Mumbai: Ethiopian runners dominated the 21st Tata Mumbai Marathon as Tadu Abate Deme and Yeshi Kalayu Chekole clinched the elite men’s and women’s titles at the World Athletics Gold Label event on Sunday. The podium finishers earned USD50,000, USD25,000, and USD15,000 respectively.
Men’s Elite Race: The men’s contest unfolded as a tactical battle involving Kenya’s Leonard Kiprotich Langat, Eritrea’s Merhawi Kesete – runner-up last year – and Ethiopia’s Tadu Abate. World champion Victor Kiplangat of Uganda and Ethiopian Gada Gemsisa were also in contention until midway.
Langat and Abate exchanged the lead repeatedly until the 40 km point. Kesete stayed close, trailing by roughly 50 metres, but was unable to close the gap when the pace surged late. In the closing kilometre, Abate accelerated smoothly to build a decisive margin and crossed the line in 2:09:55.
Langat followed 15 seconds later for second, with Kesete securing third in 2:10:22.
With victories in both elite races, Ethiopia completed a double sweep in Mumbai for the seventh time.
Women’s Elite Race: Yeshi Kalayu Chekole secured her maiden major marathon victory, delivering a well-planned effort over the 42.195 km course. The 28-year-old paced herself intelligently, staying composed through the opening stages before accelerating decisively in the final kilometres.
The early part of the race saw a large Ethiopian group push together, featuring familiar names such as Medina Deme Armino – third last year – and experienced performer Shure Demise. Armino made the initial move and used her knowledge of the Mumbai streets to take charge through halfway, but she gradually slipped behind as the pace lifted.
From that point, Yeshi stayed with leading contenders Kidsan Alema, Gojjam Tesgaye and Birke Debele. When the race passed the 30 km mark, she controlled the tempo, eased away from her rivals and finished unchallenged in 2:25:13 – the fifth-fastest winning time in the event’s history.
Kidsan Alema followed her home, while the remaining Ethiopian contenders filled out the lead positions, according to reports.
Indian Elite – Women: Sanjivani Jadhav marked her marathon debut with a memorable win, finishing 10th overall in the women’s field and first among Indian runners. She completed the race in 2:49:02, showing strength through the final stretch.
Nirmaben Thakor, chasing a third consecutive Mumbai crown, settled for second in 2:49:13 after a resilient run.
Sonam clocked 2:49:24 for third, gaining valuable experience while staying close to the frontrunners.
Indian Elite – Men: Kartik Karkera, based in Russia for training, produced a breakthrough performance to claim top honours among Indian men. Competing in only his second marathon, he cut a large chunk off his previous best and finished in 2:19:55, surprising several seasoned distance runners.
Defending champion Anish Thapa placed second with a steady 2:20:08, maintaining his strong record in Mumbai.
Pradeep Chaudhary completed the top three in 2:20:49 despite struggling with mid-race physical issues.
Prize Money: The top three finishers in the Indian elite categories received INR 5 lakh, INR 4 lakh, and INR 3 lak,h respectively.
