19 January,2024 09:19 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
(From L-R) Indian athletes third placed Kalidas Hirave, first placed Gopi Thinakkal and second placed Man Singh pose after taking part in the men`s category of the `Tata Mumbai Marathon` last year (Pic: AFP)
The elite defending champions of Mumbai marathon, Hayle Lemi Berhanu (men's) and Anchialem Haymanot (women's), are set to face stiff competitions from there compatriots Kinde Atanaw and Sofia Assefa when the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2024 of the gold label race goes underway here on Sunday.
Heading into the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2024, Ethiopia's 30-year-old Atanaw is leading the men's field with the fastest personal best time of 2:03:51 which he had clocked four years ago in Valencia.
Atanaw had finished third in the Bengaluru World 10K in 2014 and is making a comeback to an event in India after a gap of 10 years. Among his recent achievements is finishing fourth at the London Marathon in 2022.
"I want to make a difference this time and (I am) looking for a big and memorable win here," he said at a media conference held here at the Press Club on Friday.
Berhanu, however will bank on his personal best of 2:05:48 which he clocked just three months back in Amsterdam. Also in the fray in the men's category is the 2019 world champion Lelisa Desisa from Ethiopia.
A former Olympic medallist in steeplechase, the 36-year-old Assefa also ran at Amsterdam where her teammate and defending champion Haymanot finished sixth with a personal best 2:22:23.
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Haymanot had made her her marathon debut in Mumbai last year and finished with a timing of 2:24:15.
The women's field will also have Ethiopia's 32-year-old Tadelech Bekele known for her fastest time of 2:21:40 that won her the bronze medal. She is returning after a break of four years.
Olympic medallist and winner of the marathons in New York and Boston, Meb Keflezighi of the USA is the brand ambassador of the Mumbai Marathon.
"In training, you need to give your 90 per cent on fitness and 10 per cent on mental preparations, while in the competition it will be the opposite as the mind is expected to give you the required strength to win a race," he shared.
"The marathon here has grown over the years, resulting in awareness about the benefits of running, besides bringing people together."
(With agency inputs)
