Olympic champ Kiprotich eyes third time lucky to win gold in Hamburg marathon

NAIROBI, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Olympic champions Stephen Kiprotich is the new addition to the Hamburg Marathon, which will be held on April 28.

Kiprotich, the London 2012 Olympic marathon champion and 2013 world marathon champion, has pitched camp in Eldoret training together with Eliud Kipchoge and Geoffrey Kamworor.

He was second in 2017 and fifth last year in Hamburg. Now the Ugandan is hopeful he will eclipse his rivals to stake claim to the gold medal in the Germany city next month on third attempt.

"It's always a pleasure to compete in Hamburg. I am very happy to be returning and want to improve on what I did last year," said Kiprotich on Friday. "If the conditions are good, I will try to beat my personal best."

The 29-year-old, who is the national record holder at 2:06:33, clocked sub-2:08 performances in both of his Hamburg appearances.