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Pune’s girl gang reign supreme at Goa half marathon
Increasing knowledge about leading a healthier lifestyle has found many to show enthusiasm and dedication towards maintaining their fitness
City’s Swati Gadave, Priyanka Chavarkar (1:33:59) and Vinaya Malusare (1:38:59) sealed a march at the 9th Skechers Performance Goa river half marathon on Sunday, occupying all the podium spots. With a timing of 1:32:04, Gadave ensured that she would emerge victorious in what proved to be a tricky hilly terrain.
The marathon is held between Chicalim and Cortalim with a route that runs along the Zuari river.
Gadave said, “I’m extremely overwhelmed to win the half marathon under challenging conditions. It was a hilly area and I knew that I had to be at my very best if I was to end up winning the event.”
Over the past few years, the city has seen a number of endurance athletes thrive on the national stage. Increasing knowledge about leading a healthier lifestyle has found many to show enthusiasm and dedication towards maintaining their fitness.
When asked why Pune is emerging as a hotspot city for all fitness freaks, Gadave said, “The facilities here in Pune are fantastic for every athlete to succeed. We have a number of synthetic tracks, quality coaches and the weather conditions too are ideal to train. That’s why we’re seeing a number of long-distance runners coming from the city.”
Chavarkar said, “I know I fell a minute-and-a-half short of the eventual winner, but I am not too disappointed with my performance. I still have to improve on my endurance, and that is what cost me at the end, but apart from that it has been a splendid experience.”
When asked about the difficulties she faced during the half marathon, Malusare said, “I think the hill at the end was a bit tricky, but I’m glad it was as I learned a lot from it. I also wasn’t at my hundred per cent as I had weakness the previous week, and felt I could not give enough during the race.”
The 21-km half marathon for men was also extremely competitive, with Kanakappa Donni (1:16:18) winning the event ahead of Teddy Cardozo of Goa (1:17:24) and Chandrasekhar Ukey, an Army man from Belgavi who clocked 1:17:39.
RESULTS
42 km men’s marathon
1) Adinew Tolsea (Ethiopia): 2:45:33
2) Jitesh Vishwakarma Katni (MP): 3:02:12
3) Vinayak Jambotkar (Belgavi): 3:12: 18
42 km women’s marathon
1) Seema (Delhi): 3:33:20
2) Anshu Khandelwal (Kota, Rajasthan): 5:10:08
3) Ashwini G (Bengaluru): 5:11:14
21 km men
1) Kanakappa Donni (Belgavi): 1:16:18
2) Teddy Cardozo (Goa): 1:17:24
3) Chandrasekhar Ukey (Indian Army, Belgavi): 1:17: 39
21 km women
1) Swati Gadhave (Pune): 1:32:04
2) Priyanka Chavarkar (Pune): 1:33:59
3) Vinaya Malusare (Pune): 1:38:59
10 km men
1) Saidappa Myageri (Indian Army, Belgavi): 00: 34:24
2) Devaraj YK (Gadag, Karnataka): 00:35:05
10 km women
1) Sapna Patel (Varanasi): 00:41:04
2) Anita Nishad (Vasco, Goa): 00:46:12
3) Danita Diniz (Vasco, Goa): 00:48:09
