Jepchirchir and Korir will try to prove the victory again in the New York marathon

50,000 runners will participate this Sunday in new york marathonwhere the Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir and his countrymen Albert Korir they seek to reaffirm their titles in an event that attracts thousands of spectators.

Jepchirchir is the only athlete -male or female- to win the marathon at an Olympic Games (Tokyo 2020), as well as one in Boston, in April and one in New York in 2019 and 2021.

“I am excited to return to New York to defend my title and run faster in this year’s marathon,” said Jepchirchir, who won last year, on the 50th anniversary of this important sporting event, registering 2 hours 22 minutes and 39 seconds for the distance of 42.195 kilometers of the event.

She said that as a mother and role model, she was motivated “to inspire the next generation of runners” as she ran in all five boroughs and raised “the bar for women everywhere.”

Korir, for his part, also emphasized that he was happy to return to the Big Apple after his first victory last year, when he stopped the clock in 2:08:22, after finishing second in 2019. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 marathon has been cancelled.

“I feel a great responsibility to defend my title,” he told the New York newspaper and said he was surprised that the list of athletes returning to defend their title was so few names.

“I’m training hard to join them. It’s not easy, but I have the benefit of experience.”

Wheelchair division champion Marcel Hug from Switzerland has also returned to New York, where he will be joined by Olympic and Paralympic stars Galen Rupp (silver medalist in the 10,000 meters at the London Olympics, 2012) and Daniel Romanchuk, both from in the United States.

Romanchuk also won six major marathons between 2018 and 2019.