Florence Kiplagat claims Kenyan 10,000m title

Florence Kiplagat claims Kenyan 10,000m title

Two-time Berlin marathon champion Florence Kiplagat easily won the 10,000m at the Kenyan trials on Friday to qualify for next month's Commonwealth Games.

Kenya's Florence Kiplagat crosses the finish to win in the women's category of the 40th edition of the Berlin Marathon in Berlin, Germany on September 29, 2013

The world half marathon champion clocked 32:30.7 to win the race at the Nairobi Nyayo National stadium ahead of Joyce Chepkirui (32:33.1) and Emily Jebet, who finished third in 32:46.0.

"I am ready to compete in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow," said the 27-year-old Kiplagat, who finished second to compatriot Edna Kiplagat at the London marathon last April.

"I feel in great shape this time - the more I compete, the better I get."

Next for the Kenyan will be the Ostrava 20km on June 17, where she is bidding to lower her world record of 1:01.56.

While Kiplagat celebrated her winning return, it was a complete disaster for the Olympic 800m bronze medallist Timothy Kitum, who trailed home third last and failed to reach the finals scheduled for Saturday.

The 19-year-old former world junior silver medalist has struggled to hit form since that epic Olympic race in London, where fellow Kenyan David Rudisha set a punishing pace on the way to a new world mark of 1:40.91.

"The performance in London left me under a lot of strain that I am yet to recover," said Kitum, who has just graduated as a Kenyan army recruit.

"Maybe next year I will back to compete at the top level again."

In the absence of Kitum and Rudisha, who is away in New York, Ferguson Rotich, the 2013 world championship semi-finalist leads seven other qualifiers into the final on Saturday.

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