Uganda against all odds at World Half Marathon

KAMPALA.

The World Half Marathon has been Kenya’s to win since 1992. Even when the gun sounds the start of the men’s race at the IAAF sanctioned championships today at the 21.1km spectacular course in Valencia, the main focus will primarily be on one man - Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor, who eyes his third straight title. He leads a Kenyan contingent of five men who have run faster than one hour.

Uganda’s chances
Uganda has only stood at the podium once in the 25 years of the prestigious event where today’s winners are guaranteed up to $30,000 (about Shs109m). That was in the team event in 2004 when the men’s trio of Wilson Busienei, Martin Toroitich and Joseph Nsubuga won a bronze.
In the past, the team competition was scored using a cumulative time from each country’s top three finishers. But new rules suggest that team results will be decided by the aggregate of places. The team with the lowest aggregate of points will be judged the winner.
Uganda is presenting a solid team this year, so they have the ability to have top runners like Moses Kurong and Felix Chemonges.
It will be tough with Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Bahrain sending strong teams but as coach Gordon Ahimbisibwe said, Uganda is taking their best shot. Kurong run under an hour in Copenhagen in 2016 when he finished sixth. The addition of Moses Kibet, who ran 60 minutes in Austria last year, presents a good group.
Team captain Felix Chemonges was second in the MTN Marathon last year and the 23-year-old has plenty of experience. There’s strength behind Chemonges in Fred Musobo and Alex Mutai who have the ability to keep the gap small, which is why there’s optimism around the team. The course and conditions in Valencia, Spain are ripe for fast times and the Ugandans must run under an hour for hope.
“We had good training and I am confident we shall have a good race,” Ahimbisibwe said.

Stopping Kenyan dominance
The podium has been dominated by the Kenya/Ethiopia/Eritrea stranglehold. The three nations have finished in some combination of 1-2-3 in the last five editions, with Kenya taking gold in four of them.
Kenya is in a good position to repeat as champions. The slowest personal best of their group of five is 59:28. Kamworor is a solid favorite to win the race, but Jorum Okombo actually has a faster personal best—a 58:48 from Copenhagen in 2016.
Ethiopia has a solid team up front, but doesn’t have the depth of Kenya. Jemal Yimer ran 59:00 at the RAK event on his debut in February. Leul Gebresilase was second in the Dubai Marathon in January and ran 59:18 in Valencia last year.
Eritrea and Bahrain both will challenge Ethiopia for silver.