John Kelai misses hat-tricku2026 no surprise!

Favourite John Kelai's third place finish didn't surprise his fellow Kenyan and winner Kenneth Mugara, who felt there was no way Kelai was going to achieve his hat-trick of Mumbai Marathon wins

Mumbai Marathon winner Kenya's Kenneth Mugara is all focus during the 42-km race yesterday. PIC/BIPIN KOKATE

Favourite John Kelai's third place finish didn't surprise his fellow Kenyan andu00a0 winner Kenneth Mugara, who felt there was no way Kelai was going to achieve his hat-trick of Mumbai Marathon wins

Two-time winner and defending champion of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) John Kelai was never the favourite to the win the sixth edition of the event that took place in the city yesterday.

At least that's what his countrymates Kenneth Mugara and David Tarus, who stood first and second in yesterday's event believe. Kelai stood third clocking 2:12:23 u2014 the same time that was enough for him to clinch first place last year. However, this time Mugara (2:11:51) and Tarus (2:12:02) set course records on their way to clinching first and second spots, denying Kelai a hat-trick in the bargain.

Favourite
In the run up to the annual event, Kelai was being touted as the hot favourite. Race organisers and experts too tipped him to make it three in a row. However, it was not to be. And soon after the race, the Kenyan explained exactly why they were not too impressed with all the hype surrounding Kelai. "I would not like to believe that John (Kelai) was the favourite going into this race," Tarus told MiD DAY yesterday.
u00a0
Both Tarus and Mugara, despite being on their maiden trips to Mumbai, were confident of doing better than Kelai here as they had beaten him in Canada three months ago. "At the Toronto Marathon (September 28), I stood first while David came fourth and Kelai finished fifth. So, I was confident coming here that I could do better than the rest," Mugara said.

Tarus in fact, hails from Kelai's native place, Eldoret, and knows him well. "I've known John for a long time. He is a good runner. But then every marathon is different. A marathon involves a lot of mental preparation too besides the physical training that goes with it. On the mental aspect I knew I was stronger going by the recent results," explained Tarus.

Hurt
Kelai attributed his third place finish to some abdominal pain, which suddenly cropped up. "The race and the conditions were all good. I have no complaints on that front. It's just that I've recently had a stitch in my stomach and that started to pain suddenly," he said.