14 Indians With Superior Personal Bests To Event Records Set For Mumbai Marathon

(MENAFN- IANS) Mumbai, Jan 11 (IANS) As the Mumbai Marathon enters its twenty-first year, the fast and furious field will see as many as eight men and six women, all of whom hold personal bests superior to the current event records for Mumbai, taking the starting line-up on Sunday.

Ethiopians Hayle Lemi Berhanu (2:07:32) and Anchialem Haymanot (2:24:15) have held the event records since 2023.

The Mumbai Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, offers substantial prizes. The top three finishers in both men's and women's categories will earn USD 50000, USD 25000, and USD 15000 respectively, from a total prize pool of USD 390,238. Additionally, there is a USD 15,000 bonus for those who set new event records in their categories.

The men's line-up for 2026 includes Merhawi Kesete from Eritrea, who was runner-up here last year, behind his countryman Berhane Tesfay. Kesete is the top favourite this time for the title. However, it will not be an easy task, as the field also includes some of the finest marathon runners of our time.

Uganda's 2023 World Champion, Victor Kiplangat; South African Stephen Mokoka; and Ethiopians Bazezew Asmare and Tadu Abate Deme are other hot contenders for the top spot.

Another Ethiopian, Tesfaye Demeke, who was fortunate to make it to the podium with a third-place finish last year, will also be returning to improve his ratings this year.

Asmare holds the fastest time of 2:04:57, set four years ago when he finished third in the Amsterdam Marathon, a shade ahead of Cherop's 2:05:00 winning time in the Toronto Marathon in 2019. Kiplangat (2:05:09 – 2022), Deme (2:05:38 – 2023), Debela (2:05:46 - 2019), and another Ethiopian runner, Kelkile Gezahegn (2:05:56 – 2018), are all logged with sub-2:06 times against their names, making the top prize among the men highly competitive.

Though Kesete's best to date remains 2:06:36 (2021), a tactical approach can yield better results in a marathon.

When Media Deme Armino finished third last year, there was a host of other top-rated runners from Kenya and Bahrain to challenge her all the way. However, this year's line-up mostly featured her country-mates, which will be a remarkable relief for Medina to dream big in Mumbai.

The 2026 women's field includes three runners near 2:21. Zinah Senbeta clocked a world-class 2:21:05 to win in Lyubliyana in 2023. Incidentally, her marathon debut was in Mumbai four years earlier, where she finished seventh.

In 2021, Yeshi Chekole posted 2:21:17 to finish third in the Zurich Marathon de Sevilla in Spain. She had another third-place finish (2:23:26) in the Korean city of Incheon less than three months ago, and she is in great form at present.

But the fastest among the women's entries is listed against Shure Demise, who clocked an impressive 2:20:59 in Dubai in 2015, which remains the World Best for a Junior (under-20) athlete over this distance to date.

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