Ethiopia’s Chala Regasa and Kenyan Irine Cheptai claimed the titles in the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon here on Sunday. Regasa clocked 60.30 while Cheptai finished in 66.42.
The Indian Elite men’s category witnessed a photo finish between defending champion Avinash Sable and Kartik Kumar. Both clocked 64 minutes and it needed help from the technical officials of the Athletics Federation of India for Sable to be declared winner.
The Indian women’s elite title was expectedly won by Sanjivani Jadhav.
“The final two kilometres were tough, but I knew I had the speed to come out in front as I have a good background at shorter distances on the track,” said Regasa, who was formerly a top-class middle-distance runner. Regasa sprinted away from Kenya’s Felix Kipkoech and fellow Ethiopian Boki Diriba with 400 metres to collect US $27,000.
The International women’s race was a one-sided show after halfway. Cheptai made a decisive move just after 12 kilometres and was never challenged before reducing her personal best by one second to 66:42.
Ethiopian athlete Chala Regasa gestures before crossing the finish line to win the men’s Vedanta Delhi half marathon. | Photo Credit: AFP
Cheptai, who was in fourth place the last time, finished more than a minute in front of Ethiopia’s 2022 World Athletics Championships 5000m bronze medallist Dawit Seyaum, who was second in 68:02. Stella Chesang set a Ugandan record of 68:11 in third place.
Returning to the venue where he became the first Indian to complete the half marathon in under 61 minutes in 2020, Sable said his plan was a little different this year. “It was overall a good race. We got off to a good start and stayed with the Elite group for the first 7-8 kilometres. Their pace wasn’t that fast and my plan was to stay together with Kartik, who maintained his pace with me through the race,” Sable said.
Sanjivani was well ahead of the Indian pack right from the start and was hardly challenged by Monika Athare and Priti Lamba who finished second and third respectively. “Soon after the first 2-3 kms, I went ahead and had to pace my own race. If I had a pacer I could have gone faster but I am still happy to finish first,” Sanjivani said.
There were quite a few first-time competitors. For Lubna Siddiqui, an avid cyclist, it was a “thrilling” experience. “To complete the half marathon after just four weeks of training gives a sense of achievement,” she said.
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