Christopher Cheboiboch, who was third in last November’s New York Marathon was humbled as his reputation fell victim to lesser known names at the Discovery Kenya Half Marathon, finishing sixth.
The 27 year-old who was also runner-up at both the Boston and New York City Marathons in 2002, was beaten by the little known Richard Kiprono Maiyo, 26, who was the winner of the ninth edition of this event sponsored by Italian sports good manufacturer Fila.
The race which featured 303 athletes was won by Maiyo in 61:25:4, an improvement on the 62:07 race best ran by Philip Tarus in 2000.
Maiyo’s team mates at the Fila training camp Wilson Kiprotich and James Kwambai finished runner-up and third in 61:33:2 and 61:42:1 respectively.
“It wasn’t a tough race as such, especially after I was half-way through when I found myself still very strong,” confirmed Maiyo, after the race.
Leading results:
1 Richard Kiprono Maiyo 61:25:4
2 Wilson Kiprotich 61:33:2
3 James Kwambai 61:42:1
4 William Todoo 61:44:9
5 Kiptoo Simon Chepkoech 61:51:6
6 Christopher Cheboiboch 61:57:3
7 Samuel Kimaiyo 62:32:7
8 John Kyalo 62:46:9
9 Wilson Kibet 62:47:8
10 Linus Ngetich 62:48:0
