NAIROBI, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- A miscalculated step in training has left world half marathon record holder Joyciline Jepkosgei nursing a twisted ankle, effectively forcing her out of Sunday's Honolulu Marathon in Hawaii.
Jepkosgei, 24, said she is frustrated by the injury, the second this year after she sustained a foot injury days before the World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia, Spain in March.
That injury kept her out of competition for two months before she returned to action at the Great Manchester 10km run, where she finished third. Speaking in Eldoret on Tuesday, Jepkosgei said she will forfeit her spot at the starting line of the Honolulu Marathon on Sunday to attend to her sore leg.
"It is a blow to my plans. I had done all the training and was winding up when I missed my step. It has cost me because I will not be running on Sunday. My foot is still sore and I can't put more pressure on it," said Jepkosgei on Tuesday.
Jepkosgei remains adamant she wants to get her marathon debut off the blocks as she hopes to represent Kenya at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, that will depend on her performance in the 42km race.
The Kenyan clocked 01:04:51 in the Prague Half Marathon last year when she also broke the world 10km, 15km and 20km records. She went on to beat her own 10km world record time back in Prague three months later when she became the first woman to ever run under the 30-minute mark in the distance.
"The training was [going] according to plan and was great save for the small injury. History was in the making, but like any other athlete, I must...listen to my body and now it is injured," added Jepkosgei who trains under the guidance of her husband Nicholas Koech.
Jepkosgei hopes to return to action in under two months and hopes to compete in one of the top marathons in early 2019. "The plan changes to early 2019. But what is important now is for the injury to heal and for me to get back to fitness," she said.
