World Record Holder Rhonex Kipruto to Compete in Birell Prague Grand Prix

Fans of running have a lot to look forward to – the line-up of professional athletes for Birell 10K Race (3 September) includes World record holder, Rhonex Kipruto from Kenya.

Apart from this Kenyan super-star, and a RunCzech Racing alumnus, additional accomplished young athletes will race in Prague. One of them is this year’s Ethiopian National 10,000m champion, Tadese Worku, who will be challenged by Kenya’s Kennedy Kimutai.

In the women’s race, Irine Cheptai, 2017 World Cross Country Champion and 2022 Commonwealth Games Silver medalist (10,000m), is returning to Prague and is aiming at 30-minutes low, or faster, world-class performance.

Thousands of athletes from 74 countries will line-up for the start of the popular World Athletics Label Road Race on the Náměstí Republiky in Prague, in the magical evening atmosphere. Jakub Zemaník, Jiří Homoláč and Eva Vrabcová-Nývltová are top Czech favorites.

“The start list of the Birell 10K Race is made of big names! But the Birell Prague Grand Prix is not only about great times, it is also about experiencing the magic of Prague by night,” said Carlo Capalbo, President of the RunCzech Organizing Committee.

Rhonex Kipruto is one of the brightest pro-athletes of recent times. The twenty-two-year-old Kenyan ran a 10km (road) World record of 26:24 in Valencia in January 2020. Two years prior to that, he attacked then World record of 26:44, crossing the finish line in Prague in 26:46, second best performance ever, at the time.

With its fast course, Birell 10K Race always promises great performances. After all, its annals still record women’s World record of 29:43, set by RunCzech Racing alumna, Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya in 2017. (Note: 29:14 and 29:38 performances by, respectively, Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Kalkidan Gezahegne in Castellón and Genève are not ratified as yet.)

Irine Cheptai, fresh from a strong performance in 2022 Commonwealth Games (10,000m, silver) and after second-place finish in this year’s Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon will be looking to improve her personal best of 30:35 set in Bangalore this year.

The field of European runners is also well-balanced and start list will be reveled on Wednesday, 28 August. Czech fans are hopeful that the home-favorites will pose a strong challenge to all visitors.

One of the top Czechs is Jakub Zemaník with a personal best of 29:30. With 29:39 performance this year in Valencia, he is definitively a strong contender to break the Czech course record of 29:27. Jiří Homoláč (29:37), the winner of Czech category of this year´s Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon, is looking forward to compete with Zemaník. Eva Vrabcová Nývltová is top favorite among Czech women with a personal best of 33:01, followed by Tereza Hrochová (34:37), as another Czech hopeful.

“The Birell 10K Race offers a very fast course, so it is very popular among pro-athletes. But it’s not only about them. This race brings together runners of all performance levels and gives everyone the experience of something unique,” Carlo Capalbo says. The program starts at 6 pm with adidas Women’s race 5 km.

Final few hundred registrations are available for both races which are returning after a three-year hiatus caused by Covid-19 pandemic.