor champion in 3000m and 5000m respectively. She is also the Commonwealth Games 5,000m champion and Africa 5,000m champion.
Owing to her athletic vigour, she was able to clock 30.53 at the 10km road race last year in Barcelona even after a fall during the race.
She also holds the sixth fastest time ever achieved for the 5,000m (14.18.37), which she claimed in Rome in 2017. Obiri will challenge World Half Marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei in the event.
