London Marathon 2015: Course record in danger thanks to Kenyans
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With five of the seven quickest marathon runners in history present in the field for this year’s London Marathon, the men’s race promises to be a belter with the genuine possibility of records tumbling.
The main protagonists for the title all hail from Kenya and in particular two athletes are tipped for a thrilling dual, albeit they claim their rivalry is a friendly one.
Those men are reigning London Marathon winner Wilson Kipsang (5/2) and world record holder Dennis Kimetto – the 2/1 favourite for the race – who train together all year around.
Kipsang, 33, had been the gold standard for long distance running over the past few years, setting the 26m world record himself when winning the Berlin marathon in a staggering time of 2.03.23 two years ago.
He then set a new course record when taking the title in London just last year, again ducking under the magical 2.05 marker, turning in a time of 2.04.29 after sprinting down the Mall.
That was the fourth time in the last seven editions of the race that the course record has fallen and there’s reason for punters to be very optimistic it could go again at 7/4, with Kipsang’s training partner lining up for the first time in Britain’s capital.
Kimetto, 31, only joined Kenya’s elite group of distance runners to begin serious training in 2012 as the experienced Kipsang took him under his wing after recognising the raw talent he possessed.
That decision has since come back to haunt him in some respects as in September last year Kimetto became the first man in history to go under the 2.03 mark.
His time of 2.02.57 from Berlin will be very hard to break, as shown by odds of 4/1, but it’s not beyond the realms in such a highly competitive field.
Conditions for the race suggest light rain could play a part, but with the frequency in which the course record has been broken in recent years, it would be no surprise if it went again in 2015.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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