Olympian Joshua Cheptegei lived up to his billing to take home the men’s crown, while Alemaddis Eyayu pushed pre-race favourite Cynthia Limo behind for a surprise win in the women’s race at the Delhi Half Marathon on Sunday.
Kenyan Alex Matata led for most of the race alongside teammate Nicholas Kipkorir, who was making his international half marathon debut. However, Cheptegei, running just behind, made a decisive move in the final stretch to secure the win in 59:46. Matata finished second at 59:53, followed by Kipkorir at 59:59.
Cheptegei said, “This win in Delhi was special to me because it is my first-ever victory in a Half Marathon. India has been important for my career, and this country now means a lot to me. I felt good throughout the race despite the slow start. My first aim was to catch up with Nicholas (Kipkorir) and then Alex (Matata) in the final few kilometres of the race. I am delighted with my performance and hope to continue in the same manner in the future races.”
Olympian Joshua Cheptegei lived up to his billing to take home the men’s crown. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
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“This has been a special race that tested my mind. Initially, I felt some problems in my feet around 16-17 km, but I decided to push and catch up with Nicholas, and then for about two kilometers, we pushed each other. I took it slow because I didn’t want to burn out, and I wanted to finish strong. Now I go back home with a feeling to conquer the roads”, he further revealed.
In the women’s race, Eyayu and Limo were neck and neck until Eyayu pulled ahead in the latter half, finishing in 68:17, while Limo crossed the line 10 seconds later. Tiruye Mesfin took third with a time of 69:42.
“I had a good race, tried to keep my pace and aimed to finish well. I am happy to have achieved it” Eyayu said during the post-event press conference.
The total prize purse for the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon is USD 260,000. The podium finishers both men and women will take home USD 27,000, USD 20,000 & USD 13,000 respectively.
In the Indian Elite Men’s category, Sawan Barwal improved upon his bronze from last year to take gold with a time of 1:02:46, outperforming Puneet Yadav. In the Indian Elite Women’s category, Lili Das won gold in her debut half marathon, clocking 1:18:12, followed by defending champion Kavita Yadav.
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