Kosgei shrugs off Delhi health concerns, to run half-marathon
NEWDELHI: Women’s marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei said on Thursday she was gearing up for New Delhi’s half-marathon on Sunday, dismissing fears around the novel coronavirus outbreak and polluted air in the capital city.
The 26-year-old, who won the London Marathon in October, will race alongside many of the world’s leading long-distance runners at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2020.
“When I told my family that I want to go to India for a marathon even during a pandemic, they supported my decision and told me to do well and take care of myself,” Kosgei told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
India’s confimed cases of coronavirus infections stands at 9.27 million, the second-highest in the world ater the United States, according to a Reuters tally.
Elite runners were being tested daily for infections and kept in bio-secure bubbles, race organiser Procam International said, adding there would be 60 healthcare officials across the course for health emergencies on Sunday.
To tackle Delhi’s hazardous air, anti-smog machines would be installed along the 21-km route for the elite runners, and sprayed with treated water.
Hundreds of other enthusiasts were participating in the shorter races.
Doctors have slammed the holding of a marathon in Delhi, which is facing one of the worst spells of air pollution this year, complicating efforts for controlling the coronavirus outbreak.
KR AU CHAN K AD REAMS OF OLYMPICS RETURN: Decathlete Andrei Krauchanka knows that reaching the Olympics is seldom an adversity-free path, but the political crisis in his native Belarus has made his quest for a final chance to compete on the world’s biggest sports stage even harder.
The 2008 Olympic silver medallist said he was dismissed from the national team and sacked from his job ater signing an open leter demanding new elections, and later briefly jailed for participating in protests against veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Belarusians have taken to the streets weekly to call for Lukashenko, accused of rigging a presidential vote in August, to step down. Thousands have been detained. Deprived of state support, Krauchanka now hopes to qualify for next year’s Tokyo Games as an independent athlete competing under the Olympic flag.
“I don’t want to represent this regime in any way,” Krauchanka said.
Still recovering from an Achilles injury and ater, he believes, contracting COVID-19 in prison, the 34-year-old thinks his chances of reaching the decathlon qualifying standard hang in the balance.