BENGALURU: Defending champion Kenya's
Alex Korio
will return to the City to retain his title in the TCS
World 10K Bengaluru
to be held on May 27. Korio will be up against compatriot and IAAF World Half Marathon Champion
Geoffrey Kamworor
.
Korio, who also won this race in 2013, had a superb year in 2017. In addition to winning in impressive fashion in Bengaluru when beating a world-class field by 14 seconds last May, he reduced his half marathon best to 58:51 in Copenhagen later in the year.
However, the 27-year-old Korio will come to the Indian race with a point to prove after having to drop out in the world championship event in Valencia back in March. Besides Korio and Kamworor, the race will also have two-time winner Ethiopia's Mosinet Geremew, who took the title in 2015 and 2016, race promoter Procam International said in a press release.
Geremew was among the favourites for last year's title after his two previous wins but finished 10th. However, his two outings so far this year have resulted in stunning victories, the Ethiopian winning both the
Yangzhou Half Marathon
in China and the
Dubai Marathon
, the second in a world-leading 2:04:00 which makes him the 12th fastest man ever.
Fellow Ethiopian Leul Gebresilase, who was just two seconds behind Geremew in Dubai to take end runners up, will also line up for the start. The fastest man in the field is another Ethiopian Birhanu Legese, who has twice won the Delhi Half Marathon.
Leading the Asian challenge will be Bahrain's Abraham Cheroben, who finished second behind Kamworor in Valencia. The Asian half marathon record holder is anticipated to be in contention for a place on the podium in Bengaluru. Another athlete who knows what it is like to climb the dais in Bengaluru is Kenya's Edwin Kiptoo, second in 2017 and third in 2015, and he is aiming again to feature in the top-three in Bengaluru.
Men's elite field (with 10km personal best times): Alex Korio (KEN) 27:52s, Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) 27:44, Birhanu Legese (ETH) 27:34, Abraham Cheroben (BRN) 27:35, Mosinet Geremew (ETH) 27:36, Leul Gebrselassie (ETH) 28:12, Edwin Kiptoo (KEN) 28:20, Brett Robinson (AUS) 28:29, Bashir Abdi (BEL) 28:31, Ryan Vail (USA) 29:06, Moses Kurong (UGA) debut.
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