Mutai wants new PB in Barcelona
What you need to know:
Only Stephen Kissa and Victor Kiplangat are above him on the list of eight men who have posted under 2:09:40 via a qualifying window which began December 1, 2021 until May 30.
With Stephen Kiprotich now retired, Solomon Mutai is the country’s most experienced active marathoner at the moment.
He didn’t finish the 42km races at the Doha World Championships in Qatar in 2019 and the Xiamen Tuscany Marathon in Italy in 2021 but he has had an immense bounce back.
Mutai powered to victory at the Venice Marathon in Italy with a course record and new personal best time of two hours, eight minutes and 10 seconds last October.
The 30-year-old will return to Europe this weekend, hoping to lower his PB again when he joins the elite field for the Barcelona Marathon in Catalunya, Spain on Sunday.
“My target is to reduce my PB time,” Mutai stated before departure this week. Like sub-2:07h? “Yes,” he replied. “The training was good and I am ready,” he added.
With his time from Venice, Mutai is currently third on the list on male marathoners in search of the three available slots to the Budapest World Championships set for August in Hungary.
Only Stephen Kissa and Victor Kiplangat are above him on the list of eight men who have posted under 2:09:40 via a qualifying window which began December 1, 2021 until May 30.
If Mutai dips into the desired time in Barcelona, he will likely have sealed his ticket to Budapest. The star field which comprises sub-2:05h performers like Turk Kaan Kigen (2:04:16), Kenyan Joel Kemboi (2:05:19), Bahraini Marius Kimutai (2:05:47) and Ethiopian Adugna Takele (2:05:52) will test the Ugandan.
Meanwhile, Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) will hope to maximise the small outside tartan track at Namboole Stadium for the second Trials on Saturday.
UAF’s Paul Okello withstood the heavy rains this week to clear the mud from the track and about 12 athletes including Joshua Cheptegei, Halimah Nakaayi and Winnie Nanyondo utilised the facility.
UAF failed to stage the first Trials of the season last month because Namboole is under construction. Even though field events cannot happen because the grass field was cleared too, more than 200 runners are expected to compete.
MUTAI AT A GLANCE
Full name: Solomon Munyo Mutai
Date of Birth: Oct 22, 1992
Home town: Bukwo
Main Event: Marathon
Personal Best: 2:08:25
Manager: Giani Damadona (Italian)
Coaches: Alex Malinga, Gabriele Rosa
Kit Sponsor: Adidas
MUTAI’S MARATHON CAREER PROGRESSION
2013 Mombasa Marathon - 1st (2:14:21)
2014 Commonwealth Games - 4th (2:12:26)
2014 Hainan Danzhou Marathon - 3rd (2:12:59)
2015 Hannover Marathon - 5th (2:10:42)
2015 Beijing Worlds Champs - 3rd (2:13:30)
2016 Lake Biwa Marathon - 11th (2:14:57)
2016 Rio Olympics - 8th (2:11:49)
2017 Lake Biwa Marathon - 3rd (2:09:59)
2017 London World Champs - 11th (2:13:29)
2018 Commonwealth Games - 2nd (2:19:02)
2018 Shanghai Marathon - 6th (2:09:27)
2019 Vienna Marathon - 3rd (2:08:25)
2019 Doha World Champs - DNF
2019 Singapore Marathon - 2nd (2:19:48)
2021 Xiamen Marathon - DNF
2021 Istanbul Marathon - 3rd (2:10:25)
2022 Enschede Marathon - 6th (2:11:01)
2022 Venice Marathon - 6th (2:11:01)
2023 BUDAPEST WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN’S MARATHON - TEAM UGANDA QUALIFICATION
1 Stephen Kissa; Hamburg Marathon (2nd, 2:04:48 on Apr 24, 2022)
2 Victor Kiplangat; Hamburg Marathon (4th, 2:05:09 on Apr 24, 2022)
3 Solomon Mutai; Venice Marathon (1st, 2:08:10 on Oct 23, 2022)
4 Filex Chemongesi; Linz Marathon (8th, 2:08:42 on Oct 23, 2022)
5 Martin Musau; Amsterdam Marathon (12th, 2:09:04 on Oct 16, 2022)
6 Geofrey Kusuro; Madrid Marathon (2nd, 2:09:23 on Apr 24, 2022)
Entry Standard: 2:09:40, Qualifying window: Dec 1, 2021 - May 30, 2023