Kenyan Ebenyo targets world record at Cape Town 12k CityRun

Kenyan Ebenyo targets world record in Cape Town

JOHANNESBURG, October 20 (ANA) – Kenya’s Daniel Simiu Ebenyo will make an assault on the 12km World Best time of 33:27 at the 2021 Absa Cape Town 12K CityRun on November 21.

The World Best time was set by fellow Kenyan Morris Munene Gachaga in Cape Town on May 21, 2017 at the same event.

“We are very excited for the Absa Cape Town 12K CityRun and believe that Daniel will have a very good shot at breaking the World Best,” said his Manager, Lee-Roy Newton, founder of Newton Sports Agency. “He has had a fantastic season thus far and only a fall in the 5000m final at the Olympics cost him an opportunity of a medal in that event.”

Up until September 12 when the 10km World Record was broken, Ebenyo had been the list leader with his 27:50 run on March 7 in Berlin.

For Ebenyo, 2021 has certainly been an exceptional year.  He qualified for the Olympic Games 5000m at the Newton Classic Qualifier on May 28 in Durban. The race was held in adverse conditions with a strong wind blowing down the backstraight making things difficult for the athletes.

The event was put on specifically for athletes to have an opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games, with the qualification period ending at midnight on 31 May. Adverse conditions or not, Ebenyo grasped the opportunity with both hands and in a solo effort clocked 13:12.26 to book his place to Tokyo.

His class and quality came through at the Kenyan Olympic Trials in the 5000m where he finished second in 13:05.05 in the finals in Nairobi – at an altitude of 1795m on 19 June. His Olympic Qualifier in Durban was a Personal Best by three seconds. His second place finish in Nairobi, lowered his best by seven seconds, and 10 days later at the Spitzen Leichtathletik in Luzern, Switzerland, Ebenyo chashed Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo to the line to lower his best again. This time to 12:55.88 which is the 10th fastest time in the world this year.

“I am looking forward to the Absa Cape Town 12K CityRun on 21 November,” said Obenyo from his training base in Iten.

“The Olympics were unfortunate for me so this is a big opportunity for me to end the year on a high and I will be looking to break the 12km World Best. I have trained hard for it and am confident I can lower the Best. I know Morris (Munene Gachaga) and I know that he is a very good athlete, so I know the time will be tough to break, but I am very confident of setting a new World Best.” – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman