New Delhi: The Rio 2016 Marathon champion, Eluid Kipchoge from Kenya won the title in his Airtel Delhi Half Marathon debut, clocking an impressive 00:59:44 in his first appearance since winning gold at the Olympics. Starting favorite this morning, Kipchoge missed the course record by few seconds but was pleased with a podium finish nonetheless. Among the international elite women runners, Worknesh Degefa from Ethiopia won the title with a timing of 1:07:42.
Kipchoge faced tough competition from his fellow contender Yigrem Demelash who missed the title by just 4 seconds coming in second. Kipchoge’s friend, countryman and running partner, Augustine Choge finished 3rd with 1:00:01 happy to have secured a spot on the podium in only his second half marathon ever.
All three toppers were running together till the penultimate kilometer when all of a sudden Eliud took the sprint and broke away from the pack. Yigrem Demelash and Augustine Choge both tried their best to go past Eliud but missed the top position by few seconds. The first half of the race was slow, but past the halfway mark, the pace picked up with Kipchoge taking the charge and honors ultimately.
Disappointed at not being able to break the course record, Eluid Kipchoge said “I have run in Delhi once before, 6 years ago at the Commonwealth Games. I am really happy to be a part of ADHM 2016 and with the guidance and support of my coach, I have been able to win this title. The running conditions were good, my training was good and with the right guidance from my coach, I was able to win the race. Along the route the crowd was also cheering us and that helped to further motivate us. I ran in ADHM to inspire people to take up running as a lifestyle.”
The international elite women runners also had tough race as Worknesh Degefa from Ethiopia took the first spot by defeating fellow countryman Ababel Yeshaneh with a timing of 1:07:42, a clear ten seconds ahead. Helah Kiprop of Kenya finished 3rd with a timing of 1:08:11. In all, seven of the top ten international elite women runners finished in the sub-70 mark showing just how competitive the field was.
Pleased with her top spot, Worknesh Degefa said “It’s a pleasure to be a part of Airtel Delhi half marathon and I would like to come back next year with more power and vigor. The race was good, the weather made the race very comfortable, I am very happy to win the race today.”
The action amongst the India men and women elite runners was just as pulsating. Coming after a break, G Lakshmanantook the top spot with a 1:04:37 timing, in a repeat of his performance at ADHM 2013. With just a second separating them, MD Yunus came in second, and Man Singh followed two seconds behind. Prior to the race, the confident trio had proclaimed that all the podium spots would be taken by these three itself, making it come true much to everyone’s delight.
Hailing from the Army Institute in Pune, the three enjoyed running in the Capital city, the cool climate helping their performance. G Lakshmanan was overwhelmed at winning the title again after 2 years even though slightly disappointed at not being able to set a new course record.
Expressing his disappointment at the 1-second loss, MD Yunus said “I will never forget losing by just one second. It was heart-breaking. I wanted to break the course record. That will be my aim next year.”
In a sensational finish, the Indian elite women’s title was snatched by Monika Athare as she dashed to the finish line with a time of 01:15:34 just one second ahead of half-marathon debutant Sanjeevani Jadhav. In the third spot was Swati Gadhave with a time of 01:17:43. All the three women clocked their personal best timing and were pleased with the results.
Said a beaming Monika, “The climate was very good. I like running at the ADHM and train for it each year. It is the biggest platform for us Indian runners. 40 minutes into the race I was in the lead. Swati covered up in the last 5km and ran very impressively in her debut half marathon appearance. With just a few metres to the finish line, I was able to attack with full power and pipped her to clinch the title. Swati is young and has just made her debut, but she performed very well.”
Added Swati, “It was my first half marathon, and I am happy just to have been able to complete it. The podium spot is very special to me, and I am happy with my timing.”
The total prize money for the event is USD 2,70,000 and the International Elite athletes took home USD 27,000 each and the Indians won Rs 3,00,000 each.
Following are the results:
Overall Athlete Men:
Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 00:59:44; Yigrem Demelash (ETH) 00:59:48; Augustine Choge 01:00:01; Ronald Kriui (KEN) 01:01:43; Sibusiso Nzima (RSA) 01:01:44; Ezekiel Chepkorom (UGA) 01:01:46; Alphonce Felix Sambu (TAN) 01:01:59; Elias Kibret (ETH) 01:02:00; Jackson Kiprop (UGA) 01:02:46; Lakshmanan G (IND) 01:04:37.
Overall Athlete Women:
Worknesh Degefa (ETH) 01:07:42; Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 01:07:52; Helah Kiprop (KEN) 01:08:11; Gladys Chesir (KEN) 01:08:23; Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 01:08:28; Mary Wacera (KEN) 01:09:06; Gelete Burka (ETH) 01:09:32; Netsanet Gudeta (ETH) 01:10:05; Rose Chelimo (BRU) 01:10:17; Afera Godfay (ETH) 01:13:49.
Overall Indian Athlete Men:
G Lakshmanan (IND) 01:04:37; M .D. Yunus (IND) 01:04:38; Man Singh (IND) 01:04:38; Srinu Bugatha (IND) 01:04:41; Balliappa A B (IND) 01:05:36; Ajay Vir Singh (IND) 01:11:08; Gova Ram (IND) 01:11:08; I R Luthar (IND) 01:12:04; Vicky Tomar (IND) 01: 15:06; Uma Kanta Singh (IND) 01:18:52.
Overall Indian Athlete Women:
Monika Athare (IND) 01:15:34; Sanjeevani Jadhav (IND) 01:15:35; Swati Gadhave (IND) 01:17:43; Manisha Salunkhe (IND) 01:18:21; Kiran Sahdev (IND) 01:20:42; Preeti Lamba (IND) 01:21:15; Meenu (IND) 01:21:29; Anita Choudhary (IND) 01:27:39; Anuradha Singh (IND) 01:34:30.
Police Cup:
Men’s:
Team: Men Two (Rajesh Meena, Vikas Dabas, Sandeep Kumar) (5:06:15)
Team: Men Seventeen (Neeraj Choudhury, Bijender Singh, Sunil Dagar) (05:24:45)
Team: Men Nineteen (Sonu Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Subhash Singh) (05:30:00)
Women’s:
Women Two: (Nandinin Negi, Ansuiya, Reena) (6:13:50)
Women Seven: (Rekha Chejara, Manjeet Kaur, Kanchan Gupta) (7:39:54)
Women Four: (Kanta, Papita, Priyanka) (8:55:45)
Half Marathon Amateur results:
Men (18 to u-25 yrs): Stilin Jyrwa 01:13:54; Uttam Bhujel 01:14:41; Sunil Sharma 01:14:43
Women (18 to u-25 yrs): Darishisha Iangjuh 01:35:56; Lakhi Pator 01:42:22; Smriti Kathait 01:52:28
Men (25 to u-30 yrs): Paras Kumar 01:12:15; Ishan Sharma 01:17:01; Rajasekar Rajendran 01:17:53
Women (25 to u -30 yrs): Vrinda Bhandari 01:35:09; Nitu 01:35:31; Aakriti Verma 01:43:56
Men (30 to u-35 yrs): Satish Kumar 01:14:37; Sahadat Ali 01:16:15; Vijaykumar Gupta 01:19:55
Women (30 to u-35 yrs): Vidhi Sheth 01:35:05; Shikha Pahwa 01:35:52; Karen Maciel 01:45:58
Men(35 to u- 40 yrs): Jagmal Jagmal 01:12:06; Tlanding Wahlang 01:13:11; Sunder Pal 01:18:41
Women (35 to u-40 yrs): Jayanti Thapliyal 01:32:03; Lalita Madhwal 01:32:53; Seema yadav 01:40:55
Men (40 to u-45 years): Anil Kumar 01:16:24; Sanjay Dasila 01:17:27; Raj Pal 01:19:34
Women (40 to u-45 years): Anjali Saraogi 01:37:57; Nirupma Singh 01:39:30; Roopali Mehta 01:39:33
Men (45years to u- 50 years): Mohamed Idris 01:18:57; Rajesh Kumar 01:25:28; Devinder Parmar 01:25:46
Women (45years to u- 50 years): Shubha Bhargava 01:39:49; Vaishali Kasture 01:42:07; Sangeeta Saikia 01:50:32
Men (50 years to u- 55 years): Manoj Bhardwaj 01:01:13; Dinesh Kumar 01:18:20; Thomas Philip 01:18:37
Women (50 years to u- 55 years): Maureen Enderby 01:50:26; Sherab Dhumkhang 01:53:43; Neelam Vaid 01:58:02
Men (55 years to u- 60 years): Gary Hester 01:21:32; Karl Furthmaier 01:33:50; Govind Rana 01:36:31
Women(55 years u- 60 years): Shamala manmohan 01:59:31; Smita Patil 02:00:17; Lataguloo Alimchandani 02:00:43
Men (60 years to u- 65 years): Sabhajeet Yadav 01:29:34; Satpal Singh 01:30:40; Savio Dsouza 01:35:23
Women (60 to u 65 years): Pervin Batliwala 01:59:41; Christine Pemberton 02:16:57; Mala Honnati 02:23:00
Men (65 to u 70 years): PKN Nambiar 01:49:13; Paramjeet Singh 01:50:42; Virendrasingh Rawat 01:51:27
Women (65 to u 70 yrs): Rachel Chatterjee 02:07:29
Men (70 yrs and above): Aman Chauhan 01:47:29; Gurudayalsingh Yadav 01:52:38; Dharm Singh 02:05:40
Jabong Run in Costume:
Being Us (Best Group Category)
Winner: Adarsh Public School (Concept-Make in India)
(Runner up): VSO India Trust (Concept-Repair Anything)
(1st Runner up):Etasha Society (Concept- Encourage Vocational Training)
Being Solo (Individual Category)
Winner: Anshika Saini (Concept-Harvest Rain Water)
(Runner up): Bhavya Sharma (Concept- Pollution)
(1st Runner up): Anand Raj (Concept- Black Money)
