Kosgei and Kipruto head Hamburg’s strongest ever field on Sunday

Kenyans Amos Kipruto and Kinde Atanaw feature personal bests of sub 2:04:00 while Brigid Kosgei is the fastest woman ever on a Hamburg start list. The Kenyan is the former world record holder with 2:14:04. Ethiopia’s Workenesh Edesa is another athlete who has run well under 2:20:00. Such a line-up of star runners is a novelty for the Haspa Marathon Hamburg. Germany’s Richard Ringer and Karoline Grovdal of Norway are the leading European runners.

15,000 runners have entered Germany’s biggest spring marathon. Including events staged parallel to the marathon organisers registered a record total of 38,000 entries. “We are experiencing another running boom and our event has developed strongly. This is also the case with regard to our elite races and it makes me very happy,“ said Chief Organiser Frank Thaleiser.

If the predicted very good weather conditions materialize, very fast races are possible on Sunday. The men might even attack the course record and chase a first sub 2:04:00 time in Hamburg. Kenya’s Bernard Koech established the current course record with 2:04:09 in 2023.

“I am well prepared and ready for a good, fast race. If I would have the choice, a personal best would be more important for me than a victory,” said Amos Kipruto during a press conference. The 32-year-old achieved his personal record of 2:03:13 in Tokyo 2022, finishing second behind Eliud Kipchoge. Together with fellow-Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai, who ran here in 2018 and also has a PB of 2:03:13, he is the fastest runner ever on a Hamburg start list.

“I know that the course is fast and that very good times have been run here time and again. The race is a great opportunity for me to achieve a top performance. If we work well together, it is possible to break the course record,” said Amos Kipruto, who is one of four runners who have run sub 2:05:00. While the Ethiopians Kinde Atanaw and Tsegaye Getachew are number two and three on the start list with best times of 2:03:51 and 2:04:49 respectively, Philemon Kiplimo also belongs to this top group. The Kenyan has a PB of 2:04:56. “I assume that we will run the first half in 62:00 minutes. I hope that I can then run the second half faster,” said Philemon Kiplimo, who finished third in Hamburg a year ago in a strong 2:05:37. “I know the course, which is an advantage.”

Richard Ringer, who sensationally won the marathon at the European Championships in Munich in 2022, knows the course as well. Two years ago he was sixth here with a personal best of 2:08:08. In the meantime he improved his PB to 2.05:46. "My goal is to improve my Hamburg result from 2023. A lot can happen in a marathon and I hope that I will be strong enough at the end to overtake a couple of runners,“ said Richard Ringer, who recently improved his half marathon PB to 60:51 in Berlin. “But it is not realistic to run a PB in every race. I intend to run sub 2:07:00 on Sunday.“

There were a few late changes on the elite start lists. While Ethiopians Guye Adola, Roza Dereje and Waganesh Mekesha had to cancel, Brigid Kosgei recently joined the field. The Kenyan had sensationally broken Paula Radcliffe’s world record in Chicago in 2019. With 2:14:04 she became the first woman to break the 2:15:00 barrier. With this PB she still is the fourth fastest of all times

“I actually wanted to run the Tokyo Marathon at the beginning of March, but I wasn’t in the right shape and decided not to go. I then looked for another race at a later time and I am happy to be able to run in Hamburg on Sunday,“ said Brigid Kosgei, who has not run a race since finishing fifth in the London Marathon a year ago with 2:19:02. "I had knee and hip problems – it was always back and forth. But now I am fit and I want to run a good race.“

While the very strong course record of 2:17:23 set by Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw in 2022 will be difficult to break, another sub 2:20:00 race is certainly possible in Hamburg. The Ethiopians Workenesh Edesa and Sichala Kumeshi could also achieve such a time. “I want to run faster on Sunday than when I won in Osaka,“ said Edesa, who clocked 2:21:00 in Japan in January. With her PB of 2:18:51, she is the second fastest runner on the start list. “After finishing eleventh here two years ago, I want to achieve much more this time. My goal is to win the race,“ said Sichala Kumeshi, who took the Houston Marathon in January with a personal best of 2:20:42 despite very cold conditions.

Karoline Grovdal is a debutant who could instantly produce a European top time. The Norwegian is a multiple European Champion who won the half marathon gold medal in Rome last year. „I think Hamburg could be a great start into my marathon career. I will try to break the Norwegian record on Sunday,“ said Karoline Grovdal. Norway’s running legend Ingrid Kristiansen still holds this famous mark. When she clocked 2:21:06 in London in 1985 it was a world record that stood for 13 years.