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By Bob Ramsak
Three-time Flora London Marathon champion Martin Lel and reigning world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba will head a strong Kenyan Olympic squad announced by Athletics Kenya today.
Lel, who took down the London course record with his career best 2:05:15 10 days ago, will be joined by Robert Cheruiyot and Sammy Wanjiru.
Cheruiyot, 33, cruised to his fourth Boston Marathon victory on Monday while Wanjiru, 21, the world record holder for the half-marathon at 58:33, finished second behind Lel in London last week in 2:05:24, also a career best.
Ndereba, who also won the world title in 2003 and world silver in 2005, returns to the Olympic Games as the reigning silver medallist. Following up on her victory in the sultry conditions of Osaka last summer, Ndereba, 35, finished fifth at the ING New York City Marathon in November.
She’ll be joined by Martha Komu, winner of the Paris Marathon earlier this month, and Salina Kosgei, who was fourth in London. Komu, 25, has a personal best of 2:25:33 from Paris, and Kosgei, 31, has a 2:23:22 best to her credit from Berlin in 2006.
This year’s winner in Rotterdam, Wilson Kipsang, and reigning world champion Luke Kibet have been named as reserves on the men’s squad. Rita Jeptoo, who finished third in Boston on Monday, is the reserve for the women.
Notably, no Kenyan has ever won an Olympic marathon.
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