Ethiopian Sutume Kebede retained the women’s crown in the ninth edition of Tata Steel World 25K on Sunday. Ugandan Stephen Kissa triumphed over the defending champion, Daniel Ebenyo from Kenya, in the men’s race.
Indian elite runners also returned with strong performances, with Gulveer Singh running to a new event record and Sanjeevani taking the title in the women’s category.
Confirming her entry just two weeks before the race, Kebede recovered from a stomach ailment just in time to defend her title in a world-class 1:19:17. She holds the world best for 25K from last year’s race clocking 1:18:47. The Ethiopian started her campaign in 2024 with a personal best in the half-marathon recording a 1:04:37 performance and marathon (2:15:55) to take the top spots in Houston and Tokyo respectively. Incidentally, her time in Tokyo made her the eighth-fastest marathoner to date.
Coming to Kolkata with confidence and the desire to excel, Sutume started the race with some initial challenges from Bahrain’s Desi Jisa. She is the 2022 winner—also, Kenyan Viola Chpengeno, a third-place finisher in last year’s Delhi half-marathon. The Kenyan started to fade in the latter stages of the race, allowing Kebede to become a clear leader after 23K. Her winning time would have been better had Chepngeno continued with her. However, Kebede signed off 2024 with another winning note.
Chepngeno finished second in 1:19:44, while Jisa finished a distant third at 1:21:29. Kebede expressed her joy in retaining the title: “I am very happy to win (here) again. I wanted to break the course record, but was a little tired of travelling. I am training for the next year and will participate in the marathons.”
“I am happy to come second. It was not easy to run here. Everyone was strong today. I gave my best, and this makes me very happy,” Viola said while Jisa added, “I am happy to be on the podium. Thanks to everyone.”
Redemption for Stephen Kissa
Stephen Kissa salvaged some pride after logging his first win in an international competition in five years. He suffered two back-to-back debacles as a non-finisher at the Olympic Games in Tokyo (10,000m) and Paris (Marathon) and took only second spots in a couple of races in between. Hence, making a podium finish in his debut at 25K brought a moment for the Ugandan to cherish.
The race kicked off with cool temperatures and as the race unfolded, the top group of Daniel Ebenyo, Benson Kipruto, Stephen Kissa, and Haymanot Alew made past the 10K mark at 28:42 but looked up the ante as they were still a few seconds behind their expected pace.
Defending champion Ebenyo looked strong. He remained at the helm in the men’s race and ran neck-and-neck alongside Kissa in most parts of the race. They briefly exchanged the lead, but the gap between the duo did not go beyond a metre or two at any time. The Kenyan,
who also set a the world Best for 25K (1:11:13) during last year’s race, was looking to improve his time in this edition.
They reached 15K in 42:56, some 30 seconds faster, with Ebenyo and Kissa still leading the pack, as the pace picked up along the tram tracks of South Kolkata. Surprisingly, Kipruto dropped off as Kissa took the lead at the 20K mark, clocking 57:50, with Ebenyo closely
behind.
But he lost focus over the final two kms. He was focused on pulling away from the Ugandan runner. Kissa did not allow that to happen and held off the challenge to sprint out to the line to claim the men’s title in 1:12:33 and pocket the USD 15,000 prize purse.
Ebenyo finished runner-up four seconds later, while Anthony Kipchirchir surprised everyone with a bronze position at 1:12:55.
“Really I am very happy. India is a very nice country. It is my third time in India. When I was running, I thought we would make the world record. I had two options: either the first place or should I follow the first group. After the first 2 km, I saw my body responding well and so I ran with the first group. I realized that I ran well today. I thought this could be my day. At the last kilometre, I was comfortable, and I knew I could do it,” said Kissa.
“Every day, a champion is born in sports. Last year, it was me. This year, it was Kissa. That is the fun of sports. I am very happy. He has flown the flag of Uganda and congratulations. I was a little tired this year as I did not recover from the Chicago Marathon. I will take a break for the festive season and spend time with my family. I felt some fatigue today, but it is sports,” Daniel said.
“First of all, I thank the organizers for calling me. I am on the podium for the first time. Next time, I will come back again; I like the course and hope to win here. I was cheered all along, and I liked it. I cut the pace towards the 15K mark and ran at my best. I settled for the third.
But next year, I will come back stronger,” said Anthony, who finished his first podium here.
Gulveer, Sanjeevani excel among the Indians:
Twenty-six-year-old Gulveer Singh has been breaking national records in many distances. He has improved the national marks in 5000 and 10,000m twice this year. The Guangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist, who just eight weeks ago became the Asian cross-country champion, is now turning his focus towards road running. Sawan Barwal, the 2023 Asian half-marathon bronze medallist, led Gulveer for a significant portion of the race today. As in the international category, Gulveer broke away from Sawan and sprinted to finish first and also registered another Indian best at this distance by clocking 1:14:10. Sawan clocked a close 1:14:11 to cross the finish line fractionally behind the leader. Gaurav Mathur completes the Indian podium in third place.
“I am in good form, and I thought we could break the course record. We practiced together, and then we pushed each other. After 12 km there was some traffic, so we lost a little time and made up. I am very happy to win,” said Singh.
“We get a lot of support. AFI has given us a good coach from the USA. We also get to visit foreign countries. That has reduced the gap between the elite internationals. Now we are preparing for the Asian and World Championships,” he further said about closing in on the International elites.
“Condition was better this time. We wanted to break the course record, and so we did. We are very happy to achieve this. I tried my best to win, but Gulveer was very good today,” Sawan Barwal said.
Sanjivani Jadhav, popular among women runners in the country, returned to Kolkata after 2022, where she was a top finisher among Indians. Kavita Yadav aided her by initially challenging Sanjivani before allowing her to run a solo race. The 28-year-old runner improved
her best by over 5 minutes, winning in 1:29:08.
Lili Das (1:30:58) and Kavita Yadav (1:32:19) took the next two spots among the Indian women.
“I am very much pleased to win here again. I practiced running a solo race. The 28-year-old runner improved her best by more than 5 minutes. I have a personal coach and this prize money is a great help. I am working very hard for the Asian Championship. I will give my best.
The World Championship will have a ranking system. If we can compete outside, we can also get the rankings to participate,” Sanjivani said after winning the race.
Results
Overall International Men:
Stephen Kissa (Uganda) 1:12:33 ; Daniel Ebenyo (Kenya) 1:12:37; Anthony Kipchirchir (Kenya) 1:12:55; Benson Kipruto (Kenya) 1:13:25 ; Asbel Rutto (Kenya) 1:13:36 ; Hillary Mosop (Kenya) 1:13:56 ; Dejene Hailu (Ethiopia) 1:14:10 ; Gulveer Singh (India) 1:14:10;
Sawan Barwal (India) 1:14:11 ; Rodgers Murei (Kenya) 1:15:37.
Overall International Women:
Sutume Kebede (Ethiopia) 1:19:17 ; Viola Chepngeno (Kenya) 1:19:44; Desi Jisa (Bahrain) 1:21:29; Alemaddis Eyayu (Ethiopia) 1:21:42 ; Degitu Azimeraw (Ethiopia) 1:22:16; Misgane Alemayehu (Ethiopia) 1:24:40 ; Sintayehu Lewetegn (Ethiopia) 1:28:26 ; Sanjeevani Jadhav
(India) 1:29:08 ; Lili Das (India) 1:30:58; Kavita Yadav (India) 1:32:19.
Indian Men:
Gulveer Singh 1:14:10 (NEW COURSE RECORD) ; Sawan Barwal 1:14:11 ; Gaurav Mathur 1:16:59 ; Abhishek Pal 1:19:00 ; Mohd Aleem 1:19:00 ; Hemant Singh 1:19:02 ;Kartik Jayraj Karkera 1:19:03; Nikhil Singh 1:19:07 ; Mayangam Lung Leng 1:19:10 ; Manoj Kumar
1:19:38.
Indian Women:
Sanjeevani Jadhav 1:29:08; Lili Das 1:30:58 ; Kavita Yadav 1:32:19 ; Nirmaben Bharatjee Thakor 1:35:14 ; Bhagirathi 1:36:17 ; Sanghamitra Mahata 1:38:22 ; Shyamali Sing 1:39:45 ; Madina Paul 1:40:54.
Vijay Diwas Trophy:
Indian Army 1 (Anand Singh Rawat, Manjit Singh, Hardeep Singh) 4:08:52; Indian Army 2 (Bheem Singh, Dattatray Mahadev Tambe; Manoj Joshi (4:10:37); Indian Army 3 (Vagaram Prajapati; Pintu Sharma; Banee Singh (4:13:33).
Police Cup Winners:
Police Cup Men Team 39 ( Joydev, Rishikesh, Manas ) 1:47:53; Police Cup Men Team 54 (Md Wazed, Rabindranath, Prasanta) 2:05:06 ; Police Cup Men Team 66 ( Ardhendu, Kousik, Amresh ) 2:07:38. Police Cup Women Team 7 (Mallika, Sabina Jasmina) 2:20:01; Police Cup Women Team 8 (Puja, Moumita, Tanushree) 2:48:17; Police Cup Women Team 11 (Madhumita, Jayashree, Priyanka) 3:57:07
