Eventual winner Nicholas Bor leads the Ottawa 10km (© Victah Sailer)
Four of the six podium finishers from last year’s 10km in Ottawa will return to the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on 28 May.
Nicholas Bor is coming back to defend his title, having won last year in 27:55. The 28-year-old is keen to break the 27:24 course record set by Ethiopia's Deriba Merga in 2009.
Compatriot Simon Cheprot – who placed second last year in 27:57 – will also be back to see if he can beat Bor, having also finished just three seconds behind him in Prague over the same distance in 2014. Cheprot is in good shape, having recently finished sixth at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Cardiff 2016 in 1:00:12.
Wilson Kiprop is also coming back. The 2010 world half-marathon champion won the Ottawa 10K in 2014 in 28:01.
Kenyans may dominate the men’s field in terms of numbers but they will face strong competition from Moroccan runners. Morocco’s Mohamed Ziani is the fastest in the field, having clocked a PB of 27:28 just two months ago. Compatriot Ahmed Tamri, the 2011 World University Games half-marathon champion, is also set to compete.
Once again the race will double up as the Canadian 10km Championships. Reid Coolsaet, who returns to Ottawa after a long absence, will be eyeing the podium for Canadian men and will be joined by the likes of Matt Loiselle and Jeremy Deere.
Lanni Marchant, who finished third overall and top Canadian in last year’s race, will defend her national title against Natasha Wodak and Laura Batterink, who took the silver and bronze medals 12 months ago.
As has been previously announced, world half marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir will return to Ottawa, keen to improve on her second-place finish from last year and perhaps even challenge the course record of 30:56.
African Games half marathon champion Mamitu Daska could be Jepchirchir’s toughest rival. The Ethiopian has previously won 10km races in Boston, New York, Boulder, Bangalore, Atlanta and Addis Ababa and has a best of 31:04.
Compatriot Yebrqual Melese, the 2015 Houston Marathon champion, will also be on the start line along with Kenya’s Gladys Yator and Algerian Olympian Souad Ait Salem.
Organisers for the IAAF
