Edna Kiplagat en route to her 2:19:50 second-place finish at the Virgin London Marathon last month (Photo courtesy of PhotoRun, Inc. All rights reserved)
The Xinhua News Service has posted an interview with World Champion Edna Kiplagat (Nike) and countrywoman Mary Keitany on the possibility for a Kenyan gold medal in the women’s marathon this summer in London. In it, Edna dismisses any notion that Kenyan athletes are somehow gifted or their accomplishments are any easier to attain than those of any other athlete:
“Kiplagat says there is no secret to success other than training hard and motivation, self-esteem and discipline.
‘Many people have come up with theories that Kenyans run better because of a special gene in us. I don’ t know what gene they are talking about because we have reached where we are as a result of hard work. If such genes existed then I presume there is one among Brazilian footballers.'”
