Kenya's Kigen faces European record holder in battle for Napoli Half Marathon title (updated)

By John Kwoba

NAIROBI, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Norbert Kigen may be the fastest man in the line up for the Napoli City Half Marathon in Italy on Feb 4 but he will have to be at his best if he is to grab the gold from the other top runners on parade.

Kigen, who holds a personal best time of 59:42 in the 21km road race, must be at his peak if he is to defeat European marathon record-holder Sondre Nordstad Moen.

Kigen has been omitted from the Kenyan team that will compete in the World Half Marathon in Valencia, Spain on March 24. This means Moen, the Fukuoka marathon champion, has his eyes set on winning gold in Spain.

"It is down to strategy. I have been preparing for this race and was disappointed not to make the Kenyan team [that is heading] to the World Half marathon. But I will seek [a] better showing in Napoli and hopefully win it [with] a fast time," Kigen said on Wednesday in Eldoret.

Moen was at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where he clocked a 2:14:17 for a 19th place finish. His other achievements include victory at the Nordic Cross Country Championships in 2010, and a gold medal in the 10,000 meters event at the 2011 European Athletics U23 championships.

"[The] Napoli half marathon is the competition I need now. I'm expecting good weather there and I've been told that contenders are potentially able to run below one hour. The course on the map seems to be good," Moen said.

Last year Moen spent January to March in Kenya with a group of top athletes that included two-time world marathon champion Abel Kirui. Later in the year he spent more time at altitude in Sestriere, Italy. His time in Kenya helped him build up more endurance and he went on to win in Fukuoka, Japan in December. The top names in the women's race include Kenya's Atonina Kwambai (69:49) and Bahrain's Shitaye Eshete (70:10). Enditem