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Kenya's Jepchirchir pulls out of Frankfurt marathon

Xinhua, October 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

World half marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya has withdrawn from the Frankfurt marathon race, which will be held on Sunday because of poor preparations.

Earlier this year she finished fourth at the Ras Al-Khaimah Half Marathon and cut 55 seconds off the women's course record on her way to claim the Yangzhou Jianzhen International Half Marathon in April.

But she has had niggling injuries and will not be ready to compete on Sunday in Frankfurt.

"I must say I am disappointed not to be running in Frankfurt. I had wanted to taste the waters and see how the ultimate distance is like, but I have to wait. My focus will now turn to the track where I want to compete for Kenya in the 10,000m at the World Championships in London," she said on Friday.

In March, Jepchirchir had said she was not keen to run the marathon, but changed her mind. She felt she is not ready and did not want to push he body further because she felt her training hadn't gone well enough.

Last year's runner-up, Dinkinesh Mekash, will return to Frankfurt, looking to improve on the 2:23:12 personal best time she set in the German city in 2015.

The field also includes the likes of 2011 Frankfurt marathon winner Mamitu Daska and Germany's Fate Tola.

Fellow Ethiopian Sutume Asefa has also been added to the field. The 22-year-old made her marathon debut earlier this year, clocking 2:24:00 in Dubai. She followed that with a runner-up finish in Rotterdam.

Kenya's Sarah Chebet (2:27.59) and Doris Chengeywo (2:31.05) will also be putting the best foot forward as they seek to secure the title.

Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu holds the course record at 2:21:01 in Frankfurt, which has stood since 2012 and many of the competitors will try to break it. Endit