Mary Keitany looked to be cruising towards a World record time through 15km of Sunday’s Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Eventually the Kenyan settled for 1:06:54, falling short of the mark, though she smashed the course record.
Deriba Merga did not have a Kenyan breathing down his neck as he crossed the finish-line first for the second year in a row in the men’s race. The Ethiopian had his countrymen, Eshetu Wondimu and Tilahun Regassa for company for the better part of the race before breaking away past the 15km mark to coast through to a 59:54 win. Wondimu (1:00:02) came second while Regassa, who set the early pace, faded to fourth behind Kenyan Wilson Kipsang (1:00:04) who was second here last time.
There was no challenge at all to World Half Marathon champion Keitany in the women’s race. Defending champion Aselefech Mergia of Ethiopia (1:10.02) finished ninth, unable to match the early pace set by the front-running Kenyan. Ethiopians Wude Ayelew (1:07.58) and Aberu Kebede (1:07.59) who took the second and third spots, tried to put up a fight, but in the end found Keitany too good…..Read More
