Bangalore: Geoffrey Kipsang and Helah Kiprop ran brave races in contrasting weather conditions to lead a Kenyan clean sweep of the top three places in the overall men’s and women’s categories of the Tata Consultancy World 10K Bangalore 2012, the IAAF Gold Label event, which concluded at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, here, on Sunday.
Kipsang, a former Junior World Cross Country Champion and runner-up at the Delhi Half Marathon, raced from the front right from the start to finish in 28.00 minutes, nine seconds outside the course record of 27.51. Countrymen Alex Korio (28:09) and Victor Kipchirchir (28:15) finished second and third place respectively, beating the Ethiopian Feyisa Lilesa to the fourth place. Former champion and fancied name Deriba Merga finished way below in the rankings, as did 25km World Record holder and pre-race favourite Dennis Kimetto, done in by injury.
The women’s race, run in relatively hotter conditions, saw Helah Kirop winning in 32.22 minutes, followed home by countrywomen Esther Chimutai (32.34) and Doris Changeywo (32.44). The overall winners took home USD 21,000 each, with the second and third-placed runners winning 12,000 USD and 8,000 USD each respectively.
Rahul Kumar Pal and Monika Athre emerged winners among the men and women in the Indian category, finishing overall 21st and 17th respectively.
The Army Sports Institute (ASI), Pune cadet, Rahul Pal was home in 30.15 minutes, followed by his teammate Mohammed Yunus, who also clocked the same time, but was separated by the chest in the photo-finish. In third place was Kheta Ram (30.17).
The women’s race was won by the young Monika, another running prodigy from the village that has produced former winner Kavita Raut, beating an illustrious field of Indian women. Monika finished in 36.46, followed by Swati Gadhave (37.14) and Priyanka Singh Patel (37.23).
The Nation’s Challenge saw Maharashtra emerging champions, followed by Rajasthan and Jharkhand.
With early morning showers lowering the temperature and making for a cool start at 7.10 am for the men, Kipsang, in the company of Ugandan Moses Kipsiro and Alex Korio, led from the front, trailed closely by Ethiopian Feyisa Lilesa and the rest of the bunch. The leading bunch of around ten runners were on course record target at the 5 km mark, crossing it in 14.07 seconds.
After 6 kms, Kipsang dropped the pace a bit and fell back a bit for about a kilometer to judge the reaction from his fellow runners we well as the gauge their condition, before pushing again to take the lead. Kipsang led a bunch of five runners over the 7 km mark in 19.54 and then struck out further to cross the 8 km marker in 22.36. At this juncture the other two had fallen behind and Kipsang entered the stadium comfortably in the lead and completed a lap to breast the tape.
Elaborating on his run, Kipsang said, “I got into early rhythm on the flat course and as the weather was god could sustain the momentum.” On dropping back a bit after six kms, Kipsang said, “ I was pushing hard and did not want the others to take advantage of this and then sprint past me, hence I slackened the pace a bit to judge their reaction. When I saw they were all going strong, I began pushing once again.”
Kipsang said that after the 8km mark he was confident of finishing winner, because he was still feeling strong and knew he could hold off till the finish.
The women’s race too was closely contested with Helah Kiprop leading the way. Kiprop stayed with the pack till eight kms, when she decided that she had a chance to go for the kill. “I was just trying to push myself for most part of the race, but when I reached 8-km mark, I said oh maybe I can try (to win),” said Kiprop.
“There was no particular strategy going into the race. Once the race began we decided to stick together,” she said of Chemutai and Changeywo.
Following are the final results:
Overall Elite Men:
Geoffrey Kipsang (KEN) 00.28.00; Alex Korio (KEN) 00.28.09; Victor Kipchirchir (KEN) 00.28.15; Feyisa Lilesa (ETH) 00.28.30; Leonard Langat (KEN) 00.28.33; Bernard Koech (KEN) 00.28.34; Tim Kiptoo (KEN) 00.28.43; Moses Kipsiro (UGA) 00.28.49; Silas Kipruto (KEN) 00.29.00; Lucku Modike (RSA) 00.29.03.
Overall Elite women:
Helah Kiprop (KEN) 00.32.22; Esther Chemutai (KEN) 00.32.34; Doris Changeywo (KEN) 00.32.44; Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 00.33.04; Selam Abere (ETH) 00.33.08; Grace Momanyi (KEN) 00.33.24; Helalia Johannes (NAM) 00.33.31; Philes Ongori (KEN) 00.33.36; Merima Mohammed (ETH) 00.33.50; Peninah Arusei (KEN) 00.33.58.
Indian Men:
Rahul Kumar Pal 00.30.15 (Overall 21); M D Yunus 00.30.15 (Overall 22); Kheta Ram 00.30.17 (Overall 23); Soji Mathew 00.30.20 (Overall 24); V L Dangi 00.30.23 (Overall 25); Suresh Kumar 00.30.31; Man Singh 00.30.51; Nandraj 00.30.51; Ashish Singh 00.30.52; Mukesh Rawat 00.30.54.
Indian Women:
Monica Athre 00.36.46 (Overall 17); Swati Gadhave 00.37.14 (Overall 18); Priyanka Singh Patel 00.37.23 (Overall 19); Jhumma Khatun 00.37.26 (Overall 20); Kiran Tiwari 00.37.44(Overall 21); Lalita Babar 00.38.14 (Overall 23); Manisha Salunkhe 00.38.20; Amita 00.38.32; Anuradha Singh 00.38.48; Archana Pal 00.39.44.
Nations Challenge:
1. Maharashtra (Monika Athre, Mohammed Yunus, Rahul Kumar Pal) 1:37:16; 2. Rajasthan (Kiran Tiwari, V L Dangi, Kheta Ram) 1:38:23; 3. Jharkhand (Jhumma Khatun, Soji Mathew, Arvind Kumar Yadav) 1:39:38; 4. Jammu and Kashmir (Swati Gadhave, Nitendra Singh, Man Singh) 1:39:57; 5. Haryana (Amita, Babu Ram, Nandraj) 1:40:22.
Open 10K (Overall Men):
Hanif M E (IND) 00:34:22; Shivananda Hadapad (IND) 00:34:42; Nangundppa (IND) 00:35:25; Raja (IND) 00:36:23; Jegadheesan Munisamy (IND) 00:36:52.
Open 10K (Overall Women):
Nilam Rajput (IND) 00:40:48; Amarasinha Malkanthi (SRI) 00:42:07; Natalie Follett (IND) 00:50:21; Priyanka Sharma (IND) 00:50:27; Dr. Zainab Shoaib (IND) 00:52:35.
Kingfisher Green Crusader Winner:
Beat Raja (Black Footprint).
Archana (Natural Angel).
Kingfisher Sakkath Bangalorean Winners:
Manas (Bhisma-Scams & Corruption);Ajmal (Save Children); Rituparna Maji (Communal Harmony).
Kingfisher Bombaat Brigade:
Diya Foundation (Winner-Save Trees).
Bangalore Blues (Runner up-Make way for Ambulance).
By Indian Sports News Network
