Geay set to compete in Boston Marathon

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s top long distance runner, Gabriel Geay, will compete in this year’s Boston Marathon scheduled to take place on April 15 in the United States.

In the race to feature other top runners in the world, Geay is the only Tanzanian athlete who has been invited, according to Athletics Tanzania (AT) secretary general Jackson Ndaweka.

Ndaweka said Geay is now in intensive training ahead of the race scheduled to start from Eastern Massachusetts to Boston.

“It is a good race for Geay, who apart from looking to win a gold medal and the fabulous cash prize, he will also be gauging his prowess ahead of the Paris Olympic Games scheduled from July 26 to August 11,” said Ndaweka.

Aside from Geay, who last year defied the odds by finishing second at the 127th Boston Marathon ahead of favourite Eliud Kipchoge, also the Olympic Games squad comprises Alphonce Simbu, Magdalena Shauri and Jackline Sakilu who will represent the country in marathon.

Kenyan Evans Chebet pulled away from compatriot Benson Kipruto with less than two kilometres to successfully defend his Boston Marathon title. Chebet recorded 02:05:54 while Geay 2:06:04 and Benson Kipruto also from Kenya recorded 2:06:06.

World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge failed to sustain the heat and finished sixth in 2:09:23.

The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, the United States. 

It is traditionally held on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was inspired by the success of the first marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics.

The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world’s best-known road racing events.

It is one of six World Marathon Majors. Its course runs from Hopkinton in southern Middlesex County to Copley Square in Boston.

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has organized this event annually since 1897,[3] including a “virtual alternative” after the 2020 road race was canceled due to the Covid -19 pandemic.

The race has been managed by DMSE Sports since 1988. Amateur and professional runners from all over the world compete in the Boston Marathon each year, braving the hilly Massachusetts terrain.