PANAJI: Ethiopians, as expected, dominated the Skechers Performance Goa River Marathon, but it was the performance of Goa's Ankita Palekar that made heads turn in Vasco on Sunday.
Ethiopia had a grand finish on the 42km Open category after they grabbed the first three slots. Zelalem Alemu raced ahead of everyone else finishing the gruelling race with a timing of 02:25:58. His countryman Ashenafi Baysa was a minute behind, while Degefa Lafebo ensured he was also on the podium as he edged out Jitesh Vishwakarma to finish third with a timing of 02:34:27.
In the women's 42km Open category, Ankita Palekar stunned the contingent as she overcame a slow start to finish winner. The Goan girl took three hours and 33 minutes to complete the marathon and was a dozen-odd minutes ahead of second-placed Victoria Old. Deepa Mogha finished for the third spot with a timing of 03:51:29.
The Goa River Marathon attracted participation from 16 countries. A total of 6,000 athletes turned up at Vasco on Sunday with the full marathon alone attracting 300 athletes.
"The course of full marathon, half marathon and 10km was measured and certified by IAAF for distance authenticity. The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races have certified Skechers Performance Goa River Marathon as a full-time member after a two-year spell of being associate members. Our race is now listed in the AIMS annual calendar of international marathon events. Only a handful of full marathons qualified in India as AIMS certified," said organising secretary Rakesh Unny.
Fifteen visually impaired runners from Pune ran 10km and half marathon asking for no special privileges either in starting line-up or en route. "The runners ran with no special stick guides and had only a prompter partner," said Unny.
The marathon also saw celebrity participation from supermodel and Bollywood actor Urvashi Rautela. "I am very delighted to be associated with Skechers Goa River Marathon, and to be a part of such great platform it is important that you are allied with proper pair of shoes that elevates your performance," she said in a statement after the conclusion of the marathon.
Prizes were distributed at the hands of South Goa member of parliament Narendra Sawaikar, Skechers South Asia CEO Rahul Vira and patron of Vasco Sports Club Vinod Parkkot.
Results: 42Km Men Open: Zelalem Alemu (02:25:58), Ashenafi Baysa (02:26:11), Degefa Lafebo (02:34:27), Jitesh Vishwakarma (02:52:30), Rajaram Renganathan (02:57:11), Jitender Kumar Yadav (02:58:17); 42Km Women Open: Ankita Palekar (03:33:14), Victoria Old (03:45:51), Deepa Mogha (03:51:29), Carmem Silvia Frade de Andrade (04:17:44), Fatima Desa (04:36:08), Pritiva Silva Lobo (04:46:04); 21Km Men Open: Jenbel Galen (01:09:38), Abebe Bekele (01:09:39), Ismail Ssenyange (01:09:58); 21Km Women Open: Puja Mondal (01:31:33), Divya T (01:38:26), Merina Mathew (01:54:23); 10Km Men Open: Ajay Kumar Bind (00:34:08), Karan Mali (00:34:39), Ganesh Argekar (00:35:57); 10Km Women Open: Catherine Haigh (00:46:28), Vanja Tufvesson (00:46:54), Danita Diniz (00:48:10).
Ethiopia had a grand finish on the 42km Open category after they grabbed the first three slots. Zelalem Alemu raced ahead of everyone else finishing the gruelling race with a timing of 02:25:58. His countryman Ashenafi Baysa was a minute behind, while Degefa Lafebo ensured he was also on the podium as he edged out Jitesh Vishwakarma to finish third with a timing of 02:34:27.
In the women's 42km Open category, Ankita Palekar stunned the contingent as she overcame a slow start to finish winner. The Goan girl took three hours and 33 minutes to complete the marathon and was a dozen-odd minutes ahead of second-placed Victoria Old. Deepa Mogha finished for the third spot with a timing of 03:51:29.
The Goa River Marathon attracted participation from 16 countries. A total of 6,000 athletes turned up at Vasco on Sunday with the full marathon alone attracting 300 athletes.
"The course of full marathon, half marathon and 10km was measured and certified by IAAF for distance authenticity. The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races have certified Skechers Performance Goa River Marathon as a full-time member after a two-year spell of being associate members. Our race is now listed in the AIMS annual calendar of international marathon events. Only a handful of full marathons qualified in India as AIMS certified," said organising secretary Rakesh Unny.
Fifteen visually impaired runners from Pune ran 10km and half marathon asking for no special privileges either in starting line-up or en route. "The runners ran with no special stick guides and had only a prompter partner," said Unny.
The marathon also saw celebrity participation from supermodel and Bollywood actor Urvashi Rautela. "I am very delighted to be associated with Skechers Goa River Marathon, and to be a part of such great platform it is important that you are allied with proper pair of shoes that elevates your performance," she said in a statement after the conclusion of the marathon.
Prizes were distributed at the hands of South Goa member of parliament Narendra Sawaikar, Skechers South Asia CEO Rahul Vira and patron of Vasco Sports Club Vinod Parkkot.
Results: 42Km Men Open: Zelalem Alemu (02:25:58), Ashenafi Baysa (02:26:11), Degefa Lafebo (02:34:27), Jitesh Vishwakarma (02:52:30), Rajaram Renganathan (02:57:11), Jitender Kumar Yadav (02:58:17); 42Km Women Open: Ankita Palekar (03:33:14), Victoria Old (03:45:51), Deepa Mogha (03:51:29), Carmem Silvia Frade de Andrade (04:17:44), Fatima Desa (04:36:08), Pritiva Silva Lobo (04:46:04); 21Km Men Open: Jenbel Galen (01:09:38), Abebe Bekele (01:09:39), Ismail Ssenyange (01:09:58); 21Km Women Open: Puja Mondal (01:31:33), Divya T (01:38:26), Merina Mathew (01:54:23); 10Km Men Open: Ajay Kumar Bind (00:34:08), Karan Mali (00:34:39), Ganesh Argekar (00:35:57); 10Km Women Open: Catherine Haigh (00:46:28), Vanja Tufvesson (00:46:54), Danita Diniz (00:48:10).
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