Chepkemoi eyes Vienna crown defence as Kangogo leads Kenyan charge

TEDDY MULEI

March 17, 2026 2 min read

Betty Chepkemoi will be hoping to successfully defend her title when she parades in the Vienna City Marathon in Austria on April 19.

Chepkemoi stormed to victory in last year’s edition, clocking 2:24:14 to spearhead a commanding Kenyan podium sweep. Rebecca Tanui settled for second place after posting 2:25:18, while Catherine Cherotich completed the all-Kenyan podium in 2:25:45.

That Vienna triumph laid the perfect springboard for another dominant outing later in the season, with Chepkemoi returning to the top step of the podium at the La Rochelle Marathon in November. She won in 2:25:32 while Ethiopia’s Zerihun Alemtsehay came home second in 2:26:14, and Vivian Cherotich sealed third place in 2:26:44.

The two victories came in just her third appearance over the full 42km distance, underlining her rapid rise in the marathon ranks after making her debut in 2024 at the Istanbul Marathon, where she narrowly missed the podium to finish fourth in 2:34:52.

That race was won by Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet in 2:24:45, with Ethiopians Urge Diro (2:33:37) and Ayantu Gemechu (2:33:49) finishing second and third, respectively.

Despite still being relatively new to the marathon scene, Chepkemoi boasts an impressive resume in the half-marathon, where she has consistently proven her strength on the roads. She claimed victory at the 2023 Gqeberha Half Marathon, stopping the clock at 1:08:34, and followed it up with a runner-up finish at the 2024 Tallinn Half Marathon in 1:10:02.

The 26-year-old also holds third-place finishes from Riyadh 2024, where she clocked 1:10:35, and Lille 2022, where she recorded 1:08:00. Chepkemoi also delivered a strong showing over the 25km distance at the 2023 Kolkata Road Race, placing third in 1:21:43 behind Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede (1:18:47) and Yalemzerf Yehualaw (1:19:26). In the men’s race, 2024 Vienna Marathon third-place finisher Albert Kangogo will spearhead the Kenyan challenge.

Kangogo heads into the race on the back of a topsy-turvy 2025 campaign.

He opened his season with a sixth-place finish at the Linz Marathon, clocking 2:11:36, before finishing eighth at the Cardiff Half Marathon in 1:02:27.

However, the Kenyan distance runner rounded off the year on a high note with a second-place finish at the Mersin Marathon in Turkey, where he posted 2:07:26, narrowly behind compatriot Vitalis Kibiwott, who claimed victory in 2:07:14.