FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUFA TAKES ON KEITANY AT 2016 VIRGIN MONEY LONDON MARATHON
Tigist Tufa will return to the scene of her greatest triumph when she lines
up to defend her Virgin Money London Marathon title on Sunday 24 April
against the woman she beat to win the coveted crown in 2015 and the woman
who won the world title last summer.
Tufa upset the odds when she outran four much-fancied Kenyans to win last
year, becoming only the second Ethiopian ever to claim the women's title on
a day that saw record numbers cross the London Marathon finish line at the
end of the 35th anniversary race.
Tufa was at the head of them all, producing a devastating burst in the last
three miles to take a shock victory in front of two-time winner Mary
Keitany.
She returns to the British capital determined to show that last year's
victory was no fluke after finishing sixth at the Beijing World
Championships last August, a race won by fellow Ethiopian Mare Dibaba, and
third at the New York City Marathon where Keitany enjoyed her second
victory last November.
"Winning in London was the greatest moment in my career so far," said Tufa,
who won the Shanghai and Ottawa marathons in 2014. "I am happy to be
returning to London in 2016 to defend my title. I know it won't be easy
because the London fields are always the best in the world, but I am
determined to do my best again."
The 28-year-old denied Keitany a third London Marathon victory last year
and the Kenyan looks set to be Tufa's main rival again in 2016. Keitany
smashed the African record with 2:18:37, the fourth fastest time in
history, when she won the London Marathon for a second time in 2012 but she
needed a sprint finish to secure last year's runner-up spot by one second.
Keitany is again the fastest woman on the start list, one of nine women in
the elite field with personal bests better than 2 hours 22 minutes, while
no fewer than five have run the gruelling 26.2-mile challenge in under
2:20.
Dibaba, a former Chicago Marathon champion who runs in London for the first
time, is one of that quintet, with a best of 2:19:52. She and Keitany
currently lie neck and neck at the top of the Abbott World Marathon Majors
Series IX standings on 41 points apiece, with Tufa just seven behind.
While competition between those three looks set to be fierce, London's
sub-2:20 club includes two other highly–ranked Kenyans who have been in
winning form: Gladys Cherono, the 2015 Berlin Marathon champion, who will
make her London Marathon debut, and Florence Kiplagat, last year's Chicago
Marathon champion and world half-marathon record holder, who was fifth last
year. Kiplagat runs in London for the fifth time in 2016 seeking her first
victory.
Aselefech Mergia, another of Tufa's compatriots, also falls into that elite
bracket. A three-time winner of the lucrative Dubai Marathon, Mergia is the
2010 London champion and was fourth last year.
The five-strong Kenyan challenge is completed by Priscah Jeptoo, the
Olympic bronze medallist who was a London Marathon winner three years ago,
and Jemima Sumgong, a former Rotterdam Marathon champion who was sixth in
2015, one place ahead of Jeptoo.
The European challenge will be led by Portugal's Jessica Augusto and Volha
Mazuronak from Belarus. Augusto ran a personal best to place sixth here in
2014, her third top 10 finish, while Mazuronak was ninth last year in a PB,
just ahead of Morocco's Rkia El Moukim, who is also in the line-up again.
With Team GB Olympic places up for grabs, there will be fierce competition
among the leading Britons. The first two home with British Athletics's
qualifying time of 2:31 are guaranteed a trip to Rio.
That puts Sonia Samuels and Alyson Dixon in the driving seat as they both
beat the standard at the Berlin Marathon last September.
Samuels was the first Briton home in London last year and the Sale Harrier
finished ninth in Berlin in a personal best of 2:28:04. Dixon also ran a PB
in the German capital and the Sunderland Stroller will be hoping to make up
for 2012 when she missed out on the London Games.
Susan Partridge could also be in the mix after coming desperately close to
the selection time in Chicago last October, while Freya Ross has high hopes
of making the Olympic team again after running at London 2012 as a late
replacement for Paula Radcliffe. The experienced Louise Damen is also
capable of achieving the time, and marathon debutantes Jess Coulson and
Charlotte Purdue should not be discounted either.
Hugh Brasher, Virgin Money London Marathon Event Director, said: "Tigist
Tufa showed last year that predictions mean nothing in marathon racing when
she beat all the favourites with a thrilling victory.
"This year's line-up is no less exciting with five members of the
prestigious sub-2:20 club all set to challenge the champion. With the Rio
Olympics around the corner providing an extra incentive to all the elite
runners, it is set to be another race to remember."
Virgin Money London Marathon 2016 women's elite field and personal bests:
Tigist Tufa (ETH) 2:21:52
Mary Keitany (KEN) 2:18:37
Gladys Cherono (KEN) 2:19:25
Aselefech Mergia (ETH) 2:19:31
Florence Kiplagat (KEN) 2:19:44
Mare Dibaba (ETH) 2:19:52
Priscah Jeptoo (KEN) 2:20:14
Feyse Tadese (ETH) 2:20:27
Jemima Sumgong (KEN) 2:20:48
Jessica Augusto (POR) 2:24:25
Volha Mazuronak (BLR) 2:25:36
Rkia El Moukim (MAR) 2:26:33
Diana Lobacevske (LTU) 2:28:03
Sonia Samuels (GBR) 2:28:04
Freya Ross (GBR) 2:28:10
Alyson Dixon (GBR) 2:29:30
Louise Damen (GBR) 2:30:00
Susan Partridge (GBR) 2:30:46
Irvette Van Blerk (RSA) 2:31:26
Cassie Fien (AUS) 2:38:53
Jess Coulson (GBR) Debut
Charlotte Purdue (GBR) Debut
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