Joshua Cheptegei won the men’s title and Alemadis Iyayu won the women’s title of Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon.
New Delhi, 20 October (Hindustan Reporter). Runners Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda and Elemadis Iyayu of Ethiopia have won the men’s and women’s titles respectively in the 19th edition of Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon. Runner Sawan Barwal won the Indian men’s and women’s title with a time of one hour, two minutes and 46 seconds and Lily Das with a time of one hour, 18 minutes and 12 seconds respectively.
The marathon was flagged off from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on Sunday. Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei won the men’s race with a time of 59 minutes 46 seconds. Elemadisa Iyayu won the women’s category with a timing of one hour, 8 minutes and 17 seconds. In the men’s category, Kenya’s Alex Matata stood second with a timing of 59 minutes 53 seconds and his compatriot Nicholas Kipkorir stood third with a timing of 59 minutes 59 seconds. In the women’s category, Cynthia Limo of Kenya stood second with a timing of one hour eight minutes 27 seconds and Tiruye Mesfin of Ethiopia stood third with a timing of one hour nine minutes 42 seconds.
Cheptegei, who has won many titles, said after the victory that this victory in Delhi is special for me, because it is my first victory in half marathon. India has been important to my career and this country means a lot to me now. I am happy with my performance and hope to continue in the same manner in future races.
After winning the women’s title, Alemadis Iyayu said during the press conference that I raced well. I tried to maintain my pace and aimed to perform well. I am happy to achieve this.
Sawan Barwal improved on previous performance-
Indian runner Sawan Barwal will return home with a gold medal this time after finishing on the podium of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon for the second consecutive edition. Barwal clocked a personal best of one hour, two minutes and 46 seconds. He had won a bronze medal in the previous edition. In the Indian men’s category, Puneet Yadav stood second with a timing of 1 hour, three minutes and five seconds and Kiran Matre stood third with a timing of 1 hour, 4 minutes and 58 seconds.
After the race, an emotional Sawan Barwal said that the journey from the last Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon to the current edition has been wonderful. He said that I was not thinking of completing the race in 62 minutes, but the way I started and when I entered the race, I knew I could go till the end.
Lily Das was miles ahead of her rivals in the Indian elite women’s category. He won the gold medal with a timing of 1 hour 18 minutes 12 seconds. Last year’s winner Kavita Yadav stood second, who clocked 1 hour 19 minutes 44 seconds. Preeti Lamba stood third, who crossed the finish line with a time of 1 hour 20 minutes 21 seconds.
Talking about her experience of finishing on the podium in her first Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, Lily said that it is a great feeling to win the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon in her very first attempt. I felt a little dehydrated during the race, which I was worried about, but I’m glad I was able to finish the race. I fought through it and worked very hard to complete the last 2 kilometers. It feels great to win gold in the half marathon after performing well in track and field events.
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Hindusthan News / Virendra Singh
