Albert Korir revving to return to marathon of bittersweet memories in November

In 2019, a brave Albert Korir made his debut at the New York City Marathon, and to everyone’s surprise, he finished second in a time of 2:08:36.

He seemed to fall in love with the course and returned in 2021 and this time round, he meant business when he floored a strong field to take top honours in the race. He made a return in 2022 with the hope of successfully defending his title but his mission spectacularly failed.

Korir faded to finish seventh and blamed the poor weather conditions for his performance. After the race, he went to receive medical attention and returned back to racing this year.

He was fourth at the Boston Marathon earlier this year, an improvement from his performance last year where he finished sixth. As he heads back to this familiar course, Korir only has one goal to accomplish, to win the title.

In a post on his Instagram handle, Korir said: “I will be back to the 2023 New York City Marathon and I will try my best to win. Thrilled to be back to the course I love…thrilled to be back to the city’s streets and thrilled to be back to the cheering crowds.”

As he makes a return to the familiar course, he will also lock horns with familiar rivals including his compatriot Evans Chebet who won the race last year. Chebet also beat Korir in the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

Another one to watch out for is Geoffrey Kamworor who has successfully bounced back from an injury setback.

He finished fourth at the World Cross-country Championships and went ahead to finish second at the London Marathon. Kamworor also returns to a familiar course where he has won twice and finished second once.

The newly crowned World marathon silver medallist Maru Teferi of Israel, two-time World silver medallist Mosinet Geremew of Ethiopia, and Olympic silver medalist Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands will also be in action.