The 14th edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) took place earlier today, with Alphonce Simbu and Bornes Kitur emerging as winners in the Elite categories.
One of India’s largest fundraising events, the SCMM had raised over 14.4 million in its inaugural edition in 2004. The annual international marathon is held on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia in terms of the number of finishers. It is also the most prestigious race in India with a prize pool of $377,000.
Reigning Olympic and world 800m champion David Rudisha was chosen as the International Event Ambassador for the 2017 Mumbai Marathon.
The course record was set by Gideon Kipketer in 2016 after completing the race in 2:08:35. In the women’s category, the record is held by Valentine Kipketer at 2:24:33.
The Elite International category kicked off at 7.30 am with Bollywood actors John Abraham and Neha Dhupia present to cheer and support the runners.
The Elite Women’s category saw runners Dinknesh Mekash and Soud-Ait Salem start as favourites while Amandeep Kaur was the favourite amongst the Indian women.
Meanwhile, Levy Matebo from Kenya was the top contender in the Elite Men’s category. He was also chasing the $15,000 bonus that he would receive if he managed to beat the course record set the previous year by Matebo's compatriot, Gideon.
At the 28.2 km mark, Michael Mutai took the lead followed closely by Matebo. Things soon changed, however, and with just a couple of miles left, it was a two-horse race between Joshua Kipkorir of Kenya and Alphonce Simbu of Tanzania. However, Joshua suffered a setback as he was affected by a stomach ache in the final few meters.
Simbu eventually won the race as he finished with a time of 2:09:28 almost equaling Kipketer’s time. Kheta Ram was the first amongst the Indian men to finish the race.
In the women’s category, Bornes Kitur, who finished as a runner-up last year, was determined to do one better this time around. At the 1:24 mark, Bornes took the lead and calmly maintained it throughout, clinching the women’s title by clocking a time of 2:29:02.
Thus, it was an East African double instead of a Kenyan double at Mumbai. The cash prize for the winner has been set at $44,000 while the runner-up will receive an amount of $23,000. The best Indian runner will take home INR 5,00,000.
