Tirunesh Dibaba to debut at London Marathon

A lot of eyes have been on the London Marathon’s men’s field and Mo Farah’s debut on home turf there, but a similar storyline is unfolding on the women’s side.

Priscah Jeptoo won the event last year and also went on to win the 2013 New York City Marathon which brought in US$500,000, but she’s far from a lock to win in London again in 2014.

Like Farah, Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba will make her marathon debut at the London marathon. Dibaba has had even more success on the world stage in the women’s events than Farah has in the men’s. She is a three-time world champion over 10,000m and the two-time world champion over 5000m. She’s also a three-time Olympic gold medallist, twice in the 10,000m in 2008 and 2012 and once in the 5000m in 2008. She’s also owner of two Olympic bronze medals from the 2004 and 2012 5000m. But, again like Farah, Dibaba will be hard-pressed to win the London Marathon, a race which consistently outdoes itself in putting together some of the greatest marathon fields ever.

Tiki Gelana, also of Ethiopia, will be racing in London as well. Gelana is the 2012 Olympic marathon champ. She also holds the Ethiopian record of 2:18:58 from Rotterdam in 2012, although she did drop out of the 2013 world championships in Moscow.

Kenyan Edna Kiplagat will again be vying for her first London Marathon victory, after finishing runner-up in 2012 and 2013. She won the 2011 and 2013 world championships and was also the champion at the 2010 Los Angeles and New York City marathons.

Florence Kiplagat of Kenya (unrelated to the former) and Ethiopian Aberu Kebede, who have traded Berlin Marathon wins for the previous four years will both also being looking for their first London wins. Kebede won in Berlin in 2010 and 2012 and Kiplagat won the race in 2011 and 2013.

The London Marathon will be held on April 13.