Lagat, Alemu back with hope
Both winners come off contrasting years but are confident of retaining titles
MUMBAI: Having had a contrasting run over the last one year since their wins in the Mumbai Marathon 2019, the Elite defending champions in Cosmas Lagat (men’s) and Worknesh Alemu (women’s) are back in the city to have a crack at the top prize once again, here on Sunday.
During the race last year, both Lagat and Alemu had taken lead from their respective packs at around the 30-kilometre mark, and galloped to victories with more than one minutes in lead each. But since then, the two champions have had a distinctive run until both landed in Mumbai on Thursday ahead of the race on Sunday.
Lagat, who had pipped last year’s race favourite Abira Kuma for a comfortable win, suffered a calf injury so severe that he spent the entire last year on the sidelines. It was only in the lead up to the Mumbai Marathon this year that the Kenyan attained full fitness, and now wants to retain his title on Sunday.
“I had injuries to my left calf and Achilles tendon. It happens in training sometimes,” Lagat told during a media interaction here on Friday. “However, I am back in good training now and I think all is well. I train with Lawrence Cherono, who was the winner of the Boston and Chicago Marathons last year, and I do the same training as him so I think I can perform as well as him. Running here last year and doing so well has given me confidence that I can win again, and I am thinking about the course record. I have learnt how to run this race better,” he said.
Kuma, who finished seventh last year, will be hitting the tracks too on Sunday, but eyes will also be on Ethiopian runner Ayele Abshero—who had clocked 2:04.23 in his debut race in Dubai in 2012. But that was as many as eight years ago, and having finished second in the 2019 Hamburg Marathon, Abshero says he is ready to go. “It is my first time in India but my focus is on the race on Sunday. My only target is to win the race and (hope) Sunday brings good news,” said Abshero, who has recovered from a hamstring niggle he suffered in Oct.
The men’s elite line-up is a strong one for Sunday’s race, with 15 of them clocking less than two hours and 10 minutes. A majority of them are from Ethiopia and Kenya.
While Lagat was off track nursing his injury and charting comeback, the women’s Elite winner Alemu was busy on the field. After her triumph in Mumbai, Alemu finished second in Riga Marathon in Latvia in May, and came sixth in the Amsterdam Marathon in October. A busy year has kept Alemu going, getting her ready for a tough field on Sunday.
“I have had good races in 2019 so my confidence is strong. It is a tough field, but I am in good shape. If I do well her, it could set me on the road to representing my country at the Olympics in Tokyo. Why not?” said Alemu.
Like Abshero in the men’s section, the women’s Elite too has a runner in Amane Beriso, who too made a remarkable debut in Dubai Marathon 2016 by clocking 2:20.48.