Kochi: Kenyans Bernard Kipyego and Helah Kiprop were declared the winners of the first Cochin International Half Marathon here on Sunday.
The 21-km run with separate races for elite internationals and Indian runners had over 2,100 participants of whom, at least 200 finished.
Kipyego outran his teammate and favourite Emanuel Mutai to clock 1:02.56 and clinch the elite international men’s race.
Mutai and another Kenyan, Eliud Tarus, came second and third, timing 1:03.02 and 1:03.15 respectively.
“It was a bit difficult to run in the humid conditions. After 18 kilometres, I decided to push forward and that was when I thought I could finish top here,” said Kipyego after becoming the champion.
Meanwhile, Helah faced stiff competition from Ethiopian duo Yeyenesh Dinkesa and Tizita Niguse Wubishet in the women’s event. The Kenyan woman accelerated after the turn and finished at 1:11.57 while the second and third placed runners timed 1:13.28 and 1:15.32 respectively.
In the elite Indian section of the run, G. Lakshman and L. Surya were crowned the champions. The Tamil Nadu runners clocked in at 1:04.38 and 1:19.47 respectively.
Steeplechaser Sudha Singh and distance runner Kavita Raut came second (1:19.51) and third (1:20.03) in the women’s event while Kheta Ram (1:06.57) and Kerala man Soji Mathew (1:07.39) finished behind Lakshman in the Indian men’s event.
The elite internationals pocketed $5,000, $3,000 and $1,000 for finishing on the podium while the top three Indian runners received cash prizes of `2 lakh, `1.5 lakh and `1 lakh respectively.
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