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In Gorakhpur mini marathon, Kenyan woman wins, Ethiopian man comes in 2nd
The annual Purvanchal Marathon, organised by Shanti Seva Sanstha, a city NGO, has become an integral part of the sports calendar of the city.
Gorakhpur residents were pleasantly surprised to see foreign athletes go neck-and-neck with local talent in the 21-km mini marathon, Purvanchal Marathon, organised in the city on Friday. This is the first time that international runners were competing in the marathon.
Kenyan runner Hannah won in the women’s category, while Ethiopian Mikias Yemata emerged as runner-up in the men’s category.
Now into its tenth edition, the annual Purvanchal Marathon, organised by Shanti Seva Sanstha, a city NGO, has become an integral part of the sports calendar of the city.
Rajkumar from Shanti Seva Sanstha said, “Among the participants, there were two athletes from Kenya, two from Ethiopia and several from Nepal. Their presence enthused locals, who cheered them and waved all along the way.”
Amid loud cheers, Hannah and Makais were handed over cash awards of rupees 51,000 and 21,000, respectively, by chief guest and MLA Radha Mohan Das, who hailed them for their spirit to travel to the city to participate in the event. The race began at around 8:00 am from the Deen Dayal Upadhyay University gate, with 316 runners, including students, participating.
Hanna finished the race in 1 hour 24 minutes and 30 seconds, while Mikais took 1 hour 10 minutes and 41 seconds to finish it.
A local youth Anil Yadav secured the first position in the men’s category by covering the mark in 1 hour 9 minutes and 53 seconds. Hanna, who joined the marathon after coming to know about it through the website of the organiser, Shanti Seva Sanstha, had earlier won the women’s half marathon in Karnataka, beside securing the 14th rank in world cross-country.
For Makias, participating in a marathon in India is not new. So far, he has been a part of 10 marathons organised in different parts of the country and had recently come in second in the Karnataka Marathon.
Others who participated in the mini marathon came from different states of India and even from Nepal. In all, 10 sprinters were given prize money amounting to ₹2,00,000 in various categories.
