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Kenya's Kenneth Mungara wins Mumbai marathon
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January 18, 2009 10:13 IST
Last Updated: January 18, 2009 16:19 IST

Kenya's Kenneth Mungara ran a well-paced race to win the Mumbai [Images] marathon in a record time of 2 hours 11 minutes and 51 seconds on Sunday morning.

His timing eclipsed countryman Daniel Rono's record of 2:12.03 seconds, set in the 2006 edition of the event.

David Tarus, also of Kenya, finished second in 2:12.02 seconds, which was also inside the record, while 2007 and 2008 winner John Kelai placed third in a timing of 2:12.23 seconds.

Mungara, who won the Toronto marathon in October, broke away from the leading pack at the 23 km mark along with Tarus and stayed ahead for the rest of the course to win comfortably, at least 70 metres ahead of Tarus, who was neck and neck with him at one stage four kilometers from the finish.

The corresponding crown for women was claimed by Ethiopia's Haille Kebebush in 2 hours 34 minutes and 8 seconds. Her compatriot Martha Marcos was second in 2:34:15 while last year's winner Irene Mogaka placed third, clocking 2:37:28.

Ram Singh Yadav made it three-in-a-row among Indian men by clocking 2:18:03 which placed the Army Sports Institute (Pune) runner overall 11th position. He won Rs 100,000 for his effort.

Deep Chand, a half-marathoner-turned-full marathoner, came second among Indian men in 2:26:01 (overall 21st) while another ASI runner Narender Singh was third in 2:26:41 (overall 23rd).

The US $250,000 prize-money event saw 150 elite foreign athletes, including 52 women, taking part in the full marathon that attracted 2,500 entrants.

After being flagged off at the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus the runners took a course that was more or less similar to that of last year, the Kemp's Corner flyover needing to be negotiated twice.

Sunday's race was the fist major public event in the metropolis after the 26/11 terror strikes.

The winner of the men's and women's full marathon were richer by US $31,500 while the second-placed runners took home US $20,500.

The men's and women's half marathons, which started 50 minutes before the full marathon, attracted 10,000 athletes which included 280 from abroad.


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