FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Biwott pulls out with left leg injury
11/04/2018
Stanley Biwott has been forced to pull out of the Virgin Money London
Marathon on Sunday 22 April with a left leg injury that has prevented him
from training for two weeks.
Biwott, a former New York Marathon champion, was due to start as the fourth
quickest man in the super-fast 2018 elite men's field, and was likely to
challenge the 'big three' of Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge, Ethiopian
track legend Kenenisa Bekele and Britain's multi-world and Olympic
champion, Mo Farah.
Biwott was runner-up behind fellow-Kenyan Kipchoge in London two years ago
when he ran his quickest ever time of 2 hours 3 minutes and 51 seconds,
making him the fourth fastest man in this year's field and the eighth
fastest of all-time.
He had also finished second in 2014 and was fourth in 2015, the year he
went on to win the coveted New York Marathon title.
But the 32-year-old has been beset by injury problems for the last two
years. He dropped out of the Rio Olympic marathon race, won in majestic
fashion by Kipchoge, and the 2016 New York Marathon when he was defending
his title. He also missed last year's London race, won by another Kenyan,
Daniel Wanjiru.
Biwott's absence leaves Kipchoge and Wanjiru to do battle for Kenya, along
with compatriots Abel Kirui, the two-time world champion and Olympic silver
medallist, Bedan Karoki, who was third last year, and Lawrence Cherono, who
won last year's Amsterdam Marathon.
After finishing third and second in the last two editions, Bekele will hope
to finally wrest the title from Kenyan hands, backed up by fellow
Ethiopians, Guye Adola, the runner-up behind Kipchoge in Berlin last
September, and Tola Shura Kitata, who won the Frankfurt and Rome Marathons
last year.
Farah will have his eyes on Steve Jones' long-held British record of
2:07:13 and perhaps cracking the European record of 2:05:48, a time that
could well put him on the London Marathon podium.
Click here to see all the latest London Marathon start lists.
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