Ethiopians shine in Mumbai Marathon

Assefa and Yal set new course records to complete a sweep for the African country.

Mumbai: Ethiopians Girma Assefa and Koren Yal set new course records to complete a sweep for the African

country, winning the men`s and women`s honours at the eighth edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon here on Sunday. Assefa completed the 42.1-km race in two hours, nine minutes and 54 seconds beating the previous record of 2:11:54s set by Kenya`s Kenneth Mungara two years ago. He was followed by compatriot Botor Segaye Wolde, who completed the run clocking 2:09:57s. Kenya`s Patrick Muriuki was third with a timing of 2:10:00s. Two-time winner John Kelai, one of the top favourites to win the event, finished sixth completing the race in 2:11:05s. In a close-run among at least 15 athletes in the men`s category, Kenya`s Simon Kasimili had the lead after the six-km stretch, which he retained after 10kms at Haji Ali. However, at the half-way stage, Kenya`s Kipkemei Mutai surged ahead only to be overtaken by Muriuki at the end of the iconic Rajiv Gandhi Bandra-Worli sea-link. After the end of the 32-km mark, it was Wolde who ran into contention, but Assefa saved enough energy to move ahead when it mattered most and pocketed the title. In the women`s category, Yal led an all Ethiopian top-three finish to complete the race in 2:26:56s to break the course record set by countrywoman Mulu Seboka in 2008. Merima Mohammed was second clocking 2:29:04s, while Elfemesh Alemu finished third with a timing of 2:30:04s. Among Indians, armymen Lyngkhoi Binning, Angad Kumar and Ram Singh Yadav finished first second and third respectively. Thanks to the increased prize money (USD 325,000) and the IAAF Gold Label status, the event attracted some of the world`s best male and female long-distance runners. The men`s and women`s winners would get USD 36,000 each. Unlike in the past, when a huge crowd had cheered the athletes, not many people gathered to witness the event today, though the situation improved during the return leg of the race. PTI