Press Release - Marathon Hamburg - 3/3/23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                 Haspa Marathon Hamburg on 23rd April 2023                   

      Defending Champion Cybrian Kotut to face strong field in Hamburg
	  
Cybrian Kotut, the defending champion and course record holder, will return 
to the Haspa Marathon Hamburg on 23rd April. A year ago the Kenyan took the 
Hamburg title with 2:04:47 and smashed the course record set by superstar 
Eliud Kipchoge back in 2013. Cybrian Kotut will face a very strong field 
and will need to be at his best to have a chance of a second triumph at 
Germany's biggest spring marathon. With a personal best of 2:03:16 
Ethiopia's Mule Wasihun is the fastest runner ever entered in the history 
of the event. Online registration for the 37th edition of the Haspa 
Marathon Hamburg is still possible at: www.haspa-marathon-hamburg.de 

"A year after Cyprian's superb course record we can again hope for a 
fascinating race and possibly more very fast times. A number of world-class 
athletes have opted to run their spring marathon in Hamburg which shows the 
recognition our race receives as a major international marathon," said 
chief organiser Frank Thaleiser.

Cybrian Kotut, who is a younger brother of former multiple London- and New 
York Marathon winner Martin Lee, clocked his personal best when winning 
Hamburg in 2022. Since then he only ran one more race, finishing with a 
fast time of 2:05:15 for sixth place in Amsterdam. The Kenyan is fully 
focussing on the Haspa Marathon Hamburg again. However with his PB of 
2:04:47 the 30 year-old is not the fastest runner in the field. Instead 
Mule Wasihun heads the entry list. In a memorable race at the London 
Marathon 2019 the Ethiopian ran 2:03:16 finishing third behind Eliud 
Kipchoge and fellow-countryman Mosinet Geremew. With this PB 29 year-old 
Wasihun still is among the 15 fastest marathon runners ever. The Ethiopian 
has not raced internationally recently and will hope to come back with a 
strong performance in Hamburg.

Geoffrey Kirui is another prominent marathon runner, who will race in 
Hamburg for the first time. The Kenyan took the World Championships' 
marathon title in London in 2017 after winning Boston in the spring. Kirui 
then was second and fifth in Boston in 2018 and 2019 respectively. While he 
could not reach those highs since the disruption caused by the pandemic, at 
the age of 30 he should still be capable of producing very good marathon 
results. Hamburg could be the place for Geoffrey Kirui to finally improve 
his PB of 2:06:27 from 2016. 

Last year debutant Stephen Kissa finished just a second behind Cybrian 
Kotut and clocked an Ugandan record with 2:04:48. This time there is 
another debutant in the field who could potentially start his marathon 
career with a bang: Muktar Edris will run his first marathon in Hamburg on 
23rd April. The 29 year-old Ethiopian is the 5,000 m World Champion from 
2017 and 2019. He has already shown his great potential on the road, when 
he clocked a world-class time of 58:40 at the Valencia half marathon in 
2021. 

With regard to achieving top finishing places the Haspa Marathon Hamburg 
will be a tough challenge for Germany's European Marathon Champion: Richard 
Ringer, whose start had already been announced back in December, should 
however be able to improve his PB of 2:08:49. 

More information about the Haspa Marathon Hamburg and online entry is 
available at: www.haspa-marathon-hamburg.de 
 
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