Defending champ Jeptoo targets history in Chicago Marathon
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, September 19, 2014
History will be beckoning for Boston Marathon Champion Rita Jeptoo of Kenya when she lines up at the Chicago City course for the 42km race on October 12.
Jeptoo is chasing her maiden win in the World Marathon Majors (WMM) after seeing her compatriots Mary Keitany and Priscah Jeptoo enthroned with wrath and 500,000 U.S. dollars to savor.
However, she is in line to claim the ultimate prize this year as she leads the leaderboard with 75 points and need a top three spot to wrap it up.
"The focus is however, not on the WMM. I only enter races knowing that I have to challenge my body and rivals and emerge victorious. But of course there is little pressure, when you consider that such a huge sum of money is on offer when I win," said Jeptoo.
Alongside the 500,000 dollars jackpot, there is 75,000 dollars race prize money for the winner and Jeptoo is training her eyes on both as she seeks to secure them with a single stride.
"However, there are several top athletes who will be eying the jackpot too. But my focus will be on winning Chicago, the WMM jackpot will just be following into the place," she added.
Jeptoo, who holds a personal best time of 2:18:57, the only sub 2:20 time this year, can secure the WMM victory with a win at Chicago.
It will take her points total to a maximum 100, the first athlete in the history of the competition to score the maximum points available.
Even second place on the flat Chicago course will make her points total almost unbeatable with her average winning time currently faster than that of second placed World Marathon Champion Edna Kiplagat, also of Kenya.
However, if she fails to finish in the first five, the title race opens up to include Kenya's Priscah Jeptoo, who is running head to head in the New York Marathon against Edna Kiplagat.
There is also Mary Keitany making a comeback, after her maternity leave, but she is not in hunt for the WMM jackpot.
Kiplagat, the double world Champion, is currently only 10 points behind Rita Jeptoo and will be watching the Chicago race with anticipation.
Jeptoo, however, will be running against a strong challenger in Chicago in the name of Berlin Champion Florence Kiplagat.
Rita Jeptoo joined the sub-2:20 women's marathoners club with a 2:19:57 victory at last year's Chicago Marathon. She ran negative splits of 1:11:10/1:08:56 to win by 51 seconds.
At Boston she cut another minute off her personal best with a course record 2:18:57 with almost dead even splits of 1:09:29 and 1:09:28.
Jeptoo first put her name on the roster of Boston Champions with a 10-second win at the 2006 race.
She found the weather conditions at the 2007 Boston Marathon tough going, but she held on for fourth place. In 2008 she was third and fourth at the Boston and New York City Marathons.
After a sixth place at Boston in 2012, Jeptoo knocked her personal best time down to 2:22:04 suffering a narrow one second defeat at the 2012 Chicago Marathon.
Jeptoo then claimed her second Boston triumph running 2:26:25 at the 2013 race, winning by 33 seconds.
Three men are in contention for the 500,000 dollars winner-take-all prize that will be awarded to the top male and female finisher on Nov. 2 in New York City.
Berlin (Sept.28), Chicago (Oct. 12) and New York marathon on November 2 are the remaining races in the 2013-2014 series. Points are at stake in each race as the chase for the grand prize intensifies.
Current men's leader and defending champion Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) and third place Dennis Kimetto (Kenya), will compete in Berlin on September 28, and both athletes will be looking for the win to take their points total to 75.
While a win for either athlete is no forgone conclusion, should one of them cross the line first, then current series second place Wilson Kipsang would need to win in the final race in New York to finish on 76 points and become the reigning WMM men's champion. Enditem
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)