Kenyan long-distance runner Gideon Kipketer came up with a stellar show to race himself to victory and also set a new men's course record in the country's premier 42.195-km race, the Mumbai Marathon here on Sunday.
Kipketer was the dominating athlete from start to end as his pace took him way ahead of the others. He took the lead midway and from there on extended it to finish at 2:08:35 hours. En route to his victory, he thrashed the 2013 record of 2:09:32 set by Uganda’s Jackson Kiprop.
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The world class runners alongside the Indian contestents raced up and down the Mumbai roads from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Bandra via the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link in the 13th edition of the Marathon.
With the victory, Kipketer earned a price money of $41,000 along with the course record jackpot which is $15,000. Overall, he grabbed a whopping $56,000 from the race. The second place was taken by Ethiopia's Seboka Dibaba (2:09:20) while the third place went to Marius Kimutai of Kenya (2:09:39).
Asbel Kiprop who is a marathon-specialist finished a disappointing eighth with a timing of 2:14:54. The cut-off mark to qualify for the marathon event in the 2016 Olympics is two hours 19 minutes for men and the top three achieved it with ease.
On the other hand, the women's crown was clinched by Ethiopian Shuko Genemo with a timing of 2:27:50. Shuko earned price money of $41,000. However, her timing was well off the course record (2:24:33) which was set in 2013 by Kenya's Valentine Kipketer.
In the second place was Kenya's Bornes Kitur (2:32:00) while Valentine whose shoe lace got untied at the 29-km mark when she was vying for the winner, finished third with a time of 2:34:07.
