Nairobi Star (Nairobi)
Chris Mbaisi
20 June 2011
Kenya’s Christopher Kipyego clocked two hours, 12 minutes, 16.36 seconds to beat Ethiopia’s Teklu Deneke by 0.20 seconds during the Grandma’s Marathon over the weekend.
Kipyego capitalised on a late blunder to beat his Ethiopian rival by a fraction of a second in one of the closest finish in the history of the race. The previous closest finish was a 4-second margin of victory in 1999.
The victory saw Kipyego pocket won $10,000 (Sh890,000) for the victory and $1,500 (Sh133,500) bonus for finishing under 2 hours, 13 minutes.
The race wouldn’t have been as close had Kipyego not stopped short of the actual finish line. He pulled up at an electronic timing mat about 60 feet from the finish line and seemed ready to celebrate until he saw race officials urging him to continue.
He took off at a sprint, matched stride for stride by Deneke. They crossed the finish line together, producing the first photo finish in the 35-year history of the Grandma’s Marathon.
Kenya’s Evelyn Lagat lost to Yihunlish Delelecha in the women’s race. The 29-year-old Ethiopian clocked 2 hours, 30 minutes, 39 seconds to beat Lagat by 53 seconds.
With the win, Delelecha takes home $10,000 (Sh890,000) plus a $2,500 (Sh222,500) bonus for finishing under 2 hours, 31 minutes.
Saul Mendoza of Wimberley, Texas, successfully defended his title in the men’s wheelchair race, beating Jorge Jimenez of Spain by a wheelchair length.
Running conditions were cooler than usual, with temperatures of 54 degrees and a 13 mph tail wind for the early morning start. Within two hours, the temperature dipped to 48 degrees.
Runners could see their breath along Lake Superior, although they were spared rain that poured down in the early morning but stopped about 30 minutes before the race. “It was too cold for me at the start and that’s why I ran in a pack behind some of the other runners,” Kipyego said. “It took me until about 20 miles, until about 90 minutes into the race, before my body felt warmed up enough to respond to a faster pace.”
Kipyego, who took second place last year when he finished 16 seconds behind the winner, needed every bit of warmth to win this year.
AllAfrica – All the Time
Taken from:
Kenya: Kipyego Beat Deneke to Win Grandma’s Marathon