Kenya’s road race specialist Peres Jepchirchir will be the guest of honour at the 2022 Great Ethiopian Run scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 20, in Addis Ababa.
The Kenyan athlete will be accorded VIP honours at the race whereby more than 40,000 athletes, including 500 elite runners will participate.
According to the organizers, the reigning Olympic marathon champion will grace the event alongside her loved ones.
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“Peres Jepchirchir, the Olympic Marathon Champion from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will be the VIP guest at the 2022 Sofi Malt Great Ethiopian Run International 10km taking place in Addis Ababa on Sunday 20th November 2022.
“She will come to Addis with her husband and daughter, arriving in time for the pre-race press conference on the morning of Friday 18th November. It will be her first visit to Ethiopia,” read part of the statement from the organizers.
Besides being an Olympic champion, Peres has also won the World Half Marathon title twice. She clinched her maiden title in 2016 before adding another one two years ago.
The 2022 Boston Marathon winner boasts of a personal best time of 2:17.16, more than three seconds slower than the current world record held by compatriot Brigid Kosgei.
Jepchirchir’s 2022 season did not go according to plans due to injury-related issues.
She had to pull out of the World Athletics Championship which was held in Oregon between Friday, July 15 and Sunday, July 24 because of a hip injury.
Moreover, the 29-year-old could not defend her New York City Marathon title due to an unspecified injury.
Hailed as one of the best races in the world, the Great Ethiopian run was started by former Olympic champion Haile Haile Gebrselassie in 2001.
Eldoret City Marathon director Moses Tanui, who faced Gebrselassie at the 1993 World Championships staged in Stuttgart, Germany is also expected to attend the event.
Also Read: Peres Jepchirchir Withdraws From New York City Marathon