Mutai, Mergia win Delhi Half Marathon

New Delhi, Nov 21 (PTI) Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya emerged
victorious in the men's elite category, while 2008 winner
Ethiopia's Aselefech Mergia won the title in the women's event
as more than 30,000 Delhiites braved a chilly Sunday morning
to run at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon here.
Last year's winner in the men's section, Deriba Merga of
Ethiopia pulled out of the event at the last hour due to poor
form and injury problem.
Mutai, a long distance runner who specialises in road
race competitions, faced stiff competition from Ethiopians
Lelisa Desisa and first timer Yacob Yarso, who finished second
and third respectively.
Mutai, who recently clocked 2:04:55 at the Rotterdam
Marathon, the second fastest time of the year, ran 59 minutes
and 38 minutes to cover the 21.097 km and pocketed USD 25,000
winner's purse.
Desisa, who was matching the pace of Mutai most of the
distance, failed to accelerate towrads the end and clocked
59 minutes and 39 seconds to settle for a silver. Yarso
clocked 1:00:07 to win the bronze.
In the women's event, Mergia led an Ethiopian sweep,
winning the race in one hour, eight minutes and 35 seconds
with her compatriots Merima Mohammed (1:08:36) and Yimer Wude
(1:08:36) coming second and third respectively.
Armyman Irappa D Akki (1:04:32) finished first among
Indian men and overall 20th in the race. Railways' Santosh
Kumar (1:04:35) and Ratti Ram Saini (1:04:35) came second and
third among Indian runners.
Lalita Babar (1:18:05) was the fastest woman among
Indians followed by Kiran Tiwari (1:18:55) and Geeta Rani
Tushir (1:20:13).
Each of the Indian top finishers would be richer by USD
4000. PTI