NAIROBI, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Champion Marius Kipserem eyes to hit two birds with one stone when he returns to defend his Abu Dhabi marathon title in December.
Kipserem hopes a fast time in Abu Dhabi will propel him to compete at the London marathon in April and help him secure qualification to the Tokyo Olympic Games.
"I was very happy to win last year and I am very happy to be invited back. I am going to defend my title and hopefully with a better time than last year," Kipserem said on Thursday.
Kenya will use the big city marathon in London, Tokyo, and Boston to gauge which best four athletes to pick for the Tokyo Olympic Games and Kipserem believes he has what it takes to star in London and force his name on the team list.
"I also intend to compete at the London marathon, which I consider a good trial for the Tokyo Olympics. London is very important for me because a good result can earn me a spot in Kenya's four-member marathon team at the Olympics," he added.
Kipserem, 31, set a personal best at last year's event, with a time of two hours, four minutes and four seconds.
Kipserem won the 2018 Rotterdam in 2:06:11 in April and improved that record to 2:04:12 in Abu Dhabi in December.
However, Kipserem will be part of the 31 pacesetters, who have been contracted to help Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge to accomplish his task to become the first man to run the 42km distance in less than two hours.
The INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna is expected to be held in a ten-day window from Oct.12 to 20 depending on the weather.
"My job is to set the pace for 15km in the middle part of the race and I will be really glad if Eliud can become the first runner to break the two-hour barrier in a marathon," Kipserem said.
