Olympic silver medallist Paul Tanui set for his marathon debut in Argentina

ATHLETICS Olympic silver medallist Paul Tanui set for his marathon debut in Argentina

Abigael Wafula 08:58 - 19.09.2023

Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Paul Tanui will be making his long-awaited debut over the distance and he will definitely be bracing up for a tough test.

The Buenos Aires International Marathon takes place on Sunday, September 24 having attracted strong fields in both the men’s and women’s races.

Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Paul Tanui will be making his long-awaited debut over the distance and he will definitely be bracing up for a tough test. 

The 32-year-old intended to make his debut at the Daegu International Marathon but failed to finish the race and he will be hoping to have a better outing in Argentina.

Tanui has only competed once this season, at the Bogota Half Marathon where he finished fourth in a time of 1:05:02.

In the men’s race, there are four other runners who already have records under 2:10, led by Kenyan Cornelis Kibet. Edwin Kibet Kiptoo, runner-up of the 2022 Buenos Aires Marathon, will also be in the hunt for victory this time around.

The list of Argentines includes several of the most notable marathon runners in recent times such as David Rodríguez, Martín Méndez, Miguel Maza, José Félix Sánchez, and Pablo Toledo.

The men's record was set at 2:05:00 by Kenyan Evans Chebet in 2019 and no one has gotten closer to it since then.

Chebet went ahead to become one of the best marathoners in the world by winning major events such as Valencia (2:03:00), New York, and Boston.

In the women’s category, the circuit record was also achieved in 2019 by Rodah Jepkorir Tanui, with 2:25:46. Tanui now returns in search of her third consecutive victory (she also triumphed in 2022).

She will have strong rivals such as her co-patriot Pamela Jepkosgei and Sharon Jemutai Cherop, a former winner of the Boston Marathon, who arrives for the third time in the country.

The race organisers noted that all athletes who reach the finish line will receive their finisher medal. Trophies will be awarded to the first three in the general classification, the first three Argentines, and also the first three in Wheelchair, Visually Impaired B-1, and B-2/3.

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