Ethiopian Athletes dominate Mumbai Marathon

Mumbai, India – Ethiopian athletes Girma Assefa and Koren Jelila Yal on Sunday won the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon men’s and women’s title respectively.

Assefa used the cooler morning conditions to break the course record of 2 hours and 11 mins set by Kenyan Kenneth Mugara in 2009. Assefa broke the record by a minute and six seconds.

His compatriot, Botoru Tsegaye Wolde clocked a time of two hours, nine minutes, 57 seconds to finish second followed by Kenyan Patrick Muriuki (2:10:00).

Assefa explained that he stayed back in the lead pack as the pace-setters were doing their job and made his move near the turn for the tape in the men’s marathon for elite athletes.

Tsegaye positioned himself on the shoulders of leading runners for a major part, went ahead for a brief while before pipped at the finish.

Women

In the women’s category, Jelila led an all Ethiopian top-three finish to complete the race in 2:26:56 to break the course record set by countrywoman Mulu Seboka in 2008.

Merima Mohammed was second clocking 2:29:04 while Elfemesh Alemu finished third with a timing of 2:30:04.

The 23-year-old, Jelila, came to limelight in 2006 when she won the National Ethiopian Championships in the 3,000m run.

Since then she has been an integral part of three World Cross Country teams and stood second at the National Cross Country Championships in 2008.

The race also attracted some of the world’s best male and female elite athletes like John Kelai from Kenya, who was one of the favourites to win the race.

However, Kelai, who won consecutive titles at the Mumbai Marathon in 2007-2008, failed to live up to the expectations by finishing a poor sixth in 2:11:05. His personal best is 2:09:09 in the 2005 Eindhoven Marathon.

Ethiopia’s Tesfaye Tola, Qatar’s Mubarak Shami and Russia’s Oleg Kulkov also participated in the event but failed to impress.

Ethiopia’s Bizunesh Urgesa was also a strong contender at the marathon this year, leading a strong bunch of women athletes.

Leading Results:

MEN:
1. Girma Assefa ETH 2:09:54 (Course Record + Indian All-Comers’ Record)
2. Botoru Tsegaye Wolde ETH 2:09:57
3. Patrick Muriuki KEN 2:10:00
4. Tariku Jifar ETH 2:10:08
5. Haile Haja Gemeda ETH 2:10:42
6. John Kelai KEN 2:11:05
7. Japhet Kipkorir KEN 2:11:21
8. Justus Kiprono Kipchirchir KEN 2:12:13
9. Dereje Tulu ETH 2:12:44
10. Bernard Rotich KEN 2:12:47
11. Evans Rutto KEN 2:13:39
12. Hailu Seifu ETH 2:15:39
13. Hillary Bett KEN 2:16:00
14. Julius Mutuku KEN 2:16:01
15. Daniel Yego KEN 2:20:19
16. Ashebir Demissie ETH 2:20:39
17. Ketema Amersisa ETH 2:20:43
18. Tariku Aboset ETH 2:20:47
19. Tesfaye Tola ETH 2:20:55
20. Lyngkhoi Binning IND 2:21:16;

WOMEN:
1. Koren Jelila Yal ETH 2:26:56 (Course Record + Indian All-Comers’ Record)
2. Merima Mohammed Hasen ETH 2:26:57
3. Elfenesh Alemu ETH 2:29:04
4. Meseret Legesse ETH 2:32:05
5. Bizunesh Urgessa ETH 2:32:28
6. Makida Haruna ETH 2:32:28
7. Fatuna Sabo ETH 2:33:39
8. Irene Mogaka KEN 2:36:56
9. Meseret Hailu Debele ETH 2:38:26
10. Sisay Measo ETH 2:39:59
11. Haille Kebebush ETH 2:44:59
12. Ayelech Worku ETH 2:45:25
13. Anastasia Ndereba KEN 2:47:54
14. Rosaline David KEN 2:52:05
15. Zeddy Chepkoech KEN 3:03:59
16. Jyoti Shankarrao Gawate IND 3:05:30
17. Tadelech Biru ETH 3:05:56
18. Shastri Devi IND 3:08:15
19. M Sudha IND 3:10:52
20. Anuja Bijagre IND 3:11:46;

Sources: Sportal.co.in & IAAF.org