Kolkata, Dec 17 (PTI) World record holder in 5000m and10,000m, Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia made an effortlesstransition to 25km running as he won the TSK 25K elite men'srace here today.
Degitu Azimeraw then made it an all-Ethiopian affair bywinning the 25K elite women's category with a timing of 1 hour26 minutes and 01 seconds.
In the elite national section, 21-year-old Maharashtrarunner Avinash Sable set a course record of 1:15:17, betteringthe previous mark set by G Lakshmanan who came third in1:17:13, which also was better than the last edition's timing.
Kalidas Hirave came second in 1:16:18 as all the three ofthem bettered 2016 course record of 1:17:23.
In the elite women's national section, L Suriya won therace with a timing of 1:26:53, getting past Sudha Singh'scourse record of 1:27:31.
Manju Yadav came second in 1:32:51, while Jhuma Khatuncame third in 1:32:58.
A winner of eight gold medals in Olympic and WorldChampionships, Bekele had made a perfect marathon debutwinning in Paris 2014.
The Ethiopian made a smooth transition to 25K as he pacedhis race brilliantly and stayed in the mix till the 21K beforebreaking loose with his giant strides and went past the finishline in 1:13:48.
His closest competitor Tsegay Tuemay (1:14:29) wasnowhere in sight when he went past the finish line. AugustinoSulle was third in 1:14:41.
Bekele's timing, however, was a shade lower than hisintermediate time of 1:12:47 en route to winning the BerlinMarathon 2016.
Regretting the lack of a pacemaker, he said: "I waspushing myself, but that was not enough. I would have pushedmy timing by 90 seconds at least if I had a pacemaker."The leading pack went through the 7.5 km checkpoint witha sluggish 24:24. Before the halfway mark, Bekele briefly wentthrough a bad patch and drifted off the back of the leaders,with his compatriot Asefa Diro leading at 12km in 39:09 andBekele seven seconds adrift in fifth place.
Bekele, however, quickly came back in the hunt in thegroup of fifth placed Asefa Diro, Tuemay, Sulle and Sable.
The Ethiopian went ahead with seven kilometres to go for amajestic finish.
"It was my first 25K and it feels good to have won it. Itwas a tactical race and I paced myself depending on the kindof competition I faced," said Bekele.
"The weather was good, though a little smokey in certainparts. But it was not difficult to manage. I would like tocome back here next year," he said.
Face of the event was cricket icon Sourav Ganguly as heencouraged about more than 10,000 runners, along with longjump legend Mike Powell, the international ambassador.
"This is amazing to see the number of people come out andrun in the morning. It's special to have the world champion ofdistance running competing along with the long jump worldrecord holder.
"I am thrilled to see so many people come out and run.
And the standard of the elite field is also great. The race iscompetitive and fun to watch," Powell said.
Results 25K Elite Men: Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) 1:13:48; TsegayTuemay (ERI) 1:14:29; Augustino Sulle (TAN) 1:14:41.
25K Elite Men India: Avinash Sable 1:15:17; KalidasHirave 1:16:18; G Lakshmanan 1:17:13.
25K Elite Women: Degitu Azimeraw (ETH) 1:26:01; HelahKiprop(KEN) 1:26:04; Failuna Matanga (TAN) 1:26:11.
25K Elite Women India: L Suriya 1:26:53; Manju Yadav1:32:51; Juma Khatun 1:32:58. PTI TAP PDSPDS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.