Michael Githae is not a much-known name in the world of athletics. But who is he? Born on 24th August 1994, Michael Githae’s name came to the limelight when he claimed the Fukuoka Marathon on 5th December 2021 victory in a personal best time of 2:07:51 at the 75th and final edition of the race.
He has participated in many races before. On 21 February 2016 Tokyo Ohme-Hochi Road Race, Tokyo he clocked 1:31:46 finishing position 2 and winning a bronze medal.
On March 5 2017 he won a gold medal in Shizuoka Marathon, registering a personal best of 2:11:40 at the time.
In December 2021 he participated in the Fukuoka International Marathon which was awarded a World Athletics Heritage Plaque in 2019 and started in 1947 and is the second oldest marathon in Japan behind the now-defunct Lake Biwa Marathon. He won it clocking a personal and a season-best time of 2:07:51
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His victory was an improvement on his previous best of 2:08:17, which he set when finishing fourth in the 2019 Fukuoka Marathon. Japan’s Kyohei Hosoya finished second, 25 seconds adrift of Githae.
In the Tokyo 2021 marathon that was held on Sunday 6, Michael finished in position 10 clocking a 2:07:55, a race that saw Eliud Kipchoge record a 2:02:40.
Kipchoge crossed the finish line at 2:02:40 ahead of Amos Kipruto who came second at 2:03:13, while Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola rounded up the top three with a 2:04:14 timeline.
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