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Kitata believes defending crown will be tough
Reigning champion joined by Legese and Chebet at elite men's press
conference
Shura Kitata ran into a life-changing new league of celebrity when he
became the conqueror of the 'greatest', Eliud Kipchoge, at last year's
Virgin Money London Marathon.
Yet the Ethiopian champion – who became a national hero as the man who beat
THE man – accepts it may now be even harder to successfully defend his
crown in a historic 2021 autumn edition that, even in Kipchoge's absence,
could prove the highest-quality men's marathon of all time.
For Kitata's fellow Ethiopian luminaries and a trio of Kenyan maestros have
gathered in London to tussle for the title all marathoners want to win.
Six men who've broken 2:04
For the first time ever, here is a marathon that will feature six men who
have all broken two hours, four minutes for the distance, making it the
most remarkable to date in terms of strength in depth.
That four of them happen to be from Ethiopia and two from Kenya just adds
familiar spice to what Kitata believes is one of the greatest rivalries in
sport: the continual struggle for endurance running supremacy between the
two east-African nations.
"It's true there's big competition between Kenyans and Ethiopians and we're
expecting the same thing will happen on Sunday," said Kitata at the
pre-race elite men's news conference on Wednesday.
He couldn't then resist adding: "It will be very hard – but we still have
the feeling that we will win."
An end to Kenyan dominance?
The last 18 editions of the London men's race have been shared by Kenyan
and Ethiopian winners, with Kenya largely dominating 14 to four over that
period since 2002, when Khalid Khannouchi won the title for the US – and
needed a world record to do so.
Yet when Kitata sprinted away from Kenya's Vincent
Kipchumba to win by just one second last year, it felt
like a victory that might have changed the dynamic
between the two rival nations in London after six Kenyan
wins in a row.
Kipchoge, who'd won four of the previous five editions, had already faded
out of contention when Kitata delivered his dazzling victory in unique
circumstances, as the race was held in a bio-secure, crowd-free environment
on a looped course around St James's Park because of Covid-19 restrictions.
Beating the best of all time
And beating the greatest marathoner of all-time transformed Kitata's life,
the 25-year-old explained on Wednesday.
"I was very happy about the win, it had very great meaning for me because
Eliud was such a very famous runner, a very strong runner, so to beat him
meant a lot.
"It's brought a lot of change in my physical and psychological
preparations, and it brought a lot more public attention as well," said the
runner, who even ended up being told by Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy
Ahmed: "Your country is proud of you."
Problematic route to race
Yet the prospect of Kitata becoming only the fourth man to achieve
back-to-back triumphs looks as if it will be seriously difficult this year,
as he is, remarkably, only seventh-fastest in the field at 2:04:49. He
outlined his more problematic route to this year's event:
"I was preparing very well before the Olympics and, just two weeks before,
I had a hamstring injury and that was big pressure," explained Kitata, who
ended up pulling out during the race in Sapporo.
That was just 56 days ago, but he offered a mixed picture about his
readiness on Wednesday. "I've prepared well and I feel confident about
being competitive on Sunday," he said. "But the hamstring pain is not
really easy and, when it's very fast speed, there might be some problems.
"But I'm still looking forward to doing what I did last year."
He will have a rematch with the two men who ended up on the podium with him
last year, Kipchumba and his Ethiopian team-mate Sisay Lemma.
Yet the main Kenyan threat may come not from Kipchumba, but either Titus
Ekiru, whose 2:02:57 to win the Milan Marathon in May makes him the world's
fastest this year, or Evans Chebet, the 33-year-old who was quickest in the
world last year with his 2:03:00, recorded while winning the Valencia
Marathon.
Rivalry between African nations
Flanking Kitata at Wednesday's news conference, Chebet also referenced the
east-African rivalry, noting: "The rivalry is there. I know the Ethiopians
are used to staying behind a bit and then kicking in the last 200 or 300
metres.
"So it's going to be a challenging race on Sunday and I'm going to need a
lot of strength at the end to win."
Still, he thinks that if the conditions are kind, he'll have a chance of
setting a new lifetime best, which would put him in contention to attack
the existing course record of 2:02:37, set by Kipchoge in 2019, the last
time the race was run on its traditional Greenwich to Westminster course.
On that occasion, Mosinet Geremew was second in 2:02:55, and the
super-consistent Ethiopian is also back for another crack this year,
alongside his compatriot, Birhanu Legese, the third-fastest man in history
(2:02:48) behind Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele.
Motivated by Kipchoge's spirit
Legese is sounding confident too. "If the weather is good, I plan to break
the record," he said.
And the returning spectators cheering them all on at roadside will help,
he's sure. " When you see spectators, that encourages us a lot. Our speed
increases and it makes a big difference to us; we have big respect for
them."
And though he won't be there, the spirit of London's greatest champion
Kipchoge will live on, reckons Chebet.
"If Eliud is watching on Sunday, it will give me more motivation to run
faster," said the great man's potential successor as a Kenyan men's
champion on the streets of London.
"Eliud gives us morale, but I have my own intrinsic motivation as well."
Of course. Everyone wants to join one of the most famous rolls of honour in
marathon running.
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