Tsegay the top name at Daegu International Marathon
Daegu will revive memories of when it was the host city of the 2011 IAAF World Championships when around 16,000 runners compete in the Daegu International Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, on 14 April.
The race will be over the course used for the World Championships and the leading name in the elite field announced by the race organisers on Monday is Ethiopia’s Yemane Tsegay Adhane, the winner of last year Rotterdam Marathon, where he set his personal best of 2:04:48.
Tsegay was fourth in the 2009 IAAF World Championships Marathon and while he did not compete in Daegu two years later, he is familiar with Korea after having won the Gongju Marathon in 2009 and also having taken third place in the Seoul International Marathon two years ago.
This will be Tsegay’s first race over any distance since his Rotterdam Marathon win almost a year ago.
Daegu International Marathon race director Jun Kim has also managed to bring back the top  three men from last year:  Kenya’s David Kiyeng, who won with a course record of 2:07:57, and his compatriots Gilbert Chepkwony and Benson Barus, who were second and third respectively.
A strong Ethiopian group going to Daegu will be headed by Debebe Tolossa, aho has a best of 2:07:41, while former top track runner Ali Abdosh will make his Marathon debut here after several impressive Half Marathon outings.
France’s Patrick Tambwe, now 37, provides a European presence on the start line. Last year, Tambwe ran 2:07:30 in the Tiberias Marathon to be the fastest man in the world who wasn’t from Kenya or Ethiopia.
Overall, there will be six men with personal bests better than 2:08:00 and 13 who have run faster than 2:09:00.
The women’s elite field includes two Kenyan runners with fast personal bests: Kenya’s Margaret Akai, who ran 2:24:17 in Shanghai last December, and Agnes Barsosio, with a best of  2:24:27 from the 2012 Frankfurt Marathon.
Ethiopia will be represented by Aheza Kiros, who ran 2:24:30 in Dubai earlier this year, and Mulu Seboka, who has a best of 2:25:45 from last year.
Source: IAAF.org
