Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele has confirmed he will run in the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on Friday January 20, just months after running the second-fastest marathon time in history.
The three-time Olympic gold medallist stormed to victory at the Berlin Marathon in September, crossing the finish line in 2:03:03, just six seconds short of Dennis Kimetto’s world record.
Bekele said he is targeting Dubai for the next chapter in his marathon running career and it will be his second appearance at the event after an injury forced him to pull up on his Dubai debut in 2015.
“It’s a massive boost to have Kenenisa confirmed for the 2017 staging of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon,” said event director Peter Connerton. “His performance in Berlin proves that he is now very comfortable at the distance and we know he has unfinished business in Dubai after dropping out here two years ago.”
Bekele still holds the world records for 5,000 and 10,000 metres.
Bekele said: “It was fantastic for me to get a personal best (in Berlin), but I’m still disappointed to have missed out on the world record. But I could see that I still had to make a couple of changes in my training.”
The Dubai Marathon will include three categories – the 42.195km Challenge, the 10km Road Race and the 4km Fun Run.
