Injury-plagued Kamworor keen to emulate Eliud Kipchoge's heroics at London Marathon

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ATHLETICS Injury-plagued Kamworor keen to emulate Eliud Kipchoge's heroics at London Marathon

Abigael Wafula 11:20 - 21.04.2023

He is the 12th fastest in the field with a personal best time of 2:05:23.

Two-time New York City Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor is bubbling with confidence ahead of his debut at the London Marathon on Sunday, April 23.

Kamworor has been battling a bout of injuries after being hit by a motorcycle in June 2020 but he is confident of bouncing back at the marathon. The injury saw him undergo surgery which set him back.

https://twitter.com/OlympicsKe/status/1648978563708715009?s=20

He revealed that this year is the time he has trained comfortably without any challenges.

“So far my training has been going on well. This is actually the first time I have trained without any injury…everything has been going on smoothly. I’m looking forward to being at the starting line of the London Marathon and in good health,” he told Nation Sport.

Kamworor is also known as the man of all surfaces due to his prowess over the track, cross-country, and marathon races. He is the 2011 junior World Cross-country champion and the 2015 and 2017 senior World Cross-country champion.

He participated at this year’s World Cross-country championships in Bathurst, Australia, and managed a fourth-place finish in the men’s senior race. He noted that competing in the event was a build-up ahead of the marathon.

“I just wanted to compete in the World Cross-country because there were strong athletes and it was a high-level competition. It was part of my preparation for the London Marathon,” he said.

The 2018 Valencia Half Marathon champion is keen on emulating his training mate, the World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge.

Kipchoge has won four editions of the London Marathon (2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019) and Kamworor believes he has all it takes to accomplish that.

“He has set a standard and now that we’re training together I’m looking forward to going to London and seeing what I can do there,” he said.

The men’s elite field has attracted some of the best athletes from across the globe with four of the top-five fastest men in history.

Kenenisa Bekele, the second fastest man over the 42km distance in the world will be looking to redeem himself after last year’s disappointing finish. He settled for fifth place in 2:05:53.

Also, in the race will be the defending champion Amos Kipruto who will be keen to win back-to-back titles just like his training mate Evans Chebet who successfully defend his Boston Marathon title on Monday, April 17.

“The field is really competitive and there are a lot of strong men. I cannot underrate myself because I know I’m also capable. I trust the training that I have done,” he said.

He confirmed that he has since shifted his full focus to the full marathon.

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