MUMBAI: Hayle Lemi was prepared, based on all that he had heard from his Ethiopian colleagues, to confront several 'challenges' while competing in his first Tata Mumbai Marathon on Sunday.
The manner in which the 28-year-old would storm to victory in a new course record time of 2:07. 32, thanks to a sizzling second-half showing, almost seemed to leave him later wondering if he had been fed the right information.
"I was told the weather of Mumbai is very hot and very humid and the course is up, down, very challenging. In my mind, I was thinking 'where are these places where it's challenging?' But I did not see very challenging places," Lemi said, a grin lighting up his face, after a memorable run in which he scorched the previous course record (2:08:09) set by his compatriot Derara Hurisa at the last edition in 2020.
Defending champion Hurisa was in the mix until the 27km mark, after which he fell behind his training partners Lemi and Hailu Zewdu, who came in third (2:10:23), and eventually did not finish. Lemi, who has now won eight of the 19 marathons he has competed in, indeed made the most of favourable weather conditions which prevailed for almost the entire race, something that rarely happens in Mumbai. But even as he entered the Marine Drive stretch on the return having opened up a commanding lead, there was one man he was still worried about — Kenya's Philemon Rono who would finish the runner-up in 2:08:44 on his debut in Mumbai too.
The 2019 Toronto Marathon had witnessed an exciting tussle between Lemi and Rono towards the finish, with the Kenyan eventually coming out on top in his personal best time of 2:05:00. Remembering that battle, Lemi said: "Up to the end, for about over a kilometre, I was in front. I left him but he came back and beat me. Today too I looked over to see if Rono would come again like that time. I was afraid of him. In the last part, Rono is stronger than me and I thought he could do what he did in Toronto today but I was able to beat him and I'm very happy."
While the planned strategy for the elite men was to go out at a fast pace, with a target of 63:45-64 in mind for the first half, the tactics changed as the race unfolded. "The first half was a bit slow so I was trying to push," said Rono, adding "Afterwards, my tactics did not work well because Lemi was pushing harder. But I'm happy because it's my first time running the Mumbai Marathon."
Intriguingly, the international elite women's event witnessed an almost opposite tactical approach but the same result, as Anchialem Haymanot, running her first ever marathon at just 21, broke Valentine Kipketer's 10-year-old course record (2:24:33) on her way to a dominant win in 2:24:15, making it an Ethiopian sweep.
It was a stunning run from Haymanot considering the experience and strength of the competition she was up against, but after breaking away from the pack around the 28km mark, she never looked back. Her compatriots Rahma Tusa, a twotime Rome Marathon winner, and 2022 Sydney marathon runner-up Letebrhan Haylay joined her on the podium in second and third.
Tusa would also surpass Kipketer's mark, crossing the finish in 2:24:22 while Haylay took the bronze in 2:24:52, making it the first time ever, the top three elite women all finished under 2:25 in Mumbai. Lemi and Haymanot each went home not just with the winner's purse of $45,000 but the course record bonus of $15,000 as well.
