Kenya and Ethiopia renew their rivalry at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Canada on Sunday.
Barselius Kipyego, Felix Kandie, and Felix Kibitok will lead the Kenyan onslaught in a race where they are expected to dominate.
Kipyego has a personal best of 2:04:4 which he set in Paris Marathon last year when he finished third and starts favourite in the race.
Like many of his Kenyan compatriots, he has sacrificed time with his family to train full-time at the ‘2Running Club’ camp at Kapsabet.
With a personal best of 2:06:03, Felix Kandie returns to Toronto after a third-place finish in the 2018 edition of the race.
A seasoned veteran, now 35, has proved his mettle by finishing 4th in Boston and fifth in Berlin in 2019 - both ‘Abbott World Marathon Majors. Watching the 2019 Toronto Livestream inspired him to think about breaking the course record if his fellow elite will be up for the challenge.
Felix Kibitok finished fifth in the Barcelona Marathon in a personal best of 2:06:28. Having run under one hour for the half marathon on three occasions, including 59:33 in January this year, he is starting to realise his marathon potential
Ethiopia are represented by Yihunilign Adane and Kebede Wami. The Ethiopian pair, both 26 years of age, will line up hoping to end the Kenyan dominance of the race.
The last time an Ethiopian emerged the victor was in 2013 when Derissa Chimsa ran 2:07:05. At the time, this was a Canadian All-comers’ record.
Adane will be encouraged that his training partner, Leul Gebrsilase, finished 2nd in the recent London Marathon. With his personal best of 2:05:53—a new Barcelona course record—he knows he can mix it up with the mighty Kenyans on the quick Toronto Waterfront course. He is hungry to explore his massive potential at the distance.
The other Ethiopian who bears watching, Kebede Wami, was 3rd in Barcelona this past May - just ten seconds behind Yihunilign, recording a personal best of 2:06:03, and also appears on an upward trajectory. In 2021, he was sixth in Rotterdam (2:06:27) and 5th in Sienna, Italy (2:06:32) displaying great consistency in his last three marathon starts
In the women's category, Kenya's Magdalene Masai and Ruth Chebitok will face stiff opposition from Ethiopia's Bedatu Hirpa.`
