Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Kenya’s Abraham Kiptoo will be eying his maiden victory at the Haspa Marathon Hamburg in Germany on Sunday, April 24. 

Kiptoo who trains at Kaptagat in Elgeyo Marakwet county under veteran coach Patrick Sang will be making a debut at the marathon and is oozing with confidence with a podium finish.

“I am in very good shape even though there will be a stiff competition from my rivals but with God, everything will be possible,” Kiptoo said.

Athletics superstar

His desire to run in Hamburg was fuelled by the athletics superstar Eliud Kipchoge who also made his marathon debut at the same venue. Kiptoo will be paced by Victor Chumo who played a significant role in Eliud Kipchoge’s pace making team at the INEOS 1:59 challenge.

 Chumo is an accomplished runner in his own right, boasting a half marathon PB of 59:58. Kiptoo will be up against Ugandans Victor Kiplangat and Stephen Kissa.

The Ugandan distance runner (Kiplangat) will aim to build on his victory in the Istanbul Marathon (2:10.18) in November when he takes to the streets of Hamburg. A talented age-group performer, he finished sixth in the 10,000m at the 2018 World U20 Championships.

In 2020 he ran a half-marathon PB of 59:26 in New Delhi and placed 16th at the World Half Marathon Championships. In his most recent outing, he clinched victory in the Gent Half Marathon in a time of 1:00.11. 

Eagerly awaited

Kissa, 26, is set to make his eagerly-awaited marathon debut in Hamburg. He boasts a strong pedigree on the road, where, in 2019 he won the 15km Seven Hills race in Nijmegen.

 He also set a slick half marathon PB of 58:56 set in New Delhi, 2020. Based in Kapchorwa  Uganda, he also represented his country in the 10,000m at last year’s Tokyo Olympic Games. Other contenders are Mustefa Kedir of Ethiopia

The Ethiopian will look to make an impact in his second career marathon. With a half-marathon PB of 1:02.35 dating back to 2018, Mustefa impressed on his debut over the 42.2km distance, clocking 2:07.49 for 16th place in the Amsterdam Marathon last October.