Paul Kirui was the last Kenyan runner to clinch the men’s World Half Marathon (WHM) title with a 1:02:15 effort in the 2004 edition in New Delhi.Since then, Tanzania’s Fabiano Joseph and then three-time champion, Eritrea’s World 10,000m silver medallist, Zersenay Tadese have elbowed Kenyans out of the men’s gold in subsequent editions of Edmonton (2005), Debrecen (2006), Udine (2007) and last year’s jamboree in Rio de Janeiro.
The Debrecen and Udine events went under the name World Road Running Championships and covered 20km before world governing body, IAAF reverted to the original 21km WHM in Rio.
Yesterday, the same body released a statement in its website saying that Tadese will definitely pursue a fourth title in Birmingham, England on October 11. At the Kenyan camp, the quintet of Sammy Kitwara, Bernard Kipyego, Kiplimo Kimutai and the two Wilsons, Kwambai and Kipsang are sharpening their spikes to bottle Tadese’s plans. "I want to run against Tadese after I missed an opportunity to race against, Kenenisa Bekele in Berlin," said Kitwara.
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