Stephen, Sonika champs
Suhaib, Bharthi take 10K titles at Hyderabad Marathon
Stephen Kosgei of Kenya won the 10th edition of the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon hands down as he split the field across impressive landmarks in the city on Sunday.
Kosgei finished the
42.195 kilometre distance in 2 hours, 23 minutes and
52 seconds to take the men’s title ahead of Manvendra Singh, who clocked 2:31:09. Mohith Rathod was third with a time of 2:46:45.
On the women’s side, Sonika surged to victory in 2 hours, 56 minutes and
7 seconds. Jyoti Gawate followed her in second place in 3 hours and 41 seconds while Divyanka Chaudary finished third with a timing of 3:28:57.
Tirthapun won the men’s Half Marathon in a time of 1 hour, 7 minutes and 34 seconds. Parasappa Halijol was second in
1:08:12 while Naveen took the third spot with a time of 1:09:06.
Varsha Devi took the women’s Half Marathon title by finishing in 1:24:50, ahead of Farheen Firdose
(1:32:23) and Kavita Reddy
(1:35:26).
In the men’s 10K Run, Suhaib edged his closest rival by just one second. He finished in 32 minutes and 17 seconds while Rahul G clocked 32:18. Nanhen Verma was third in 32:25.
The women’s 10K title was taken by Bharthi Nain who completed the distance in 35 minutes and
43 seconds, ahead of Poonam Sonune who clocked 37:38 while Rinky Pawara was third in 37:41.
There was lots of entertainment around that kept the runners’ spirits high while sports enthusiasts and citizens lined the entire route to participate in the city’s largest community sporting event.
As many as 500 runners participated in the Full Marathon flagged off by Anjani Kumar, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad. About 2,000 runners took part in the Half Marathon flagged off by Lokesh Kumar D. S. IAS, Commissioner of GHMC at People’s Plaza.
Over 3,500 runners participated in the 10K Run flagged off by Stephen Ravindra, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad and in the presence of dignitaries from the government, corporate houses and the organising team from Hyderabad Runners Society.