FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Moses Mosop Chases Victory and Possible Course Record in Prague
Moses Mosop intends to show that he still belongs to the world's best
marathon runners when he competes in the 20th anniversary edition of the
Volkswagen Prague Marathon on Sunday. The Kenyan, who is the star of the
elite field, chases victory and, potentially, course record. While the
focus in the build-up to the race is very much on Mosop, victory will not
come easy in Prague. There is a handful of other athletes with personal
bests of sub 2:07. In the women's race Firehiwot Dado of Ethiopia and
Kenya's Flomena Chepchirchir are regarded as the favourites. The Volkswagen
Prague Marathon is an IAAF Gold Label Race, the top category of road races
awarded by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
"I am happy to be in Prague. It is a nice city and I want to win here on
Sunday," said Moses Mosop, who originally planned to run the Boston
Marathon on Easter Monday. However, injuries forced him to withdraw. "First
I had a problem in my right knee and then in my left calf. I missed around
three weeks of training. So I could not go to Boston but I thought I could
still run a marathon later in the season. That is why I am here," said the
28 year-old Kenyan.
Mosop is the second fastest marathoner of all time with 2:03:06. He ran
this in his debut marathon in Boston 2011 where he finished second. However
the course does not meet requirements for world records. "It was my first
marathon, so this was a great result for me. I have still time to run such
a time again in the future (on a standard course)," he said, when asked
about his feelings concerning his Boston PB.
"I have not competed for a long time, so I will have to see how it goes on
Sunday. I am not 100 percent, but I hope to run well," said Mosop, who last
competed in the Chicago Marathon in autumn 2013 where he finished eighth
with 2:11:19. He hopes to be much faster in Prague. "If all is fine with my
knee may be 2:05 to 2:06 is possible. We might even give it a go at the
course record," said Mosop, who will be supported by pacemaker Peter Kirui
on Sunday.
Mosop prepared in Eldoret for the Volkswagen Prague Marathon and among his
training partners were Wilson Chebet and Sammy Kitwara. Occasionally the
world marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang joins the group of "Big
Engine". Mosop explained how he got the nickname many years ago: "I was a
junior runner and supposed to run with the juniors. But I insisted to go
with the seniors and was ahead of them. That is when they called me 'Big
Engine'"
Mosop will need a 'Big Engine' on Sunday to succeed in Prague. A dozen
runners are on the start list with personal bests of sub 2:10. Including
Mosop there are five who have run below 2:07. Among his rivals is the
defending champion Nicholas Kemboi. Born in Kenya and now running for
Qatar, he has a PB of 2:08:01. In warm weather conditions he won with
2:08:51 in Prague a year ago. But the toughest challenge for Mosop might
come from Ethiopians Dadi Yami and Deresa Chimsa who have personal bests of
2:05:41 and 2:05:42.
The women's race could produce a duel between Kenya's Flomena Chepchirchir
and Ethiopia's Firehiwot Dado. Chepchirchir, who was second in the
Volkswagen Prague Marathon two years ago, clocked her personal best of
2:23:00 as a runner-up in the Frankfurt Marathon 2013. It will be
Chepchirchir's second marathon attempt within a month since she dropped out
of Boston on Easter Monday. This is why Dado is regarded as the favourite
in Prague. "It makes it tougher if you are the favourite, but I am in good
form. So I think that I can win and run a good time," said Dado, who
clocked her PB of 2:23:15 when she won the New York Marathon in 2011.
A record number of 10,000 runners from 91 nations entered the Volkswagen
Prague Marathon and maximum capacity was reached months ago. Celebrating
the 20th edition of their event, organisers from Run Czech welcome a number
of former world-class runners and personalities of the sport as guests of
honour. Among them are Norway's former world marathon record holder Ingrid
Kristiansen and the Olympic marathon champion from Seoul 1988, Gelindo
Bordin. The Italian is one of the founding members of the Volkswagen Prague
Marathon, together with Carlo Capalbo and the legendary Emil Zatopek. "When
we started back in 1995 it was our aim to build a small version of the New
York City Marathon. Today our race belongs to the best marathons in the
world", said Capalbo, who is the President of the Organising Committee of
Run Czech.
There will be live streaming of the Volkswagen Prague Marathon, which will
start at 9 am on Sunday. Further information will be given on the Run Czech
website www.runczech.com in due time.
Updated Leading Men Contenders:
Moses Mosop KEN 2:03:06
Eliud Kiptanui KEN 2:05:39
Dadi Yami ETH 2:05:41
Deresa Chimsa ETH 2:05:42
Nicholas Manza KEN 2:06:34
Nicholas Kipkemboi KEN 2:06:35
Yared Asmerom ERI 2:07:27
Nicholas Kemboi QAT 2:08:01
Abere Kassw ETH 2:08:15
Patrick Terer KEN 2:08:52
Kennedy Kwemoi Nabei KEN 2:09:54
Asmare Workneh ETH 2:09:56
Wesley Langat KEN 2:10:40
Evans Chebet KEN 2:11:26
Updated Leading Women Contenders:
Flomena Chepchirchir KEN 2:23:00
Firehiwot Dado ETH 2:23:15
Aberu Mekuria ETH 2:26:07
Yeshimebet Tadesse ETH 2:26:17
Yuliya Ruban UKR 2:27:00
Eunice Kales KEN 2:27:19
Fantu Eticha ETH 2:27:36
Beatrice Jepkemboi KEN 2:27:41
Konjit Tilahun ETH 2:28:11
Iulia Andreeva KRG 2:30:57
For more information online about the Volkswagen Prague Marathon, please go
to www.runczech.com
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