Delhi, 20/10/19: Defending champions Andamlak Belihu and Tsehay Gemechu retained their respective men’s and women’s titles at the 15th Airtel Delhi Half Marathon here on Sunday.
Ethiopia’s Belihu clocked a provisional timing of 59.10 to defend his title at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, while Gemechu broke her event record with an impressive 66:00.
Whereas in Indian category Srinu Bugatha clinched the first position and under Indian woman category
The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon was flagged off by Union Minister for Sports, Kiren Rijiju from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. along with deputy CM of Delhi Manish Sisodia. Following a countdown, Rijiju fired a pistol in the air to begin the run.
The number of registrations for all categories in the 15th edition of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) has soared to an all-time high of 40,633 participants, organisers said.
The Great Delhi Run registered an unprecedented 16,962 runners while the half marathon witnessed a spike of 11 per cent with 13,115 participants.
The 10KM run registrations witnessed a jump of 77 per cent to 8,553. The senior citizen run received 1430 registrations, while the champions with a disability will have 573 inspiring individuals defying all odds to complete the distance.
In the Indian elite line-up, the 2014 and 2011 winner, Suresh Kumar Patel, will lead the men’s line-up. In his most recent appearance for 25kms distance run, Patel timed a personal best of 1.04.38.
In the women’s category, 2017 course record holder L Suriya and 3000m steeplechase national record holder Sudha Singh will lead the race. Suriya clocked 70.31 in 2017 to create a new course record.
Senior citizens and disabled persons also shown their spirit and participate in the marathon. In partnership with Planet Abled, an organisation that is making travel accessible for the disabled. Airtel Half Marathon had a dedicated separate running track for champions with disabilities for 2.2 kilometres.
People with all types of disabilities traveled from far and wide to participate like the blind, deaf, mobility impaired, people on the autism spectrum, cerebral palsy and other chronic neurological disorders.
