Bengaluru: In yet another case of a resounding victory for Kenyan runners, Peter Mwaniki clinched the men’s title while Lilian Kasait bagged the women’s title in the 16th edition of the World 10K Bengaluru on Sunday.
Kiran Matre ruled in the Indian elite section and ran a gritty race to clinch the first position and break the event record with a timing of 29:32.
In a testament to the run’s aggressive nature, all the top four runners finished ahead of the meet record of 29.49 which was previously held by Suresh Kumar created in 2015. Meanwhile, Sanjivani dominated the Indian women’s lineup to set herself up for a comfortable first-place finish.
As winners of the prestigious USD 210,000 World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, Peter Mwaniki and Lilian Kasait took home an equal prize cheque of USD 26,000 each.
In the Indian elite category, Kiran Matre and Sanjivani Jadhav bagged the grand cash purse of INR 2,75,000 each. Additionally, Kiran Matre also secured a bonus of INR 1,00,000 for breaking the event record.
Mwaniki, who came into the race as a hot favourite, got off to a conservative start. At the 7.5km mark, he was level pegging with his Kenyan peer Hillary Chepkwony. However, Mwaniki surged forward in the final stretch to finish comfortably with a timing of 28:15, while Hillary Chepkwony (28:33) finished behind him. Also logging a resounding performance was 17-year-old debutant Hagos Eyob who clocked an impressive 28:39 to finish third.
The international elite women’s race took shape early as the world’s second fastest 10K runner, Emmaculate Achol looked to lead the pack from the get-go. Following the 7.1 Km mark, Lilian Kasait seized the opportunity to power ahead of Achol, with Irene Chaptai’s event record of (30:35) in danger.
However, Lilian Kasait finished her run just short of the event record, clocking 30:56. Meanwhile, Emmaculate Achol (31:17) and Lemlem Hailu (31:23) finished second and third respectively. IANS
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