Brigid Kosgei broke the women’s course record while Amare Hailemichael Samson became the first male competitor outside Kenya to win the title in the fifth Adnoc Abu Dhabi Marathon on Saturday.
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Kosgei crossed the line in two hours, 19 minutes and 15 seconds to better the mark set by Bahraini Eunice Chumba - 2:20:41 - in the elite women’s race last year.
Kosgei finished ahead of the Ethiopian pair of Hawi Feysa Gejia and Sintayehu Dessi as she aims to make it on the Kenyan national team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Sharing the honours on the day was Samson, who ended Kenyan stranglehold in the men’s event.
The Eritrean clocked two hours, seven minutes and 10 seconds to come home clear of Kenya's Leonard Barsoton (2:09:37) and Turkey’s Ilham Ozbilan (2:10:16).
Kosgei, 29, took home the $50,000 winner's cheque and the bonus $30,000 for breaking the course record.
“This was my first time in Abu Dhabi. My aim from the outset was to win this race. Now I have done in a course record time, and I want to come back next year to defend my title,” she said.
“Obviously, I’m very happy with my performance because I was returning from an injury. It was a bit windy and humid which made it a bit difficult but overall, I’m very pleased with how the race panned out for me.”
Kosgei was returning just over a month after finishing fourth in the New York Marathon.
She had the Abu Dhabi title virtually in the bag after pulling clear of the pack after the 30km mark.
“I had something to prove after New York and I’m really happy it all turned out well for me,” she said.
“I loved the crowd here in Abu Dhabi. A lot of people lined up in the streets to cheer me throughout the race and that encouraged and motivated me more to win this race.
“There was a crosswind that made it a bit hard. Sometimes the wind was behind us and sometimes we had to run against it. So, it wasn’t ideal.”
Kosgei pointed out that while the win and the record time she achieved in Abu Dhabi will be important, it does not guarantee her place in the three-member Kenyan marathon team for Paris in July.
“Kenya has strong marathon runners and it’s not easy to get into the final three,” Kosgei said.
“If I’m selected, it would be really great for me to compete in my second Olympics. If not, I will concentrate on the other major marathons.”
Kosgei has won five major marathons - the 2018 and 2019 Chicago Marathons, the 2019 and 2020 London Marathons and the 2021 Tokyo Marathon.
She held the marathon world record for women (2:14:04), which was achieved in October 2019 at the Chicago Marathon before it was bettered by Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa (2:11:53) at the Berlin Marathon in September.
Meanwhile, Samson was delighted with his first major marathon victory.
“It was my first marathon and to come and win this is a big result for me,” he said.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect this result. I wanted to run my race and kept pace with the leading group. I thought I had a chance from about 10km of the race to go. This is my biggest career win and I’m so happy.”
More than 23,000 runners took part in the Abu Dhabi Marathon across various distances, including the 10k, 5k, 2.5k, and wheelchair race for people of determination.
