Former world record holder, Kimetto and Haileslase headline Sanlam Cape Town Marathon elite field

Two-time major marathon winner and former world record holder, Dennis Kipruto Kimetto and Tsige Haileslase, the women’s defending champion, headline the strongest and deepest ever field for a marathon on African soil in Sunday’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in Cape Town, South Africa.

Kimeto who ran 2:02:57 to set the world record at the Berlin marathon in 2014 last raced over the distance in a World Athletics sanctioned marathon at the Shanghai marathon in China in 2018 where he ran 2:14:54.

The 40-year-old is staging a comeback but will have to contend with the defending champion, Adane Kebede Gebre who ran 2:11:28 to win the title in 2023.

The 28-year-old holds a personal best of 2:06:54 which he set in Doha, Qatar in January 2023 and ran 2:09:21 last January to finish fourth at the C&D XiaMen Marathon in Xiamen, China.

Kebede will be joined by seven other athletes from Ethiopia who will be aiming to dominate yet again.

For the Kenyans, Kimeto will be at the head of three other Kenyans while two Ugandans as well as 35-year-old Moroccan, Hicham Laqouahi who holds a lifetime best of 2:06:32 achieved in 2020 but dipped under 2:12 (2:11:42) to place 10th at the 72nd Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon in Oita, Japan.

For the women, Tsige Haileslase will lead the race as she seeks to successfully defend the title she won last year when she came within 15 seconds of breaking Meseret Dinke’s 2:24:02 course record.

The 24-year-old ran 2:24:17 to win the title and will be aiming to break the course record her compatriot set a year earlier (2022).

Haileslase will be joined on the start line by compatriot Rio Olympics bronze medalist Mare Dibaba Hursssa and Kenyans, Joan Jepkemoi Kipyatich and Antonina Kwambai.

Kipyatich is the fastest in the field so far this year with the 2:23:45 she ran to place second at the Doha Marathon by Ooredoo in Doha, Qatar in February with compatriot, Kwambai the second fastest after she ran 2:23:47 to finish fourth at the Zurich Maratón de Sevilla in Sevilla, Spain, also in February.

Haileslase holds a personal season’s best time of 2:25:03 she ran to finish 10th at the TCS London Marathon in April.