Marathon thrills as Mumbai chills!

Speed guns send records tumbling as TMM’s return post two-year COVID-19 break has athletes blitzing course in kinder weather; Ethiopians Lemi, Haymanot are champs

Course records went cartwheeling, biting the Mumbai dust as the bar moved higher in the international elite men and women’s sections of the Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM) on Sunday. Ethiopia’s Hayle Lemi, stopped the clock at 02:07:32, under Derara Harisa’s Mumbai record of 2:08:09. Lemi, who really pushed after 28 km, took home USD 45,000 for winning the race, plus another USD 15,000 as course record bonus. That’s approximately Rs 49.5 lakh cumulatively.

Ethiopia’s Anchalem Haymanot

The men’s lead pack that was going at a sedate pace in the first half, picked up post that began tearing up the streets. Lemi got into a terrific stride with arms pumping as he turned from Marine Drive to pass by Churchgate on the last leg. He was absolutely majestic as he came on to the home stretch, knowing he had it in the bag and celebrating before he broke the tape.

Also read: More than 3,600 cops to ensure incident-free Mumbai marathon today

Intense training

“I too was slightly surprised to win the event. My training has been intense and focused,” a smiling Lemi said at the post race conference, adding that he feared being overtaken by second-placed Philemon Rono. “Rono is very strong at the end. I was thinking he may come up from behind and beat me,” added Lemi. Kenya’s Rono clocked 2:08:44 while Ethiopia’s Hailu Zewdu finished third with 2:10:23. Ethiopia swept the women’s section with 21-year-old Anchalem Haymanot clipping seconds off the course record of 2:24:33 to come in at 2:24:15.

USD 15,000 course bonus

Haymanot pocketed the same amount as the men’s winner. In fact, Haymanot said she had asked the male pacemaker with her through the end to “push the pace. I was feeling good through the race, I had some energy reserves.” Second-placed Rahma Tusa (2:24:22) also set a course record while third-placed Letebrhan Haylay (2:24:52) battled cramps along the way.

The weather Gods were kind, with relatively cooler temperatures. Throughout the race, the split timings had experts shouting excitedly, “records are going to be smashed.” Lemi stated: “The course is good, a 2:05 is possible here.” It’s always special when records tumble, and the overall verdict was that the athletes weren’t just running too fast, they were also flying too low.

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