Mary Keitany and Stanley Biwott held on through oppressive hot and humid conditions on their way to dominating victories at the 7th running of the Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon.
In heat that lingered at 32 degrees Celsius and high humidity, Keitany and Biwott both quickly established sizeable leads that turned into two of the largest margins of victory to date featuring a world class field.
Keitany, whose time of 68:52 bested Edith Chelimo and the field by more than 3 minutes, made a convincing case for her candidacy as one of the three Olympic representatives for Kenya at the marathon distance. The race was one of attrition as Keitany continually pushed the leading pacemen through the first 8 kilometers until she was all alone on the scenic streets of Olomouc. Her rivals, Joyce Chepkirui and Violah Jepchumba quickly lost contact, with Chepkirui fading to 3rd and Jepchumpba failing to finish.
“I am very excited to be here in Olomouc and that I had a chance to be a two time champion. It was a tough race, it was very difficult to run the pace the whole time, especially since I had to do it by myself.”
Biwott, whose time of 60:45 created one of the largest margins of victory in recent memory, was also focused very early on with a quick finishing time. His victory over Robert Mengich by 4:31 stunned many in attendance as the field featured some of the best road racing talent in the world including Geoffrey Ronoh, whose commitment to the early 5k split of 14:09 ultimately cost him, fading to 6th under the sweltering conditions. Geoffrey Kipyego took advantage of the weather to round out the top 3.
“The course was good, the problem was the heat. After 5k, I went ahead and made a pace with Richard (Mengich) that I knew I could hold until the finish.”
The courageous efforts of both winners sets the stage for Rio de Janiero where concerns abound about the tropical climate heading into the Olympic Games. For these two athetes this was "Rio de Olomouc". For Mary, it was an opportunity to persuade Athletics Kenya that she is capable of a podium finish at the world’s biggest stage.
“I am very happy that I had the opportunity to defend my title from 2015. For me, seeing I was number 4 on that team. I do not know what they will decide (on July 1st). I would like to go to Rio.”
In the case of Stanley Biwott, his undisputed quality over a field that included 6 athletes with personal bests under the one-hour mark, is hopefully a sign of success in Rio.
“I will not forgot (Olomouc) in a good way. I trust my training. I would like to win.”
