Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon: Ethiopia’s Chela Regasa sprints to victory, Kenya’s Irine Cheptai dominates women’s race

While Ethiopia’s Chela Regasa sprinted home to victory, Kenya's Irine Cheptai dominated the women’s race at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon on Sunday. Winners of the men's and women’s categories were richer by $27,000 (₹22 lakh approx.).

Armed with a strong finish, Regasa raced to victory in the last 400m of the Delhi Half Marathon, clocking 1:00:30.

Kenya’s Felix Kipchoech, leading at the 20km mark, didn’t have the energy to shift into another gear in the home stretch and finished second with a time of 1:00:33. Ethiopia’s Boki Diriba crossed the finish line in the third place. He clocked 1:00:34.

Pre-race favorite Muktar Edris of Ethiopia trailed home in eighth place with a time of 1:01:05.

A big bunch of 13 athletes stayed together in the opening 10km. The number was reduced to 10 by the 15km mark. The early fast pace had its toll on the athletes and the group was further reduced to four at the 20km mark.

The real battle for the title in the men’s 21km race started in the last kilometer. Four athletes were grouped together at the beginning of this phase.

Kenya’s Kipchoech had a slender advantage over his two rivals as the group headed towards the finish line. However, with 400m to go, Regasa surged ahead to take home the winning purse.

The women’s 21km race was dominated by Kenya’s Irine Cheptai. She broke away from a pack of five athletes after 10km mark and enjoyed a 13-second lead over her nearest rival at the 15km mark.

Irine was nearly a minute ahead of her nearest rival at 20km. She crossed the finish line in 1:06:42. Ethiopia’s Dawit Seyaum clocked 1:08:02 to finish second, while Uganda’s Stella Chesang crossed the line in 1:08:11 for third place.

Delhi Half Marathon: Indian participants

In the Indian men’s category, Avinash Sable and Kartik Kumar raced almost the entire 21km together. Both clocked a similar time of 1:04:00. But Sable was declared the winner in a photo finish. Srinu Bugatha was third with a timing of 1:05:25.

As expected, Sanjivani Jadhav won the women’s 21km (Indian category). She clocked 1:17:14. Monika Athare (1:18:39) and Priti Lamba (1:19:06) finished second and third, respectively.

The winners of the Indian men's and women’s categories in the Delhi Half Marathon took home a cash award of ₹3.5 lakh. The top 10 in the elite foreign and Indian categories were also given cash awards.