Kenyan Marathoners Show Impressive Depth For 2011
41 of 50 Times For Year Have Come From Kenyans; 719 Times A Kenyan Man Has Broken 2:20 in 2012
By David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
December 20, 2011
The depth of performances by Kenyan men at the marathon
distance in 2011 was simply staggering, according to an analysis by
statistician Ken Young of the Association of Road Racing Statisticians.
A compilation of marathon results through mid-December, showed that
Kenyan men ran 2:20:00 or faster 719 times this year. That total was
achieved by 474 different athletes, who amassed 135 victories and 319
podium finishes. Moreover, Kenyan men were victorious at all six World
Marathon Majors events held this year (Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London,
New York and the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea), and
recorded victories at other important marathons in Amsterdam, Barcelona,
Chunchon, Dubai, Eindhoven, Frankfurt, Fukuoka, Otsu, Paris, Prague,
Rotterdam, Valencia, and Xiamen amongst others.
At the top of the list, Kenyan men broke 2:06:00 15 times (11
performers), 2:07:00 31 times (24 performers), and 2:08:00 47 times (37
performers). By contrast, men from Ethiopia, Kenya's traditional
distance running rivals, broke 2:06 just once, 2:07:00 3 times, and
2:08:00 9 times. Within the top-50 times in the world this year
(2:07:28), men from Kenya achieved all of them but nine. Only one North
American (Ryan Hall, 2:04:58), and one South American (Marilson Gomes
Dos Santos, 2:06:34) made the top-50 performances. The fastest European
of 2011, Ukraine's Oleksandr Sitkovskyy, clocked 2:09:26, a time
surpassed by 70 Kenyans.
While athletes like Patrick Makau, who set the world record of 2:03:38
at Berlin, and Geoffrey Mutai, who won both Boston and New York, got
most of the attention, lesser-known Luka Kipkemboi Chelimo also achieved
a noteworthy feat. Chelimo, 34, broke 2:20 more than any other Kenyan
this year, achieving the feat seven times. He also won four marathons:
Donying, China (2:13:37); Montreal, Canada (2:13:45); Chongquing, China
(2:16:27); and Perth, Australia (2:17:03).
PHOTO: Kenya's Patrick Makau on his way to setting the marathon world
record at the 2011 BMW Berlin Marathon (photo courtesy of the BMW Berlin
Marathon)
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