Photo by Chris Lotsbom
When it comes to the sport of running, it is almost impossible to have not heard of the unspoken rivalry between Kenyans and Ethiopians. The intense competitive attitude felt towards one another stems from the middle distances to the long, and is a result of both cultures being so absolutely elite in their rights. The Kenyans have managed to rule the Honthe olulu Marathon for a very long time but have possibly just hit a block on the road to success. In the past 20 years of the marathon in Waikiki, 19 Kenyans have won the event. The only non Kenyan winner was 10 years ago (Ambesse Tolossa of Ethiopia.)
This year is the first time in a while where a major contender for the men's overall title is an Ethiopian. Feyisa Lilesa is the recent silver medalist from Rio this year who (when passing the finish line) crossed his arms in an 'X' above his head as a sign of solidarity for the Oromo protests in his native country.
Lilesa's personal best of 2:04:52 makes him one of the highest contenders for the title, and the fastest in the race ahead of Wilson Chebet who won in 2014 and finished second in 2015. The third fastest mark is held be Feyisa's countryman Deribe Robi who ran 2:05:58 at the Eindhoven Marathon in 2015. Three of the last four athletes are of Kenyan nationality, Lawrence Cherono (2:07:24,) Robert Kwambai (2:08:18,) and Festus Talam (2:06:26.)
The only non African athlete is Yusei Nakao of Japan who, in 2015 ran 2:13:23 at the Oita Marathon. In his craft, Nakao is the best of his kind as he was the first from Japan to ever crack the 2:20 barrier.
The women's race only holds five athletes who are spread out over different countries. Buzunesh Deba (Ethiopia, 2:19:59,) Zhang Yingying (China, 2:22:38,) Bridgid Jepcheschir (Kenya, 2:24:35,) and Eri Okubo (Japan, 2:26:08.) The athletes ability isn't entirely as spread out as the men's, however Yingying has been a standout since she was a junior. Zhang ran her astonishing personal best as an 18 year old. Her, and her Buzunesh will be the athletes to look out for tomorrow as both posses the potential to do something special with their abilities.
