Kenya's Florence Kiplagat targets August Beijing World Championships

Florence Kiplagat

Nairobi, Nov 21 (IANS)

Chicago Marathon bronze medallist will cut short her holiday to focus on the 2015 season with the target of representing Kenya at the Beijing World Championships in August.

Kiplagat, who missed out on a ticket to the World Championships in Moscow in 2013, believes she is ready to compete in the ultimate distance at the World Marathon Championships in Beijing, reports Xinhua.

"I have just started my leave, but it won't be long as 2015 is an important year for me and I want to return to training and focus on the World Championships in August," Kiplagat said Thursday from Eldoret.

"Of course, competing in Beijing is not my decision but I believe running in the early marathons will silence my critics and convince the selectors to select me in the team," she added.

The 27-year-old will have two road races and a marathon event before April before focussing on the World Championships.

Last year, she went a gear down to compete at the Commonwealth Games, where she finished second over the 10,000 metres distance.

Kiplagat has already confirmed that she will return to Barcelona, where she set world records for the half marathon and 20km earlier this year.

Kiplagat stopped the clock in the Spanish city in an hour and 05.12 minutes, taking 38 seconds off the previous mark of 1:05:50, which was set by her compatriot Mary Keitany at the 2011 RAK Half Marathon.

At the 20km intermediate point, she was timed at an hour and 01.56 minutes, which was also a world record.

"I'm returning to Barcelona with the aim of running under 65 minutes," said Kiplagat.

Eight weeks later, Kiplagat went on to finish second in the London Marathon in two hours and 20.24 minutes and she also won a 10,000m silver medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

In October, she was in the leading pack but lacked the energy to sustain the lead and dropped to third in a race won by compatriot Rita Jeptoo, who has since been banned after her sample A tested positive for Erythropoietin (EPO).

Earlier this month, she and her compatriot Dennis Kimetto were named as the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS)'s Best Marathon Runners of the Year for 2014.