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Kenya's Kiplagat eyes marathon gold at Olympics in Rio

Xinhua, October 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

Former New York marathon champion Edna Kiplagat is seeking to win that elusive gold missing in her collection, the Olympic marathon title.

At 37, Kiplagat is aware this will be her last shot at the Olympics. She made her debut in London Games in 2012, but her performance was below par as she finished 20th in 2:21:32. It was the worst performance she has posted in the 42km distance ever since.

"That is why I am doing everything to get my body in shape and hopefully, the selectors will grand me the wish to represent the country at the Olympics. It will be my last in Rio next year and I want to give it the best effort I can," said Kiplagat said.

Kiplagat was speaking in Nairobi Tuesday on return from Scotland where she successfully defended her the Great Scottish Run, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, in Glasgow on Sunday, winning in 1:08:21.

The two-time former world marathon champion got a morale-boosting win after the disappointment of coming fifth in the IAAF World Championships just over a month ago.

The Kenyan said she will rest and return to competition on Nov. 1, where she will try to secure the New York marathon gold.

Kiplagat is the only woman to successfully defend her gold medal at the IAAF World Championships, winning in 2011 and 2013. In the 2012 London Marathon she set her PR as she joined the women's sub-2:20 club.

In only her second world-class marathon, she won the 2010 New York City marathon. With a victory eight months earlier in Los Angeles it made her the first with wins on both coasts. Enditem