Kenya: Injured Wanjiru Pulls Out

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Chris Mbaisi

29 March 2011

Olympic champion Samuel Wanjiru has pulled out of this month’s London Marathon because of a knee injury. His place will, however be taken by fellow Kenyan and former champion Martin Lel, organisers said yesterday.

Wanjiru, who won gold in Beijing in 2008 and the London Marathon a year later, has not raced since winning the Chicago Marathon in October to retain his World Marathon Majors crown, which earned him a cool half million dollars. “I am bitterly disappointed not to be able to race in London this year,” Wanjiru, whose wife recently dropped a charge of attempted murder against him, said in a statement.

“Winning the London Marathon in 2009 was one the great achievements of my career and I was hoping to become the London champion again. But I have been suffering some problems with my right knee recently which meant I had to withdraw from the Lisbon half marathon. Unfortunately, it has not responded well enough for me to make my final preparations for London.”

Lel, winner in London in 2005, 2007 and 2008, has asked to be added to the field after recovering from his own injury problems, race director David Bedford said. “We are delighted to announce the late addition of Martin Lel, one of the great champions in London Marathon history,” he said.

However, Lel will have to contend with presence of reigning champion Tsegaye Kebede from Ethiopia. Kebede became the second Ethiopian to take the men’s 2010 crown when he beat Kenya’s Emmanuel Mutai and the Moroccan Jaouad Gharib.

Race organisers said the women’s race will be “undoubtedly our strongest ever” with defending champion Liliya Shobukhova of Russia rated the favourite. She took the London crown from Irina Mikitenko, the 2008 and 2009 champion who dropped out in 2010 after struggling with an injury. But the German will be back to challenge again along with 2007 champion China’s Zhou Chunxiu, who recently retained her Asian Games title.

Zhou will be joined by her compatriot, the world champion Bai Xue, while Romania’s Olympic champion Constantina Dita returns for her 10th London Marathon. The 2011 race will also feature Ethiopians Bezunesh Bekele and Askale Tafa who finished fourth and fifth respectively in 2010, and Aberu Kebede, the Berlin winner.

Edna Kiplagat, the newly-crowned New York champion, leads the Kenyan challenge supported by Mary Keitany, who was third in New York while Dutchwoman Lornah Kiplagat, fifth in 2007 and a former world half marathon champion, returns to London after four years.

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