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Olympic champion Jepchirchir happy to start season in Boston, April

Thursday, January 13th, 2022 08:30 | By
Peres Jepchirchir crosses the finish line to win the women marathon race at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo/PD/SPORTPICHA

Olympic champion and New York City Marathon winner Peres Jepchirchir is delighted to be named in the women’s field for this year’s Boston Marathon.

Jepchirchir said it will be an honour to make her Boston race debut on April 18.

“The benchmark I have set is to be a winner and I would like to arrive at the day of the race in my best shape to achieve my ambition,” she said.

Jepchirchir added that the race will serve as one of her preparations for the World Championships should she be included into Team Kenya.

“I am also eyeing the World Championships in Oregon and obviously, I will be working towards keeping fit and in shape for the meeting,” she said.

Jepchirchir will be joined in the field by former Boston winners Edna Kiplagat and Des Linden, 2021 London champion Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya, as well as Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Molly Seidel of the United States.

Reputable marathon

Boston Athletic Association and Chief Executive Officer Tom Grilk said the event will mark a milestone in the reputable marathon.

“We are delighted to welcome the fastest and most accomplished women’s field in the history of the Boston Marathon,” Grilk said in a statement.  

In the meantime, the wheelchair event will feature five-time champion Tatyana McFadden, Paralympic marathon gold medallist Madison de Rozario and Manuela Scar, who picked up wins in Berlin, London and Boston last year.

Meanwhile, the Kenya National Paralympic Committee held its classification process yesterday at Nyayo Stadium with a total number of 250 athletes attending as they look forward to commencing the Commonwealth Games 2022 pre-qualifiers today and tomorrow at Moi International Stadium, Kasarani.

Top athletes in the pre-qualifiers will be selected to participate in the Commonwealth Games qualifying events that run until May 2022.

The pre-qualifiers are also geared towards identifying new sporting talent and targeting the youth with disabilities in the country.

“We are delighted that not only did they (athletes) register online but also showed up physically today at Nyayo Stadium.

We have athletes from Nairobi, Rongo University, Kenyatta University, Thika Institute of the blind, West Pokot just to name a few,” said Agnes Oluoch, President Kenya National Paralympic Committee (KNPC).

“Of course, we do well in athletics - 100m, 200m and long distance, but we have to continue boosting other sports like swimming, cycling and powerlifting.”

These are the sports that will feature in the pre-qualifiers tomorrow at Kasarani.

“This time round, I am surprised that we have surpassed the number we expected, these are numbers we only see at Athletics Kenya.

In the past, we have relied on our own athletes to pass the message, what we have done differently this time is we have reached out to many institutions of learning.

It is going to be very exciting to have universities and schools present also, the competition is stiff and the games ahead are even more thrilling.”

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