World 10K report Bengaluru, India – Mosinet makes it a double, Jepchirchir justifies her billing – By -/ Ram. Murali Krishnan /-

Bengaluru, India – 15 May 2016 – Running under tough weather conditions Ethiopia’s Mosinet Geremew become the first runner ever to successfully defends his title in the ninth edition of TCS World 10K race here this morning. 

He had to fight it out for the podium finish with Kenyan John Kiprono Langat who challenged the Ethio all the way till the wire.
 
Mosinet’s country-mate Mule Wasihun did the front running after pacemakers faded away in the 3rd kilometer.  The organizers predicted for fast timings after some course corrections this year.  However a steep increase in the mercury level deterred it happening.
 
Langat, who along with fellow Kenyans Alex Korio and Gideon Kipketer covered the half-way mark at 14:17.  Checking at the clock he realized that the timing was not enough for him to get the target – course record 27:44 held by another Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor since 2014.
 
However things didn’t go as smoothly as he expected when a stray dog started chasing him about 700m right in front of Vidhana Sabha – Karnataka State Legislative Assembly – that scared him mostly.  Wasihun faded away a bit earlier allowed Mosinet and others to take the lead while Langat continue to have an edge over the rest just 2 km to finish.
 
When the duo – Mosinet and Langat – entered the Sree Kanteerava Stadium complex where the start and finish points of the race located, the defending champion used his energy to sprint in the last metres to make it a memorable ‘double’.  Mosinet was the first athlete to defend a title in the race history.  Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor was the only athlete to have two wins here with victories in 2012 and 2014.
 
The Ethiopian clocked 28:36, slowest winning time in nine years, while runner-up Langat was just a second away. Bonsa Dida from Ethiopia was third in 28:42.
 
Mosinet pockets USD 23,000 for the gold.  His total prize money (USD 44,000) from two back-to-back victories made him the second highest earner in Bengaluru behind Kenyan Kamworor, who led the table with $ 49,500/-.
 
Former marathon world record-holder Patrick Makau finished thirteenth in 30:08.
 
Jepchirchir made it easy

World half-marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir was a clear winner in the women’s race.  Running with the company of 2012 winner Healh Kiprop (Kenya) and 2010 victor Ayelew Yimer Wude (Ethiopia), Jepchirchir plan the race right from the start.  
 
Breaking away from the thin field of half a dozen runners, who were in the lead bunch till the 7K mark, the Kenyan went on to win comfortably in 32:15.  Kiprop, already in the Kenyan marathon team for Rio Olympics, finished second while Wude Yimer was third five seconds later.
 
Lakshmanan, Swati top Indian finishers

Army’s Govindan Lakshmanan complained humidity and hot weather were the two main spoilers for his slow timing. Clocking 30:34, Lakshmanan clinched INR 250,000 prize purse in Indian category.  The Indian course record-holder Suresh Kumar Patel (30:36) and South Asian Games marathon gold medalist Nitender Singh Rawat (30:53) finished on the next two places.
 
Swati Gadhave, who finished second behind Suriya Loganathan here last year, improved rapidly on her timing but had a sad story to share despite her victory in the Indian women section this morning.  On seeing a foreign elite runner slow down and stopped about 150 meters to finish, Swati also stopped running almost mistaken it for the finish point.  Only after responding to huge shout from her coach and onlookers gathered around in the stadium she realized her mistake and resumed her running to finish in 34:45. 

It cost her dearly as she lost several valuable seconds to break the course record.  Only the course record-holder Kavita Raut (34:32 in 2009) and Preeja Sreedharan (34:40 in 2011) ran faster than Swati in nine years.  Swati’s ninth place finish (overall), also the best among the Indians as there was no other Indian runner finished within the top-10 earlier.
 
-/ Ram. Murali Krishnan /-
 
RESULTS:
 
MEN
1 Mosinet Geremew ETH 28:36   USD 23,000
2 John Langat KEN 28:37                $ 17,000
3 Bonsa Dida ETH 28:42                 $ 10,000
4 Abdallah Mande UGA 28:46       $ 5,000
5 Alex Korio KEN 28:49                   $ 4,000
6 Geofry Korir KEN 28:57               $ 3,000
7 Nicholas Rotich KEN 29:06         $ 2,500
8 Gideon Kipketer KEN 29:09        $ 2,000
9 Mule Wasihun ETH 29:15           $ 1,500
10 Fredrick Kipkosgei KEN 29:34  $ 1,000
11 Cybrian Kotut KEN 29:53
12 Sam Cherop UGA 30:03
13 Patrick Makau KEN 30:08
14 Alex Kapcheromit UGA 30:18
15 G Lakshmanan IND 30:34              INR 250,000
16 Suresh Kumar Patel IND 30:36          R 175,000
17 Nitender Singh Rawat IND 30:53       R 125,000
18 Md Yunus IND 30:55                        R 100,000
19 Abhishek Pal IND 31:04                   R 75,000
20 Durga Bahadur Budha IND 31:07      R 60,000
 
WOMEN
1 Peres Jepchirchir KEN 32:15  USD 23,000
2 Helah Kiprop KEN 32:28             $ 17,000
3 Wude Yimer ETH 32:33              $ 10,000
4 Edith Chelimo Ken 32:50            $ 5,000
5 Rose Chelimo KEN 32:54            $ 4,000
6 Jackline Chepngeno KEN 32:57   $ 3,000
7 Linet Masai KEN 33:25                $ 2,500
8 Magdalyne Masai KEN 34:06        $ 2,000
9 Swati Gadhave IND 34:45      INR 250,000
10 Agnes Tirop KEN 35:08             $ 1,000
11 Almaz Gelana ETH 35:09
12 Beatrice Mutai KEN 36:06
13 Sanjeevani Jadhav IND 36:13   INR 175,000
14 Meenu IND 37:18                           R 125,000
15 Manisha Salunkhe IND 37:22          R 100,000
16 Phoolan Pal IND 38:08                    R 75,000
17 Jyoti Chouhan IND 38:23                R 60,000
18 Jayashree Boragee IND 38:55          R 55,000
19 Manju Yadav IND 39:18                  R 50,000
20 Kiran Sahdev IND 39:33                 R 40,000

PHOTOS by Organisers