NAIROBI, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Women's world marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei says she is currently concerned with health and safety and not competition as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects.
Kosgei, who was to defend her London Marathon title on April 26 before the event was pushed back to October 4, acknowledged that she faces a dilemma on where to run next once global sport returns to a state of normalcy.
The Chicago Marathon is set for October 11, one week after the rescheduled London Marathon, and Kosgei knows she cannot run in both.
"I will have to choose one race," Kosgei said on Thursday. "The two races are too close and I have to decide where to run next. It is a big dilemma. But what is important now is to see the world return to normalcy and athletes training and competing again."
Kosgei, 24, won the 2019 Chicago Marathon last October in a new world record time of 2:14:04. After two months of recovery, she returned to training with an eye on defending her London Marathon crown.
But as the COVID-19 pandemic destroyed the sporting calendar, Kosgei was forced to retreat to her home in Eldoret, where she is training individually after the Kenyan government shut all training camps.
"I was two months into my training, I had less time remaining before heading to London. I also had the Olympic Games in my mind, but we had to shelve all that because of the virus," she added.
Last year, Kosgei said she was already relishing the prospect of lowering her own world marathon record. That was in response to compatriot Eliud Kipchoge's run in Vienna last October, where he became the first man to run the marathon distance in under two hours, doing so in 1:59:40.
"With good preparations I think a woman running 2:10 is possible," she said. "I am focused on reducing my time again. I still believe a new world record time is still achievable and I will be giving it another attempt."
However, Kosgei stopped short of confirming where she would attempt a world record.
"I don't know when and where I will be trying the world record. But I know it will have to be done soon. In Chicago last year, I was expecting to run 2:16 or 2:17, but I ended up with 2:14. So anything is possible," she added.
