Brigid Kosgei ambitious as she eyes Lisbon Half-Marathon glory
By Joel Sang, March 16, 2024
Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei has revealed her top target when she competes in the Lisbon Half Marathon set for Sunday, March 17, 2024.
She is returning to the Portuguese city, hoping to carry the day again after emerging as the winner during the 2016 race. This time around, she faces top-level competition, but her priority is to improve on her personal best.
“I want to say thanks to the race organizers. I’m really happy to be here again. I wanted to run this race because I wanted to test my speed for the London Marathon in April.
“I come here to see how my body responds. I’m feeling good, I’m happy, and I did good preparation. The course is very fast, and I hope to have a good race on Sunday. If the weather is good, I will try to break my personal best in a half marathon,” the 30-year-old said.
Kosgei has a personal best of 1:04:49, and one of her rivals will be Vivian Cheruiyot, the 2018 London Marathon champion.
Betty Chepkemoi, Pauline Esikom, and Vivian Melly are the other Kenyans set to feature in the half-marathon.
Ethiopia’s unit will consist of Bosena Mulatie, fourth at the 2023 Istanbul Half Marathon, and Senayet Getachew, the 2023 Junior World Cross-Country champion.
Men’s line-up
Abraham Kiptanui will fly Kenya’s flag in the men’s race, and going into the competition with a personal best of 59.09 makes him one of the favourites.
Kiptanui will come up against Ethiopians Solomon Berihu, with a personal best of 59.17, and Dinkalem Ayele, with a personal best of 59.30.
Brian Kwemoi and Bravin Kiptoo (both with 59.37) are also going to run.
The Kenyan and Ethiopian units will have to contend with an ambitious rival, the US’s Leonard Korir. Korir, who finished third in last month’s US Olympic Marathon trials, will also be in the race, and he will hope to break the American record (59:43).
“I heard so many good things about the race; I heard that it’s super fast. There were some guys that ran fast here, like Jacob Kiplimo. I wanted to run something faster, and I told myself, ‘Let me try to go to Lisbon’.
“I heard the organisation is very good, and the course is very nice. I just want to see if I can run a quick time and how my body feels before running a marathon in the near future,” Korir said.