© Copyright – 2020 – Athletics Illustrated
For some unknown reason, a few Ethiopian athletes scheduled to compete in the 2020 Virgin London Marathon, missed their chartered flight from Addis Ababa to London.
Race organisers chartered a Boeing 737-500 from London to pick-up first the Kenyan competitors and then onto Ethiopia to take the athletes to London.
The jet took off from Eldoret at 8.15 PM on Sunday after picking up the Kenyan team, which included defending men’s and women’s champions and world record holders Eliud Kipchoge (2:01:39) and Brigid Kosgei (2:14:04).
The Boeing jet stopped at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa to pick up the Ethiopian team which included the second-fastest marathon runner, Kenenisa Bekele. Apparently, the coach also missed the flight.
But some reports out of the Ethiopian capital on Monday indicated that some Ethiopian athletes and a coach missed the flight “due to personal issues.”
The course
The map shows the loop at St. James Park in London. There are three sharp 90-degree-like turns and three soft turns, which means that over the 22.20 laps, the runners will have to navigate 66 near 90-degree turns and 66 softer turns.
The regular London course has approximately 26 sharp turns, while Berlin has 24.
While a loop course will provide repetitive splits to work against, the slowing around corners could in theory add time. The physical act of turning could cause a yet-to-be-determined amount of added effort.
Read: How to watch the London Marathon.
Read: Who will win London between Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele?
