Tanzania’s Simbu, Kitur of Kenya win Mumbai Marathon
MUMBAI: Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu won the men’s elite full marathon event while Kenya’s Bornes Kitur bagged the women’s title at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon here on Sunday.
Simbu clocked two hours, nine minutes and 32 seconds to clinch the gold medal. Kenya’s Joshua Kirkorir took the second spot with a time of 2:09:50 in a tough competition. Kirkorir’s compatriot Eliud Barbgetuny came third as he completed the distance in 2:10:39.
The full marathon was flagged off from the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in South Mumbai at 7.20 AM by a host of dignitaries.
In the women’s category, Kenya’s Bornes Kitur won in the elite category with a time of 02:29:02. Ethiopia’s Chaltu Tafa came second as she clocked 2:33:03 while her compatriot Tigist Girma bagged the bronze medal. Girma clocked 02:33:19.
Again in the women’s section, the top three runners were fighting hard and at 21 km mark, all of them recorded a timing of 1:14:03. Kitur eventually moved ahead of the other two to become victorious at the end. Simbu, who had competed in the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, said he trained in the hills in Tanzania for the marathon, which made him “perfect” for the race.
He said his pace varied throughout the race. He rued the fact that the course had corners and at few places “hills”. Among the Indians, Olympian Kheta Ram, who was eyeing to better his personal best of 2:15:26 he clocked at Rio last year, came first in 2:19:51.
Bahadur Singh came second with a time of 2:19:57 while Th Sanjith Luwang of Manipur was third in 2:21:19. Elam Singh, also of Army, was the fourth in 2:21:27 while Rahul Kumar Pal was fifth with a time of 2:21:43 was.
Among Indian women, Maharashtra’s Jyoti Gawte finished at first place with a timing of 02:50:53 while Shyamli Singh from West Bengal was second way behind as she recorded a timing of 3:08:41. Jigmet Dolma from Leh clocked 3:14:38 to finish third.