On debut, Ayana earns bragging rights
SMOOTH SHIFT Wins on half marathon debut as Legese hands Ethiopia a double; Rawat and Suriya top the Indian field
: Almaz Ayana made a splash on her major road running debut, coasting to victory and sealing an Ethiopian double at the Delhi Half Marathon.
The Olympic and World 10,000m champion carried her front-running on the track to the course, winning in 1:07.11.
Ayana, who turns 27 on Tuesday, said sound preparations made up for inexperience in the distance. “I came to run well. There were no major championships this season, so I could prepare well,” she said after finishing at the JLN Stadium.
It was an Ethiopian clean sweep as Ababel Yeshaneh and Netsanet Gudeta finished behind.
NEW DELHI
LEGESE RETURNS Ethiopia’s 2015 winner Berhanu Legese won the men’s title, after a sprint finish that saw world marathon champion Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya pushed to sixth.
The race was flagged off in cool conditions, but hopes of a new course mark (old 59:06) vanished as it turned into a tactical race.
Legese won in 59:46, ahead of compatriot Andamlak Belihu (59:51). Leonard Korir (59:52), a Kenyan-born US runner, was third.
Armyman Nitender Singh Rawat, upset he was cast away from the national camp following injury, won the Indian men’s elite race in a course record of 1:03.53.
The top four broke the course record of 1:04, but there was drama at the end when G Lakshmanan, who spread his arms in the final few steps, fell as Rawat brushed past him.
Rawat criticised the policy of cutting out top athletes the moment they are injured and spoke of having to train all alone, with support from younger runners in his unit, in the cantonement town of Ranikhet. Lakshmanan, given the same time as Rawat but placed second,, walked away furiously on finishing. However, he said later the victory of his training partner eased the pain.
MIDNIGHT LANDING Avinash Sable, the 21-year-old joint national record holder in 3000m steeple chase, came third. He landed from Mumbai only late on Saturday after discovering the flight had been booked for December only on reaching the airport.
L Suriya won the Indian women’s elite race in a meet record time of 1:10.31, edging past Olympian Sudha Singh (1:11.30) to make up for brother Lakshmanan’s miss. Parul Chaudhary (1:13.09), a young runner from Meerut, was third.
Around 35,000 runners took part in the 13th running of the event.
RACE RESULTS