Ethiopia sweeps New Delhi Half Marathon

NEW DELHI: Ethiopia’s Deriba Merga won the Delhi Half Marathon men’s race, setting a new race record of 59.14 mins. The women’s race was won by a fellow Ethiopian Aselefech Mergia clocking 68.16 mins.

[File photo] Deriba Merga wins in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Nov. 16, 2006 (Jiro Mochizuki)

Around 25,000 people participated in the fourth edition of Delhi Half Marathon that carried a prize money of $2.1 million.

Earlier, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna flagged off the half marathon at 7:30 am from Central secretariat ground at Vinay Marg.

Among the other dignitaries present on the occasion were Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi, Athletics Federation of India (AFI) secretary Lalit Bhanot.

While the half marathon is best left to professional athletes, the major attraction of the event is the Great Delhi Run, which is expected to be participated by over 15,000 people including several celebrities.

The Times of India