No marathon is complete without Africans. This is why fans are always excited to find out the marathoners competing throughout the athletics calendar season. This year, African marathon runners hope to represent their countries at the Paris 2024 Olympics, the major marathons, and other races.
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Who should you expect to watch? Keep reading to find out.
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Brigid Kosgei
Kosgei had a quiet year in 2023 because of niggling injuries and was forced off the London Marathon. A fourth-place finish at the New York Marathon, while disappointing for the former world record holder, was commendable, considering she was coming back from injuries.
She also lost her world record in 2023 to Ethiopian runner Tigist Assefa. That said, Kosgei finished the year on a high after winning the Abu Dhabi Marathon in 2:19:15. She’s one of the female marathoners on the list to represent Kenya at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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Tamirat Tola
Tamirat might not be one of the most talked about African marathon runners, but you should look out for him. He upset Kenyan runners at the 2023 New York City Marathon winning in 2:0458, setting a new course record. The only time he finished in podium places was in the 2022 Tokyo and London Marathons.
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Eliud Kipchoge
We can’t talk about African marathon runners without mentioning Eliud Kipchoge. He’s also one of the pre-selected runners for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
He’s a two-time Olympian and will look to win back-to-back titles. He will compete at the Tokyo Marathon in March, a race he’s said will be a good preparation ground for the Paris Games. The 39-year-old is considered one of the greatest marathoners in the history of the sport.
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Hellen Obiri
Hellen Obiri won the New York Marathon in 2023, twitch was her second attempt. The first time, she mistimed her run and finished sixth.
This was her third marathon and second win, having won the Boston Marathon in April 2023. She’s one of the Kenyan runners who’ve been selected in the provisional Paris 2024 squad.
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Tirunesh Dibaba
The Ethiopian runner returned to action in 2023 after a four-year hiatus. She’s one of the African marathon runners you should look out for.
She competed in the 2023 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race and the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.
Later in the year, Dibaba competed in the Abu Dhabi Marathon. The runner is hoping to make it into the Ethiopian Olympics team.
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Kelvin Kiptum
After a stellar 2023 in which he broke the marathon record at the London marathon, Kelvin Kiptum is one of the African marathon runners to look out for. He’s been named in Kenya’s provisional squad for the Paris Olympics. He’s the record holder of the marathon with a time of 2:00:35. He also won the Chicago Marathon and says he wants to run under 2 hours.
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Tigist Assefa
Tigist Assefa competed in one race in 2023 but it’s the race in which she made her name. The Ethiopian smashed the women’s world record in Berlin after crossing the line in a time of 2: 11:53.
She was the first woman to run under 2:14. In 2019, Assefa suffered a career-threatening injury but bounced back from that, debuting in the marathon in Riyadh Marathon in Saudi Arabia in 2022.
A year later, she ran in Berlin and won it in 2:15:37, the third fastest time in the women’s marathon behind Brigit Kosgei and Paula Radcliffe.
If you’re a fan of athletics, 2024 is set to be a great year. The runners named above are some of the world’s best, and they’re preparing to perform better than they did last year. One of the things you should be looking forward to is the potential of a new world record for a marathon. The athletes on our list have the potential to rewrite history.
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