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Kenya's Korir seeks redemption in Frunkfurt marathon

Xinhua, September 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kenya's Mark Korir is yet to atone for his disappointing show at the 2015 World Marathon Championship in Beijing and hopes a good performance at the Frankfurt Marathon on Oct. 30 will silence his critics.

The 31-year-old, a former Paris Marathon champion, was the only Kenyan to finish the race in Beijing at position 22, but he wants to take his challenge to his rivals in the German city and hopes he will be successful.

"I still regret the Beijing race because I had done everything well in training. But I hope this race in Frankfurt will be another chance to prove to anybody who still doubts my potential that I have it and am able to win big city marathons," he said in Nairobi on Friday.

Korir will come up against world championships bronze medalist Tadese Tola (Ethiopia), last year's runner-up Lani Rutto and former world 10,000m bronze medalist Moses Masai.

Tola finished second in Germany's oldest city marathon six years ago while Rutto took runner-up honour last year in 2:06:34.

Masai, the 2009 world championships bronze medallist in the 10,000m, who is hoping to use the fast Frankfurt course to help translate his track success to the marathon. The 30-year-old has a 2:10:36 best from 2014.

In the 2010 edition, Tola went into the lead nine kilometres from the finish but couldn't shake Kenyan Wilson Kipsang, who went on to break the world record in the marathon three years later.

World half marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir's first serious marathon outing is expected to attract substantial attention in the women's race.

Jepchirchir will face Ethiopia's Mamitu Daska, Ethiopian-born German Fate Tola and Kenya's Sarah Chebet. Daska won the women's title in 2011 clocking 2:21:59, still the 32-year-old's personal best.

Others expected to make an impact include Kenya's Sarah Chebet, who won the Enschede Marathon in June, clocking 2:27:59. Endit