Kipruto focused on Valencia Marathon

Kenya's Amos Kipruto competes in the Men's Marathon at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships in Doha in the night between October 5, 2019 and October 6, 2019.

Photo credit: Giuseppe Cacace | AFP

What you need to know:

  • “Being selected for the race is humbling and I must say I’m lucky because many athletes are at home and have not been able to compete,” said Kipruto.
  • According to Kipruto, the lineup looks tough with many Ethiopian athletes in the mix who have registered faster times than him.

The 2019 World Athletics Championships marathon bronze medallist Amos Kipruto is intent on improving his personal best time even in a season adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He will get another chance to attempt on lowering his personal mark of 2 hours 5 minutes 43 seconds when he races in the Valencia Marathon on December 6.

Kipruto has been fine-tuning for race in Kapsabet, Nandi County for several months now after his 18th placed finish in the Tokyo Marathon in March in a time of 2:08:00.

In an interview with Nation Sport, Kipruto said he was in good shape when he went to Japan for the Tokyo race but complications arose as he was running which slowed him down.

“It has been a challenging year and for me it started when I competed in the Tokyo Marathon. I had some calf muscle problem. I was disappointed to finish 18th,  but that is now gone and I am focused on doing well in Valencia and also going for a PB.”

“Being selected for the race is humbling and I must say I’m lucky because many athletes are at home and have not been able to compete,” said Kipruto.

According to Kipruto, the lineup looks tough with many Ethiopian athletes in the mix who have registered faster times than him.