Sport
Emmanuel Mutai replaces Moses Mosop in Kenya marathon team
Emmanuel Mutai at the 2009 Track and Field – 12th Annual IAAF World Championships in Athletics – Day 8. PHOTO/PR Photos
Injury forced Chicago Marathon title-holder Moses Mosop out of the Kenya’s Olympic marathon team, an Athletics official said Tuesday, adding that Emmanuel Mutai will take his spot at the London Games.
Mutai, the 2011 London Marathon champion, joins the winner of this year’s London race, Wilson Kipsang, on Kenya’s Olympic team along with the two-time defending world champion Abel Kirui.
Athletics Kenya President Isaiah Kiplagat said that Mosop had written to Kirui to pull out of the team citing a tendon injury.
Patrick Makau, who holds the world record, and Geoffrey Mutai, who set a course record after winning the New York Marathon last year, had been left out.
Geoffrey Mutai had said he was disappointed at the exclusion, adding that even though he was unable to defend the Boston marathon title this year, his previous performances should have won him a slot in the Olympic team.
Last year, Geoffrey Mutai ran the fastest Boston marathon in on record in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds. The time is not considered a world record because the Boston course is considered by the world track and field governing body IAAF ineligible for world records because it is too straight and too downhill.
Geoffrey Mutai dropped out of Boston marathon in April after 18 miles with stomach cramps. He said the humidity and heat affected his performance.
