Mumbai Marathon gets new legends, Tesfay and Chepkemoi win men’s and women’s titles

Berhane Tesfay of Eritrea (centre) after finishing his race (Pic: Sujay Shivalkar)

New champions emerged in the Tata Mumbai Marathon as unheralded Berhane Tesfay of Eritrea clinched the elite men's title while Kenya's Joyce Chepkemoi Tele won the women's crown on Sunday.

The 38-year-old Tesfay clocked 2 hours 11 minutes and 44 seconds to complete the 42.195km distance and win his maiden international full marathon title as thousands of Mumbaikars turned up for the marquee event which is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race.

The tiny African nation of Eritrea finished 1-2 as Tesfay's compatriot Merhawi Kesete was second in 2:11:50s while Ethiopia's Tesfaye Demeke (2:11:56s) was third.

Tele, 29, clocked 2:24:56s to win the elite women's race, finishing ahead of Shitaye Eshete (2:25:29s) of Bahrain and Medina Deme Armino (2:27:58s) of Ethiopia.

Both the men's and women's defending champions from Ethiopia, Lemi Berhanu and Aberash Minsewo, failed to finish on the podium this time.

Berhanu, who had also won here in 2023, missed a hat-trick of titles as he finished sixth on Sunday with a time of 2:14:54s.

Tesfay took the lead around 3km left in the race. While Kenya's Philemon Rono (fourth) and Berhanu were in the front-running pack initially, they could not push further at the later stages.

"The race's first half went smoothly, and I stayed focused on keeping a steady pace. After 25K, my strategy shifted to securing the win rather than chasing a specific time. This victory means a lot to me, and it's a testament to the hard work and training that has gone into preparing for this moment," Tesfay said after the race.

Tesfay's earlier best performance in a marathon race was a third-place finish at Kosice Peace Marathon in Slovakia in October 2023.

For Tele, it was her second win in as many races. She had won in Slovenia at the NLB Ljubljana Marathon in October last year with a time of 2:20:17s.

"I came here only to win the race and was not thinking about any record", Chepkemoi said.

Among the Indians, Anish Thapa (2:17:23s) finished first among men while Nirmaben Thakor (2:50:06s) defended her title among women.

Man Singh was second among Indian men with a time of 2:17:37s while two-time winner Gopi T, who returned to the competition after missing it out last year, finished third with 2:19:59s. Defending champion Srinu Bugatha (2:20:43s) ended at fifth.

Thapa, whose best finish in this event was a 14th in 2020, said, "My strategy was to keep my core strong and maintain a steady start, despite the humid conditions. The real push came after the 30-35 km mark, and sticking to my plan made all the difference." Among the Indian women, Sonika Parmar came second with a time of 2:50:55s while Sonam (2:55:45s) was third.

Nirmaben, who beat Sonika by 49 seconds and finished overall 16th, said, "Though my performance this year was not as strong as last year, which remains my personal best, the experience was just as rewarding." "I started at my regular pace and stayed with the group for the first 12km before we began to split. After 21km, I gradually started overtaking, and by the 36km mark, I had secured the lead," she said.

"Even when I faced some challenges with my shoes around 38km, my determination and faith in God kept me going," she added.

Sawan Barwal and Stanzin Dolkar won the half marathon in the men's and women's categories respectively, with the former setting a meet record of 1:04.37.

(With inputs from agencies)