Ethiopians rule in Kolkata 25K; Sable, Suriya impress among Indians
KOLKATA: Birhanu Legese and Dibaba Kuma made an Ethiopian double in the men's and women's elite sections while Avinash Sable and Suriya Loganathan reigned supreme among the Indians at the Tata Steel Kolkata 25 kilometre run Sunday.
All the 25K elite runners, however, recorded poor timings as they struggled at the last 5km with the open category participants blocking their way.
The weather conditions were ideal for the elite runners to break the course records held by Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele (1:13:48) and compatriot Degitu Azmeraw (1:26:01) in the men's and women's sections.
Suriya led Dibaba by one second till the 20km mark before the Ethiopian broke away to clinch the women's crown with a timing of one hour 27 minutes and 34 seconds.
"They raced ahead like a bullet near the finishing line. It was a sudden burst and I could not cope up," the 28-year-old Suriya from Pudukottai, who finished overall seventh, said.
"The foreigners were running slow and they were not able to decide who will take the lead. I didn't follow them and managed my own pace. The target was to come third," Suriya said.
Two-time Olympian Sudha Singh finished eighth overall and second among Indians, behind Suriya with a timing of 1:29:11. Dibaba's compatriot Ftaw Zeray (1:27:38) and Failuna Matanga of Tanzania (1:27:45) took the second and third spots.
Defending champion Degitu was one minute 50 seconds slower this time around to settle for the fourth place. Two-time Airtel Delhi Half Marathon winner Legese won the men's elite section with a timing of 1:15:48, while fellow countryman Bayelign Yegsaw (1:15:49) and Kenyian Amos Kipruto (1:15:52) finished second and third respectively.
Services runner Sable, who broke a 37-year-old steeplechase national record in September, was in the lead pack till 15km mark before falling behind to finish ninth overall, and first among the Indians.
Both Sable and Suriya were the winners among the Indians in the last edition as well. The elite international winners went home richer by USD 7,500 each, while the elite Indian winners pocket a prize purse of Rs 2,75,000 each.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who has been the event brand ambassador for four years, was excited to see around 15000 people run. "It has grown every year and now in its international avatar it's one of the best run at this distance.
I am a big advocate for running. It has been a way of my life. I am really proud to see the city embrace running to this extent," he said.
Results: Men: Overall: 1 Birhanu Legese (ETH; 1:15:48); 2 Bayelign Yegsaw (ETH; 1:15:49); 3 Amos Kipruto (KEN; 1:15:52).
Indians: 1 Avinash Sable (1:17:11); 2 Srinu Bugatha (1:17:18); 3 Abhishek Pal (1:18:26).
Women: Overall: 1 Dibaba Kuma (ETH; 1:27:34); 2 Ftaw Zeray (ETH; 1:27:38); 3 Failuna Matanga (TAN; 1:27:45).
Indians: 1 Suriya Loganathan (1:28:29); 2 Sudha Singh (1:29:11); 3 Parul Chaudhary (1:30:18).