NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13 – On the second time of asking, Eliud Kipchoge finally achieved his life-long ambition of becoming the first man to run a marathon under two hours, something he equated to a maiden journey to the moon and back.

Kipchoge not only achieved his dream, but did so with an emphatic 19-second bargain as he clocked 1:59.40 in the Ineos Challenge on the streets of the Austrian capital Vienna early Saturday morning.

And to dance to his celebratory tunes, sporting royalty  from all over the world joined in congratulating Kipchoge’s extra ordinary achievement, a success that has come after a strenuous four and a half months of work.

Goodnight Vienna pic.twitter.com/XIGb9zMcBU

— Eliud Kipchoge (@EliudKipchoge) October 12, 2019

From former England defender Rio Ferdinand to Liverpool midfielder James Milner, CAF president Ahmad Ahmad, Kenyan born British cycling legend Chris Froome, Former Arsenal and France skipper Patrick Vieira, all sporting royalty bowed in amazement at the historic feat.

“Unreal effort, takes some people longer to….. make a VAR decision,” the witty Milner tweeted after the race.

Congratulations, @EliudKipchoge! 👊 https://t.co/i7jaOjlE4x

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 12, 2019

“That‘s not #football but I extend all my congratulations to @EliudKipchoge for his historical 🏃🏿‍♂️performance on the #ViennaMarathon ! Unbelievable ! Once again, #Africa shows its skills and competences in #sport ! 👏🏾,” CAF boss Ahmad tweeted.

“For me, this is the most impressive sporting achievement in history. Absolutely moved to tears to be able to witness this in my lifetime. A sub-2hour marathon. To get perspective, go and try to run at 21kph for 300meters…. Incredible @EliudKipchoge & everyone behind @INEOS159,” British cyclist Mark Cavendish tweeted.

👑

— Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) October 12, 2019

“Eliud kipchoge inspired me totally today. 3:25sc in 1500m is very very possible,” world and commonwealth 1500m champion Elijah Manangoi said.

“Congratulations to @EliudKipchoge- sporting history made! Absolutely incredible!” English Premier League champions Manchester City tweeted.

It wasn’t just the shoe! heck, he won Berlin in 2:04:00 with his insoles sticking out the better part of the race!…its in the MAN,the WILL, the PROGRAM,the COACH!…#INEOS159 #Eliud159 pic.twitter.com/SqsXnfM4a2

— Geoffrey Kimani (@GeoffKimani) October 13, 2019

Unreal effort, takes some people longer to….. make a VAR decision 😜#Keptrunningtocelebrateaswell🤖 🔥 🔥 https://t.co/hGPlnOydVd

— James Milner (@JamesMilner) October 12, 2019

🇰🇪 I N C R E D I B L E 🇰🇪

0️⃣1️⃣:5️⃣9️⃣:4️⃣0️⃣

Forza @EliudKipchoge 👋pic.twitter.com/vUDH50Wegg

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) October 12, 2019

HISTORY… LEGEND
🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 https://t.co/ozWfTcPAN5

— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) October 12, 2019

1/3 I think people are totally missing the point of @INEOS159. “He gained time with his shoes.” “He had pacers.” “It wasn’t in competition.” Like what have we become with all this negative shit in everything? Science & technological advancements are part of pushing new

— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) October 12, 2019

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13 – Experienced play maker Cecil Afrika will lead the South Africa squad that will travel to Nairobi for the Safari Sevens scheduled for October 18th to 20th at the RFUEA Ground.

Afrika, a Blitzbok mainstay since debuting on the Sevens World Series during the 2009/2010 season is South Africa’s all time points scorer, having amassed a total of 1,440 points, a statistic that places him sixth overall on the Sevens World Series all time list.

The squad will also include Siviwe Soyizwapi, Stedman Gans and Selvyn Davids who have World Sevens Series experience and will look to challenge for the Robin Cahill Trophy at the close of business on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Defending champions Samurai have also named a strong squad for their title defense. The squad is laden with several players who have World Sevens Series or academy experience with their countries.

These include the team captain Australian Tom Connor ( Australia), and his deputy W.J. Strydom who hails from South Africa.

Samurai Safari 7s squad

Jamie Anderson( England), Josh Bassingthwaite (South Africa), Tom Connor ( Australia), Ronnie du Randt ( England), Richard Mill ( Scotland), Ruan Mostert (South Africa), Dewald Naude (South Africa), Pierre Peres ( France), Dylan Pietsch ( Australia), Nico Pouplot (France), Hayden Sargeant ( Australia), WJ Strydom ( South Africa), Charlie Tupu ( Australia)

Management

Terry Sands (Director of Rugby), Nick Wakely (Head Coach), Ian Campbell-McGeachy (Coach), Chris Roberts (Coach), Fahad Adil (Manager), George Odhiambo ( Physio), Kai Adams (Physio),Stuart Cameron (Media), Lyle Asiligwa (Liaison)

Blitzboks Safari 7s squad

Cecil Afrika, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Stedman Gans, Selvyn Davids, Angelo Davids, Darren Adonis, Qamani Kota, Shilton Van Wyk, James Murphy, Christoffel Grobbelaar, Impi Visser, Divan Enslin

Management: Renfred Dazel (Coach), Ashley Evert (Manager), Hugh Everson (Physio)

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13 – Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei obliterated Paula Radcliffe’s women’s marathon world record, clocking 2:14:04 on her way to clinching the Chicago Marathon title, lowering the Briton’s previous mark of 2:15:23 set in 2003.

Kosgei led the race for most of the final half and dipped deep into her energy reserves in the final 2km to ensure she breaks the record, just a day after compatriot Eliud Kipchoge became the first man ever to run the men’s marathon in under two hours.

Meanwhile, Lawrence Cherono won the men’s race with a dip in the final few metres to cut the tape in 2:05:45, just one second ahead of Ethiopia’s Dejene Debela.

Kosgei, who won in Chicago last year in 2:18:35 and improved her PB to 2:18:20 to win in London earlier this year, set out at a blisteringly fast pace, covering the first 5km in 15:28.

Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh was dragged through the section in a swift 15:36 with Gelete Burka a further 27 seconds in arrears.

Her pace dropped slightly after that initial enthusiasm but the 25-year-old settled into regular 16-minute splits for each five-kilometre segment.

-A minute ahead 

She went through 10km in 31:28, 2:12:26 marathon pace, and 15km in 47:26. At that point she was almost a minute ahead of Yeshaneh, who herself was on schedule for a 2:16:00 finish at that point.

Kosgei’s half-way split of 1:06:59 suggested a finishing time of about 2:14:00.

Fewer than five kilometres later, her lead over Yeshaneh had grown to two minutes, reaching 25km in 1:19:33. As she continued to run behind two male pacemakers, Kosgei added another minute to her lead thanks to a 15:45 split between 25km and 30km.

Another sub-16-minute five-kilometre segment followed, this time 15:56, and her 35km split (1:51:14) still indicated a finishing time about a minute inside Paula Radcliffe’s world record of 2:15:25, set 16 years ago.

The race was all about Kosgei’s world record attempt and she showed no signs of fading in the closing stages. The pace-makers peeled away before the final two miles as Kosgei forged on alone.

With about 20 seconds left of running, she couldn’t help but smile as she realised the magnitude of what she was about to achieve. Moments later, she crossed the line in 2:14:04 to take 81 seconds off the longest-standing marathon world record – men’s or women’s – in the post-war era.

-Good course

“I’m happy and I feel good,” said Kosgei. “I ran here last year so I knew it was a good course. There was a little bit of wind but it was okay. People were cheering all along the course, which gave me more energy.”

“We always knew the time would come when the record would be broken,” said Radcliffe, who was in Chicago and congratulated Kosgei when she finished. “When I saw how fast Brigid was running in the first half of the race, I knew she had a good chance of getting the record.

“I’ve always said 17 is my lucky number and it was exactly 17 years ago to the day that I set my first world record here in Chicago.”

-Additional info from IAAF 

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CHICAGO, United States of America, Oct 13 – Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono outkicked Ethiopia’s Dejene Debela to win the Chicago Marathon men’s title with a dip in the final few metres to cut the tape in 2:05:45.

The opening pace was solid as a lead pack of nine men – including Boston Marathon champion Cherono, defending champion Mo Farah and Olympic bronze medallist Galen Rupp – reached 10km in 29:27.

Shortly after, the group started to break up with Rupp, Farah and Abdi Bashir falling behind, leaving just six men together at 15km (44:10) – Kenya’s Cherono, Dickson Chumba and Bedan Karoki and Ethiopian trio Dejene Debela, Asefe Mengstu and Seifu Tura.

The lead pack of six ran together for another 15 kilometres, passing the half-way point in 1:02:14 before reaching 30km in 1:28:58, their pace now indicating a finishing time just outside 2:05.

Further back, Abdi had passed a struggling Farah and was running alone in seventh place.

Once the pace makers had dropped out, Karoki tried to dictate the pace and Chumba was unable to sustain it for much longer, leaving five men in the lead pack.

Tura was the next to exit the lead pack, leaving Debela, Mengstu, Baroki and Cherono in the hunt for the podium places as they passed 40km in 1:59:08.

Behind them, Abdi was finishing strongly and had made up 37 seconds on the lead quartet over the course of the previous five kilometres. With just two kilometres left, though, the Belgian had left himself with too much work to do.

-Karoki fades out 

Karoki faded out of contention before the final turn, leaving Cherono, Debela and Mengstu to sprint for victory with the finish line in sight. Cherono emerged victorious in 2:05:45, winning by just one second from Debela. Mengstu was a close third in 2:05:48.

Karoki placed fourth in 2:05:53, just holding off Abdi, who was fifth in a Belgian record of 2:06:14. Further back, Tura was sixth (2:08:35) and Chumba seventh (2:09:11) with Farah placing eighth in 2:09:58.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13 – Canhembe Amancio stepped off the bench to score a 69^th minute goal as visiting Mozambique beat Kenya’s Harambee Stars 1-0 in an international friendly match at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani on Sunday.

It was a reality check for Francis Kimanzi’s charges, coming just over a month before the qualification journey for the 2021 African Cup of Nations kicks off.

Stars were wasteful infront of goal in both halves as they had more chances to score than the mambas, but a lack of sharpness in the face of goal meant a loss at home and massive points to pick for Kimanzi and his technical bench.

Kimanzi had made alterations from the side that played Uganda last month, Faruk Shikalo earning his debut in the absence of Patrick Matasi while Cliff Nyakeya also earned his chance, starting off on the right with skipper Victor Wanyama back and partnering Lawrence Juma in midfield.

Michael Olunga had Kenya’s two best chances in the first half, first volleying over after Wanyama’s long searching ball found his run inside the box.

Minutes later, he did well to get some space after running down the left flank but his venomous left foot shot stung the keeper’s arms to be turned behind for a corner.

Nyakeya who was enterprising on the right had a scorching shot from range fly into the keeper’s arms while in the 35^th minute, he turned provider to lay in a cross which Olunga connected to but went straight to the keeper.

In the second half, Kimanzi made changes with Duke Abuya coming on for Clifton Miheso, Jesse Were coming in for a two-man attack after replacing Kenneth Muguna.

Stars continued dominating the chances but it was the Mambas who would make the most of the game, Amancio dancing past three defenders and keeper Shikalo before tapping the ball into an empty net.

Stars piled pressure to get the equalizer but none was forthcoming. Wanyama’s cross from the left was not headed home by Olunga while Were missed a glorious chance to break his national team goal drought rifling the loose ball over.

The post Mambas hand Kimanzi’s Stars reality check appeared first on Capital Sports.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13 – Despite losing by a point to South Africa in the finals of the Africa 7s in Tunisia on Sunday evening, the Kenya Lionesses have booked a ticket to next year’s Olympic Games on Tokyo.

South Africa will not earn the ticket to the Olympic Games due to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee’s internal rules not permitting them to qualify for the Olympic Games directly from the African Regional Qualifier tournament.

Apart from booking a slot in the Olympics for a second consecutive time, the Lionesses have also earned themselves a slot for the Hong Kong leg of the World Sevens Series qualification set to be staged in April 2020.

The Lionesses put up a stellar performance in Tunisia and won all their games save for the final which they lost by a slim 15-14 margin, thus losing their African crown. They only conceded one try in the 26-5 victory over Zimbabwe in the Cup quarters.

The Lionesses went through to the Cup Quarters with a 100pc record having beaten Ghana 36-0, Botswana 49-0 and Senegal 36-0 to top pool A. In the semis, they floored Tunisia 19-0 to book the South Africans in the final.

Madagascar who finished third and home side Tunisia who clinched fourth spot will now drop to the repecharge tournament set for June next year where they will fight for a spot in Tokyo alongside France, Russia, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Jamaica.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 14 – History maker Eliud Kipchoge and Diamond Trophy Champion Timothy Cheruiyot have been named among the 11 nominees for the IAAF Male Athlete of the Year.

Kipchoge who won the IAAF crown last year on the back of his world record run at the Berlin Marathon became the first man to run a marathon under two hours over the weekend in the Ineos 1:59 challenge.

Though the record was not acceptable via IAAF standards, the feat has gone on to inspire millions across the globe with IAAF among the first to laud him for his effort in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

Apart from his history run in Vienna, Kipchoge also won the London Marathon earlier in the year before turning his focus on the challenge bankrolled by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and his biochemical company Ineos.

Meanwhile, Timothy Cheruiyot who finally bagged his first ever major title with victory in the 1500m race at the IAAF World Championships in Doha adding on to his Diamond Trophy conquest will also line up for the award.

✨ #AthleticsAwards announcement@EliudKipchoge is one of 11 nominees for Male Athlete of the Year 2019.

Retweet this post to vote for him 🗳 pic.twitter.com/IkxjsVPaeP

— IAAF (@iaaforg) October 14, 2019

Others named in the 11-man shortlist include USA sprint duo of Noah Lyles and Chris Coleman as well as Ugandan distance runner Joshua Cheptegei.

A three-way voting process will determine the finalists.

The IAAF Council and the IAAF Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the IAAF’s social media platforms.

Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram this week; a ‘like’ on Facebook and Instagram or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote.

The IAAF Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the IAAF Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the final result.

Voting for the Male World Athlete of the Year closes on 4 November. At the conclusion of the voting process, five men and five women finalists will be announced by the IAAF.

Full list of nominees

Donavan Brazier (USA)

– won world 800m title in a championship record of 1:42.34

– won Diamond League title

– won four of his five outdoor 800m races

Christian Coleman (USA)

– won world 100m title in a world-leading 9.76

– won world 4x100m title in a world-leading 37.10

– won four of his five races at 100m

Joshua Cheptegei (UGA)

– won world cross-country title in Aarhus

– won world 10,000m title in a world-leading 26:48.36

– won Diamond League 500m title

Timothy Cheruyiot (KEN)

– won world 1500m title

– won Diamond League 1500m title

– won 10 of his 11 outdoor races across all distances

Steven Gardiner (BAH)

– won world 400m title in 43.48

– undefeated all year over 400m

– ran world-leading 32.26 indoors over 300m

Sam Kendricks (USA)

– won world pole vault title

– cleared a world-leading 6.06m to win the US title

– won 12 of his 17 outdoor competitions, including the Diamond League final

Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)

– won London Marathon in a course record of 2:02:37

– ran 1:59:40.2 for 42.195km in Vienna

Noah Lyles (USA)

– won world 200m and 4x100m titles

– ran a world-leading 19.50 in Lausanne to move to fourth on the world all-time list

– won Diamond League titles at 100m and 200m

Daniel Stahl (SWE)

– won the world discus title

– threw a world-leading 71.86m to move to fifth on the world all-time list

– won 13 of his 16 competitions, including the Diamond League final

Christian Taylor (USA)

– won the world triple jump title

– won Diamond League title

– won 10 of his 14 competitions

Karsten Warholm (NOR)

– won the world 400m hurdles title

– undefeated indoors and outdoors at all distances, including at the Diamond League final and the European Indoor Championships

– clocked world-leading 46.92, the second-fastest time in history

The post Kipchoge, Cheruiyot nominated for IAAF award appeared first on Capital Sports.

DURBAN, South Africa, Oct 14 – World leader Sheila Chepkirui lived up to her billing as race favourite for the FNB Durban 10K CITYSURFRUN on Sunday, taking four seconds off the African all-comers’ record to win the IAAF Bronze Label road race in 30:55.

The gusting winds didn’t deter Chepkirui, who earlier this year moved to second on the world all-time list for 10km with her 29:57 victory in Prague.

Chepkirui and compatriots Evaline Chirchir and Beatrice Mutai went straight to the front of the race to dictate the pace. Ethiopia’s Tadu Nare went with the Kenyan trio, but was only able to stick with them for three kilometres

Chepkirui stayed behind Mutai and Chirchir for most of the race, passing through half way in 15:26, and first made her presence felt just after seven kilometres, moving between Chirchir and Mutai.

Chepkirui threw in another surge at about 8.5km and Mutai started to fade, but it was only in the final 500 metres that Chepkirui was able to edge ahead of Chirchir, eventually crossing the line in 30:55 to finish two seconds ahead of Chirchir. Mutai was third in 31:01.

“I am really happy with my performance, especially the fast time, as this is my first road race in South Africa,” said Chepkirui. “I usually stay at the back in the beginning and then make my move closer to the race finish.”

The post Kenya’s Chepkirui breaks record in Durban appeared first on Capital Sports.

PARIS, France, Oct 14 – On a successful weekend for Kenyan road runners, Enos Kales and Naomi Jebet secured a double at the IAAF Silver Label Paris 20km run over the weekend.

The pace of the men’s race was aggressive from the outset.

A group of 10 runners hit the 5km mark in 14:25, but the pace was irregular. Carvalho decided to take the lead after 10km, reached in 29:05, with eight other runners still in contention.

After the 15km mark, hit in 43:58, Enos Kales, who entered the race at last minute, made a big move.

His compatriots Shewalem Yergalem and Joseph Mbatha as well as Ethiopia’s Getinet Mele Gedamu were able to stick to his stride as the French trio Carvalho, Michael Gras, and Nicolas Navarro struggled to sustain the pace.

In the closing stages, Yergalem and Mbatah couldn’t handle the pace and Kales broke off. At about the same time, Carvalho and Gras drew level with the chasers.

Kales held on for the win and crossed the line in 58:28, following a 14:30 last 5km section, as Carvalho finished second in 58:56, 16 seconds outside his time from 2017.

“It bodes well for the Valencia Marathon, which is my main goal,” said Carvalho.

Gras managed to hold off Yergalem and Mbatha to round the podium in a personal best of 59:02.

In contrast to the men’s race, the women’s race set out at a relatively slow pace. Nine runners hit the 5km mark in 17:52, suggesting a possible finish time of 1:11:30, far from the results of past editions.

The group, spearheaded by Kenya’s Naomi Jebet, ramped up the tempo during the next 5km section to reach the 10km checkpoint in 35:06.

With five kilometres to go (52:30 at 15km), there were still eight contenders for the win, including Jebet, Adawork Aberta, Chaltu Dida as well as the French pair Liv Westphal and Samira Mezeghrane.

Jebet made a big surge after 15km and only Dida and Aberta were able to follow her.

Aberta then struggled to sustain the pace with two kilometres remaining, and Jebet sealed the win in 1:08:51, following a 16:21 5km section, the fastest of the race, six seconds ahead of Dida. Aberta finished third, 33 seconds adrift of the winner.

“I am very happy,” said Jebet, who clocked a half marathon PB of 1:08:08 last month. “I didn’t expect to win that race.”

Leading results

MEN

1 Enos Kales (KEN) 58:28

2 Florian Carvalho (FRA) 58:56

3 Michael Gras (FRA) 59:02

WOMEN

1 Naomi Jebet (KEN) 1:08:51

2 Chaltu Dida (ETH) 1:08:57

3 Adawork Aberta (ETH) 1:09:24

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 – Fresh from obliterating the 16-year-old women’s marathon World Record, London and Chicago Marathon champion Brigid Kosgey leads two other Kenyans in the shortlist of the 2019 IAAF Female Athlete of the Year to be held in Monaco on November 23.

Other Kenyans in the list who were nominated are two-time world champion in 5000m Hellen Obiri and 3000m steeplechase World Record holder and world champion Beatrice Chepkoech.

This week marks the opening of the voting process for the 2019 World Athletes of the Year ahead of the gala night event.

The IAAF announced a list of 11 nominees for Female World Athlete of the Year who were selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of the IAAF.

The nominations of 11 athletes reflects the remarkable range of exceptional performances that the sport has witnessed this year, at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, and in the Diamond League and in road and cross-country events.

The IAAF’s Competition Performance Ranking show that the World Championships in Doha was the highest quality competition in the history of the event.

The nominees for 2019 Female World Athlete of the Year are:

Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN)

– won world 3000m steeplechase title in a championship record of 8:57.84

– won Diamond League title

– won seven of her eight steeplechase races

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM)

– won world 100m and 4x100m titles in world-leading times of 10.71 and 41.44

– won Pan-American 200m title

– won seven of her 10 races at 100m

Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR)

– won world heptathlon title in a world-leading 6981

– undefeated in all combined events competitions, indoors and outdoors

– won European indoor pentathlon title with a world-leading 4983

Sifan Hassan (NED)

– won world 1500m and 10,000m titles in world-leading times of 3:51.95 and 30:17.62

– won Diamond League 1500m and 5000m titles

– broke world mile record with 4:12.33 in Monaco

Brigid Kosgei (KEN)

– set a world record of 2:14:04 to win the Chicago Marathon

– won the London Marathon

– ran a world-leading 1:05:28 for the half marathon and 1:04:28 on a downhill course

Mariya Lasitskene (ANA)

– won world high jump title with 2.04m

– jumped a world-leading 2.06m in Ostrava

– won 21 of her 23 competitions, indoors and outdoors 

Malaika Mihambo (GER)

– won world long jump title with a world-leading 7.30m

– won Diamond League title

– undefeated outdoors 

Dalilah Muhammad (USA)

– broke world record with 52.20 at the US Championships

– improved her own world record to win the world 400m hurdles title in 52.16

– won world 4x400m title

Salwa Eid Naser (BRN)

– won world 400m title in 48.14, the third-fastest time in history

– won Diamond League title and three gold medals at the Asian Championships

– undefeated at 400m outdoors 

Hellen Obiri (KEN)

– won world cross-country title in Aarhus

– won world 5000m title in a championship record of 14:26.72

– ran a world-leading 14:20.36 for 5000m in London

 Yulimar Rojas (VEN)

– won world triple jump title with 15.37m

– jumped world-leading 15.41m to move to second on the world all-time list

– won nine of her 12 competitions, including the Pan-American Games

A three-way voting process will determine the finalists.

The IAAF Council and the IAAF Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the IAAF’s social media platforms. Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram this week; a ‘like’ on Facebook and Instagram or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote.

The IAAF Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the IAAF Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the final result.

Voting for the Female World Athlete of the Year closes on 5 November. At the conclusion of the voting process, five men and five women finalists will be announced by the IAAF.

The male and female World Athletes of the Year will be announced live on stage at the World Athletics Awards 2019.

The post Brigid Kosgei, Obiri shortlisted for IAAF Award appeared first on Capital Sports.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 – Royal Nairobi Golf club’s Erick Ooko rediscovered his fine form on round three of his home leg of the Safari Tour Golf Series, carding a round leading score of 3-under par 69.

The result saw him tied at the top of the leaderboard alongside Thika Golf Club’s Simon Ngige – who shot a round of 2 over par.

Ooko, who had a share of the lead after round one before crumbling in the second round, recovered superbly today to make the most of the overnight leader’s slip up.

The home pro started his round in strong fashion, hitting two birdies in the opening five holes while holding par through the rest, he then hit a bogey on the par-3 sixth, before recovering immediately with a birdie on the 7th to wrap up his front nine with another bogey on the ninth for a 1-under par score.

His conservative approach in the second nine paid off as he hit two birdies – at the par-5,15th and par-4,18th – while holding par through the rest of the holes to return a round score of 3-under par 69.

Speaking after his round, Ooko expressed his delight in getting his form back after yesterday’s slip up as he looked forward to the final round, “I needed to play well today, especially after yesterday. I am happy with my performance and look forward to an even better showing tomorrow.”

On his part Simon Ngige played a round of 2 over par, 74, after a double bogey on the par-3 13th, which he failed to recover from.

The duo sits five shots ahead of the chasing pack, led by Golf Park’s Tony Omuli who played a round of par to take his gross score to 3 over par, 219, one shot ahead of Johnnie Walker sponsored Dismas Indiza who has had a slow tournament so far.

Kennedy Abuto and Amateur Daniel Nduva are tied in 5th place on gross scores of 5 over par, 221, the quartet of Golf Park’s David Wakhu, Sigona Golf Club’s Mohit Mediratta, Royal Nairobi Golf Club’s Keneth Bollo and Windsor Golf Club’s Riz Charania sit tied in 7th place, on 6 over par, 222.

Action in the final round will tee off at 8:30 AM, with the winner of the third leg of the 2019/20 Safari tour, set to be crowned at around 2:00 PM.

The 2019/2020 Safari Tour Golf Series is proudly sponsored by Magical Kenya and Absa.

Safari Tour Calendar 2019/20

Event 1 Nyali Golf and Country Club 24th – 28th August 2019 (DONE)

Event 2 Uganda Open (Lake Victoria Serena) 10th – 14th September 2019 (DONE)

Event 3 Royal Nairobi Golf Club 12th – 16th October 2019

Event 4 Entebbe Open (Entebbe Golf Club) 30th Oct – 2nd Nov 2019

Event 5 Great Rift Valley Golf Club 23rd – 27th November 2019

Event 6 Muthaiga Golf Club 14th – 18th December 2019

Event 7 Thika Greens 4th – 8th January 2020

Event 8 Sigona Golf Club 25th – 29th January 2020

Event 9 Kitante Open (Uganda Golf Club) 12th – 15th February 2020

Event 10 Karen Country Club 22nd -26th February 2020

Event 11 Tanzania Open (Kiligolf) TBC

2020 Magical Kenya Open, Karen Country Club, 12th – 15th March 2020.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 – Sam Karangatha of Team Sim-U-Nation topped the second leg of the Johnnie Walker GP Karting Championship after clocking best time of 1.11.438 at the Great Rift Valley (TGRV) Circuit in Mai Mahiu over the weekend.

Closest challenger was Edward Ndukui of Mt Kenya Sports Club with 1.11.999. This is the second-best time to be recorded at TGRV Circuit since the opening of the circuit last year.

The teams had to complete six laps in a 10 minutes length circuit tucked in archipelago of Rift Valley.

Seventeen teams battled out for an opportunity of lifetime to watch live Formula 1 race in Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi 2019.

Commenting about the race, Sam Karangatha said that he was happy with his outcome. “Last weekend, I didn’t perform very well. I did a time of 1.30.222, but this weekend I was determined to push the limit,” he said.

Johnnie Walker GP Karting Championship aims to provide amateur racers and racing enthusiasts with an opportunity to see how the professional side of karting functions. But the main idea is for participants have a competitive, but fun, on-track experience.

The competition comes at a time when a number of Kenyans are looking forward to joining professional Formula 4 & 3 respectively. Some of them are Jeremy Wahome and Tejas Hirani who are both in Europe studying the sports.

According to TGRV CEO Raj Dadhley, although the appetite and uptake of Go Kart is on all-time high, the barrier to penetrate into the global scene is cost.

“The cost of this sport is exorbitant. To solve this, we are working on investing in world class Go-Kart circuit locally, with hope of getting global sponsors to support, potential racers,” Mr. Dadhley said.

The finals for championship will take place November 2 at Whistling Moran.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 – After dominating the headlines globally thanks to his heroic performance that saw him become the first man to run a marathon under two hours, World Record holder Eliud Kipchoge has now attracted the attention of Parliament with Senators wanting the Olympic champion to address the House.

Senate Leaders Kipchumba Murkomen and James Orengo extended the request to Kipchoge who produced the fastest time ever for the distance, clocking 1:59:40.02 at the Ineos159 Challenge in Vienna, Austria last Saturday morning.

“The only person since we came to this House who has addressed this House Mr. Speaker other than the joint address of the House by the President is the former Chief Justice Dr. Willy Mutunga,

Is it too much for me to request this House that Mr. Eliud Kipchoge having achieved that feat should be give the honor by this House and the Senate Business Committee seat and decide a soon as possible with approval of this House he (Kipchoge) be given opportunity to address this House,” Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen said.

The legislators also congratulated London and two-time Chicago Marathon champion Brigid Kosgei, who smashed the women’s Marathon World Record that stood for 16 years.

Kosgei broke Paula Radcliffe’s record at the 2019 Chicago Marathon where she defended the title and set a new world best time of 2:14:04.

The Senators called on the national and county government to intensify efforts aimed at improving the sport stadia in the country.

“I want to congratulate both Kipchoge and Brigid who were able to put Kenya on the map for two days. When this kind of success is registered, we should give these athletes tax breaks, they should not come here and we start taxing them when all the rich people in this country are evading tax every day,” Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula stated.

Senate Minority Leader James Orengo stated; “I hope that in recognition of what our sports women and men are doing the government is going to wake up and have world class stadia all over the country.”

Their colleagues in the National Assembly also took an hour out of the House Business to commend the history making athletes but their request to have the House grant them tax exemption on prize money awarded at the competitions was shot down by Speaker Justin Muturi.

“People must make applications for those ones (taxes) look at your constitution more particularly article 210 on payment of taxes and you will see whether you can make that statement without making other additional information,” National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi replied to the legislators.

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LONDON, United Kingdom, Oct 16 – David de Gea’s availability for Manchester United’s clash with Liverpool is uncertain after picking up a suspected hamstring injury while on international duty.

Spain booked their place at Euro 2020 as they came from behind to draw 1-1 with Sweden, but United will be more concerned with the health of their goalkeeper, who limped out of the action.

The 28-year-old goalkeeper hobbled off after an hour of the game, and there are now big concerns in the United camp that he will be unable to play against Liverpool at Old Trafford in a huge game on Sunday afternoon.

In an innocuous-looking incident, De Gea immediately grabbed the back of his thigh after clearing a backpass from his own player, and there are fears he may have pulled his hamstring.

He sat on the ground in his six-yard box before making his own way off the pitch accompanied by the Spanish medical team.

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping the injury is not serious and will be anxiously waiting for an update on his fitness.

Spain did not comment after the game, but even if it is not serious, the keeper has to be rated as an early doubt for the visit of Jurgen Klopp’s men.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 16 – A few months after unveiling his VW Polo R5 super car in Mombasa Rally, former KNRC Division Two Champion Onkar Rai has a new navigator for this weekend’s KCB Guru Nanak Rally.

The three-times reigning Nakuru Rally winner will have his pace-notes called by Stuart Loudon who is a Scottish co-driver competing at the highest level of the sport.

Stuart completed another successful year co-driving in various rallies across the globe-from the cold and icy stages of Rallye Monte Carlo to the sun-drenched roads of Rally Barbados.

Alongside his WRC commitments with Robert Barrable, 2014 saw the pair take on selected ERC events, with their best finish being 3rd overall on The Circuit of Ireland – a great result with stiff competition. Stuart also finished 4th overall on Rally Barbados with island favorite Paul Bourne in a Ford Focus ‘07 WRC.

Meanwhile, Top Fry’s Carl “Flash” Tundo will be the first off the ramp in Sunday’s event.

Navigated by Tim Jessop in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo10, Tundo will be followed by Baldev Chager, African Champion Manvir Baryan, Onkar, Tejveer Rai and Ian Duncan. Duncan will be behind the wheels of his crowd pulling Nissan Hilux pickup.

Series leader Chager hopes to maintain his lead on the KNRC log and this is what he had to say:

“Team Kabras is well busy at the moment getting cars ready for the upcoming event. Evos are more or less done and await tests. Onkar’s VW Polo was a little delayed but well under way after the hill climb event. Guru Nanak being Guru Nanak, all the Sikh participants want to do well so everyone will be in top form to get the best results.

The Championship is still wide open but after Guru, it will start to take final shape as the season comes to a close. Cars all good as mentioned under good care of our technical guys.”

Tundo will be going for a repeat of Nanyuki where he swept the ground with all his opponents. He says he’ll be in hot pursuit of the R5 cars of Manvir Baryan (Skoda Fabia) and Onkar (VW Polo).

“There can only be one strategy at the moment with everyone driving so well and to try keep up with the R5s. Flat-out is the word for now-I hope I can repeat Nanyuki Rally,” Flash Tundo said.

The rally will be flagged off outside the KCB Bank branch in Kitengela from 8am onwards on Sunday. Thereafter cars will tackle four stages to be repeated twice. The cars will revolve around SGR and Stony Athi area.

Thereafter cars will traverse stages around SGR and Stony Athi.

START LIST

KNRC ROUND 6 OF 8 -20th October 2019

Car No. 1Carl Tash Tundo/Tim Jessop (Mitsubishi Evo 10)

Car No. 3 Baldev Singh Chagerr /Ravi Soni (Mitsubishi Evo10)

Car No. 2 Manvir Baryan /Drew Sturrock (Skoda Fabia R5)

Car No. 4 Onkar Singh Rai /Stuart Loudoun (VW Polo R5)

Car No. 8 Tejveer Singh Rai /Gavin Lawrence (Mitsubishi Evo 10)

Car No. 6 Ian Duncan /Anthony Nielsen (Nissan Pick)

Car No. 7 Eric Bengi /Tuta Mionki (Mitsubishi Evo 10)

Car No. 9 Jasmeet Chana /Ravi Chana (Mitsubishi Evo 10)

Car No. 11 Karan Kush K Patel /James Mwangi (Mitsubishi Evo 10)

Car No. 15Ammar ‘Bushy’ Haq /Victor Okundi (Mitsubishi Evo10)

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 16 – Kenya’s second-string side the Morans will get the 2019 Safari Sevens underway when they start their campaign against neighbors Uganda in the opening match on Saturday at the RFUEA Grounds.

However, the Moran’s will find tough oppositions as they headline Pool A where they will lock horns with South Africa and Burundi.

In contrast, Kenya’s main team the Shujaa have landed a relatively easy Pool as they were drawn in Group C alongside Blue Bulls from South Africa, Russia Academy and Zambia.

Defending champions Samurai lead Pool D and they are set to take on South Africa’s Western Province, Narvskaya Zastava and the Red Wailers from the United Kingdom.

Pool D has regular contenders Spain, Zimbabwe, Seventise and Kenya’s National Sevens Series winners KCB RFC.

Tournament Director Godwin Karuga while announcing the draw on Wednesday at the event venue, called on Kenyans to turn up in large numbers and rally their support behind the home teams.

“The games kick off on Saturday at 9am where the Morans will get the tournament underway against Uganda, it’s quite an exciting prospect to start the tournament. We are asking Kenyans to come early to support the Morans, I thank the fans who will be coming because without them the tournament will not be the same,” Karuga underscored.

On security Karuga said, “The tournament is back at the RFUEA Ground the home of rugby we really pride in having the tournament here because the fans are next to the players and the intensity of the game is very clear to everybody so come all come all.”

“We have worked very closely with all the government units and Nairobi county to ensure we have a safe tournament; we are not taking it lightly since we have got a number of international teams,” Karuga assured.

Kenya Rugby Union boss Oduor Gangla said they are ready to host a successful tourney especially after seeing the Africa Sevens premier tournament lose it ground in the past three years.

“Its high time we wrestled back the tittle, so we are hoping to see a very strong performance from the Kenyan teams. Let’s all came and support Shujaa, Morans and KCB,” Gangla pleaded.

Both the Shujaa and Moran’s teams will be named on Thursday.

POOLS

Pool A; South Africa, Uganda, Moran’s, Burundi

Pool B; Samurai, Western Province, Narvskaya Zastava

Pool C; Shujaa, Blue Bulls, Russia Academy, Zambia

Pool D; Spain, Zimbabwe, Seventise, KCB RFC

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 16 – Eliud Kipchoge quietly returned home early Wednesday morning after his historic Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna Austria, travelling in from Amsterdam, Netherlands where his management company NN Running are based.

True to his quiet nature and dislike for too much attention, Kipchoge flew to Nairobi and arrived a few minutes to 6am before immediately proceeding to his home in Eldoret, devoid of the fanfare that many were anticipating.

Kipchoge became the first man in history to run the marathon under two hours when he completed the Ineos Challenge in one hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds on Saturday.

Athletics Kenya (AK) boss Lt. Gen (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei while receiving women’s marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei at the AK headquarters in Nairobi on Wednesday morning said they will officially welcome him back home next week.

“I was in Vienna personally to witness him make history and we are proud of him. As AK we will host him here next week and officially welcome him back home because he has put Kenyan athletics somewhere high on the world map,” Tuwei said on Tuesday.

Kipchoge will recede to a period of rest and recovery where his team will work on getting him back to tip top shape after a grueling last five months of training and actual race day.

His next focus is on the Tokyo Olympics next year and the 34-year old world record holder said he is not done yet.

“There is still more to do in athletics,” Kipchoge said after his run in Vienna.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 16 – Brigid Kosgei now plots at making an assault on the Olympic Gold medal next year in Tokyo after obliterating Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year women’s marathon world record at Sunday’s Chicago Marathon.

Kosgei shaved a minute and 22 seconds off Radcliffe’s record set in 2003 and now hopes to crown that moment with the gold medal in Tokyo next year.

“As for now I hope for good recovery but my biggest target is to go to Tokyo next year and win that gold medal. That is what I will work for and hopefully I can achieve it,” Kosgei told Capital Sport on Tuesday morning after being received at the Athletics Kenya headquarters.

The 26-year old said she did not expect to break the world record in Chicago, but when she reached halfway and saw she was within range decided to go all out and make an assault for the 16-year mark.

“I was feeling okay but I did not expect to break the record. However, I started very strongly and when I reached the halfway point and felt that I still had strength, I decided to go for it. I am so happy to have achieved this record and more so in the presence of the previous record holder,” Kosgei further stated.

She believes she can even go further than the 2:L14:04 mark she set in the streets of Chicago.

“Yeah why not. I believe I can go lower by even a minute. If I can keep working hard, be disciplined and trust in God, I believe I can do it,” the confident Kosgei noted.

Her feat was also celebrated by Athletics Kenya boss Lt. Gen (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei who lavished her with praises for finally bringing the record home.

“Now as Kenya we have the records in both marathons and half marathons plus all the other records we have on track. We are proud of Brigid and how hard she has worked to be here,” Tuwei stated.

She could however not run away from the thorny issue of doping, something that has tainted Kenyan athletics with several high-profile names, most associated with her management camp being handed bans.

“I think the government is doing very well to fight doping in this country. I am tested so many times and I was also tested several times before Chicago and I am running clean,” Kosgei noted.

Meanwhile, AK boss Tuwei has stated that they will organize a seminar for all athletes in the country at the end of the year just like they did in 2018 to continue sensitizing the athletics community on the growing concern of doping.

“We are working very closely with IAAF on that. We want to invite a bigger pool of athletes than we did last year and we will also involve more coaches and managers,” Tuwei noted.

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 16 – Veteran Andrew Amonde will skipper Kenya’s Shujaa team at this weekend’s Safari Sevens in a squad that also features Kenya’s all-time try scorer Collins Injera.

Kenya’s second string the Moran’s will be captained by experienced Jeff Oluoch in a team that has youngsters Johnstone Olindi and Herman Humwa among others.

Other seasoned players who are back in the squad are Willy Ambaka and Nelson Oyoo.

The return of the core players comes after staying out the entire season following their dispute with the Kenya Rugby Union management over contact.

Amonde will lead Shujaa in aim of reclaiming the Safari Sevens title that they won in 2016 as they take on South Africa’s Blue Bulls, Russia Academy and Zambia in a relatively easy Pool C.

Among the veterans who did not make a comeback under the new head coach Paul Feeney are Oscar Ayodi, Sammy Oliech, Oscar Ouma, Dennis Ombachi and Billy Odhiambo.

Squads

Shujaa; Andrew Amonde (C), Bush Mwale, Willy Ambaka, Brian Wandera, Charles Omondi, Collins Injera, Mickey Wanjala, Daniel Taabu,Oscar Denis, Nelson Oyoo, Mike Okello, Jacob Ojee

Morans; Jeff Oluoch (C), Vincent Onyala, Alvin Otieno, Timothy Mmasi, Dan Sikuta, Monate Akwei, Herman Humwa, Ian Mabwa, Davis Nyaundi, Johnstone Olindi, Geoffrey Okwach, Joel Inzuga, Collins Shikoli.

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LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Oct 16 – The marathon and race walks at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could be moved to Sapporo where temperatures will be “significantly lower”, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday.

The IOC is considering the move because temperatures in Tokyo during the July 24-August 9 Games could reach the high 30s Celsius.

In Sapporo, more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) further north, they would be five to six degrees cooler during the day.

“Athletes’ health and well-being are always at the heart of our concerns,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement.

“The new far-reaching proposals to move the marathon and race walking events show how seriously we take such concerns.

“The Olympic Games are the platform where athletes can give ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ performances, and these measures ensure they have the conditions to give their best.”

The plan to change to change the location of the events has yet to be rubberstamped.

The initiative will need the backing of all of the major stakeholders, notably the host city Tokyo, the national Olympic committees and the relevant broadcasters.

The IOC Coordination Commission for Tokyo 2020 will dedicate a special session in its meeting in Tokyo at the end of the month to measures to deal with the heat.

When Tokyo last hosted the Olympics in 1964 the marathon — won by the great Ethiopian Abebe Bikila — was run at 1:00pm but that was in the month of October, not August as will be the case next year.

At the recent world championships in Doha, both marathons started at midnight but the heat and humidity still presented massive problems.

Ruth Chepngetich won the women’s race in a sluggish 2hr 32min 43sec — 17 minutes outside Paula Radcliffe’s then world record — while 28 of the 68 starters failed to finish.

The men’s race was held in cooler conditions but Lelisa Desisa’s winning time of 2hr 10min 40sec was over nine minutes slower than the world record.

“We have been working closely with the IOC and Tokyo 2020 on the potential weather conditions at next year’s Olympic Games and will continue to work with the IOC and Tokyo 2020 on the proposal to move the road events to Sapporo,” said International Amateur Athletics Federations’ President Sebastian Coe.

“Giving athletes the best platform for their performances within the environment they are in is central to all major events.

“We will work with the organisers to create the very best marathon and race walk courses for next year’s Olympic Games.”

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