New York, Boston and London Marathon champions to battle in Castelbuono

Geoffrey Mutai, Emmanuel Mutai, and Gebre Gebremariam, the winners of the most recent editions of the Boston, London and New York City marathons, respectively, will square off at the 86th edition of the Giro di Castelbuono on 26 July.

The three will face each other in the same race for the first time over the Giro's new 10Km course in this classic mid-summer race in this picturesque town in Sicily. Formerly run on a 11.3 kilometer loop course, the new certified course will still feature the challenging race-ending climb which often decides the winner.

Besides their recent heroics over the Marathon distance, all three have strong 10Km credentials. Most recently, Geoffrey Mutai clocked 27:19 in the inaugural BAA 10Km in Boston less than three weeks. Gebremarian has 26:52.53 10,000m career best on the track while Emmanuel Mutai has clocked 27:51 on the roads.

The field will also include Ryan Hall of the U.S., the national Half Marathon record holder with a 2:04:58 Marathon personal best set in the fast Boston contest this year. Among the leading Italian competitors is Ruggero Pertile, a sub-2:10 marathoner who has run 28:31 over 10 kilometres.

The list of past winners at this traditional summer race include Kenyans Paul Tergat, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot and Martin Lel, and Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea, who was the victor last year.

Organisers for the IAAF