New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) Olympian Joshua Cheptegei lived up to his billing to take home the men’s crown while Alemaddis Eyayu pushed pre-race favourite Cynthia Limo behind for a surprise win in the women’s race in the Delhi Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, at the Indian capital on Sunday.

Kenya’s Alex Matata (27) led a major part of the race with his teammate Nicholas Kipkorir, who ran his maiden half marathon internationally. Kipkorir was a bronze medalist in the 5 km World Championships last year.

Matata was unbeaten in all three races he took part in in Europe earlier this year, with two sub-60 minutes clocking in two of them. That made the race exciting, and everyone was looking for a fast finish timing from the men’s winner. Matata keeps the lead until the runners turn toward the finish line in the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, where the race commenced less than an hour earlier to decide the 2024 title.

Cheptegei, running seconds behind the Kenyan, realised the now-or-never situation and came from behind to snatch the lead from Matata to win in 59 minutes 46 seconds. Matata (59:53) and Kipkorir (59:59) complete the podium with the Ugandan.

Incidentally, the Delhi Half Marathon was one of the fastest races in the world and usually saw incredible timings by the participants. Ethiopian Deriba Merga was the first to post a sub-60-minute winning time in 2008 when all the podium finishers dipped under 1 hour. This action was repeated several times in some of the subsequent editions at Delhi, wherein 2014 witnessed a record number of nine runners finishing within 60 minutes.

Former world champion Muktar Edris from Ethiopia, another pre-race favourite, finished fifth (60:52), while Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu (60:40) got fourth place.

Cheptegei, with multiple world titles on his cap, said, “This win in Delhi was special to me because it is my first-ever victory in a Half Marathon. India has been important for my career, and this country now means a lot to me. I felt good throughout the race despite the slow start. My first aim was to catch up with Nicholas (Kipkorir) and then Alex (Matata) in the final few kilometres of the race. I am delighted with my performance and hope to continue in the same manner in the future races”.

Alemaddis Eyayu extended the Ethiopian winning streak in Delhi. Kenya’s Cynthia Limo, the pre-race favourite, led the field right from the beginning while Scotland’s Commonwealth Champion Eilish McColgan trailed behind all the time. McColgan had the fastest and only sub-66 minute timing among the elite women who took the starting lineup today. However, two Ethiopians, Eyayu and Tiruye Mesfin, stuck with Limo for the entire part.

Cynthia Limo, who won the women’s title here in 2015, had returned to Delhi after nine years. Following her victory in the Indian capital, the Kenyan runner secured a silver medal in Cardiff's 2016 World Half Marathon championships.

Eyayu and Limo passed the 10K mark together and remained the sole leaders in the women’s race. However, the Ethiopian runner pulled ahead in the second phase of the race, leaving Limo 10-15 seconds behind. It was a crucial deciding factor at the end as Eyayu crossed the finish line 68:17 for the top spot, while Limo did so 10 seconds later. Mesfin clocked 69:42 for third and McColgan 69:55 to finish fourth and outside the podium.

“I had a good race, tried to keep my pace and aimed to finish well. I am happy to have achieved it” Eyayu said during the post-event press conference.

Limo said she was happy to join the Delhi podium after nine years. “Securing second place is incredible, one that fills me with pride. The atmosphere was electric, with people lining the streets and cheering us. It’s heartwarming to see how the city comes together. This experience has been truly special; the support from the spectators, their enthusiasm, and the overall energy of the event have made this return to Delhi unforgettable,” was Limo’s reaction to the race.

The total prize purse for the Delhi Half Marathon was USD 260,000. The podium finishers both men and women took home USD 27,000, USD 20,000 & USD 13,000 respectively.

Sawan Barwal will go home with the gold medal this time around after finishing on the podium of the Delhi Half Marathon for a second straight edition. With a timing of 1:02:46, Barwal finished ahead of Puneet Yadav, bettering his personal best in the process. Kiran Matre grabbed the third spot to complete the podium for the Indian Elite Men's event.

Barwal, who won bronze in 2023, was behind Puneet at the 10-kilometer mark, but left his best for the final stretch of the race. Taking advantage of an opening, he pushed himself in the final quarter and eventually secured the top spot with a difference of almost 1 minute and 9 seconds.

After the race, an emotional Sawan was ecstatic about turning the bronze to gold as he shed some light on his performance, saying, "It has been a great ride from the last Delhi Half Marathon to the current edition. We are nearing the end of the season, and I was happy with the preparations throughout the season, and I used that to my advantage this time around. I did not enter thinking about finishing in 62 minutes, but the way I started and when I settled into the race, I knew I could go all the way."

In the Indian Elite Women's category, Lili Das was miles ahead of her competitors, securing the gold with a timing of 1:18:12. Coming in second was last year's winner Kavita Yadav, who clocked 1:19:44 as she finished in the top 3 for a second straight edition of the Delhi Half Marathon. In third place was 2022 Asian Games bronze medallist Priti Lamba, who crossed the finish line at the 1:20:21 mark.

In the 9th position at the 10-kilometer mark, Lili upped the ante to reach the top spot at the 15th kilometer. She maintained the lead with a massive effort and went on to win the gold by a massive difference of 1 minute and 32 seconds ahead of Kavita.

Lili, who fought cramps on the way to her gold, spoke about the experience of landing on the podium in her very first Delhi Half Marathon, "It is a very good feeling to win the Delhi Half Marathon in my very first attempt. I felt a little bit of dehydration during the race which I was worried about, but I am glad that I was able to finish the race. I cramped up around the 19th kilometer and it was a scary moment, but I fought it and worked very hard to finish the final 2 kilometers. After doing well in track and field events, winning gold in a half marathon feels great."

Provisional results:

International Men:

1 Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) 0:59:46

2 Alex Matata (Kenya) 0:59:53

3 Nicholas Kipkorir (Kenya) 0:59:59

4 Alphonce Simbu (Tanzania) 1:00:40

5 Muktar Edris (Ethiopia) 1:00:52

6 Ismael Kiprono (Kenya) 1:00:53

7 Levy Kibet (Kenya) 1:01:29

8 Dinkalem Ayele (Ethiopia) 1:02:00

9 Malede Bukayaw (Israel) 1:02:43

10 Embay Goitom (Ethiopia) 1:02:44

11 Sawan Barwal (India) 1:02:46

International Women:

1 Alemaddis Eyayu (Ethiopia) 1:08:17

2 Cynthia Limo (Kenya) 1:08:27

3 Tiruye Mesfin (Ethiopia) 1:09:42

4 Eilish McColgan (United Kingdom) 1:09:55

5 Yalemget Yaregal (Ethiopia) 1:10:21

6 Zerihun Alemstsehay (Ethiopia) 1:13:41

7 Gelane Getu (Ethiopia) 1:14:53

8 Balemlay Shumet (Ethiopia) 1:15:25

9 Dibabe Beyene (Ethiopia) 1:16:57

10 Lili Das (India) 1:18:12

Indian Men:

1 Sawan Barwal (India) 1:02:46

2 Puneet Yadav (India) 1:03:55

3 Kiran Matre (India) 1:04:58

4 Sahil Gill (India) 1:06:09

5 Shankar Lal Swami (India) 1:06:33

6 Mohd Aleem (India) 1:06:34

7 Harish Sheoran (India) 1:06:34

8 Kalidas Hirave (India) 1:06:59

9 Gagan Singh (India) 1:07:33

10 Kartik Jayraj Karkera (India) 1:08:08

Indian Women:

1 Lili Das (India) 1:18:12

2 Kavita Yadav (India) 1:19:44

3 Priti Lamba (India) 1:20:20

4 Archana Jadhav (India) 1:20:21

5 Basanti Kumari (India) 1:20:25

6 Jyoti Saroj (India) 1:20:38

7 Aradhana Kumari (India) 1:21:17

8 Ravina Gayakwad (India) 1:21:47

9 Rima Patel (India) 1:22:03