Fatuma Sado (Ethiopia) and William Kipsang (Kenya) during the Mumbai Marathon press conference on January 12, 2012. (TOI Photo)
MUMBAI: Many of the old names won't be seen in action this time. The list includes the defending champs, Ethiopians Girma Assefa and his female counterpart Koren Yal, as well.
A big chunk of the Elite athletes, in fact, would be running for the first time in Mumbai. Some are even making comebacks from injury. Yet, the field for the ninth edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, to be run this Sunday, is touted to be the strongest ever. "Some names might sound new, as far as Mumbai is concerned, but all of them are accomplished runners.
"Many of them have clocked sub-2:10 timings in the not-too-distant past. We breached the 2:10
A big chunk of the Elite athletes, in fact, would be running for the first time in Mumbai. Some are even making comebacks from injury. Yet, the field for the ninth edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, to be run this Sunday, is touted to be the strongest ever. "Some names might sound new, as far as Mumbai is concerned, but all of them are accomplished runners.
"Many of them have clocked sub-2:10 timings in the not-too-distant past. We breached the 2:10
A big chunk of the Elite athletes, in fact, would be running for the first time in Mumbai. Some are even making comebacks from injury. Yet, the field for the ninth edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, to be run this Sunday, is touted to be the strongest ever. "Some names might sound new, as far as Mumbai is concerned, but all of them are accomplished runners.
"Many of them have clocked sub-2:10 timings in the not-too-distant past. We breached the 2:10 barrier last year. This year we are dreaming of touching 2:08," says Ian Ladbrooke, consultant for Elite athletes at SCMM.
The timings, though, depend much on the heat factor. "The prevailing conditions are quite pleasant. Last year it was much like this, so we saw course records being set in both men's and women's sections. If the weather remains this cool, we might see the mark being lowered further, 2:08 is a realistic target in fact," the former English athlete added.
As has become the norm at the SCMM, Kenyan and Ethiopian runners are again expected to hold sway. The Ethiopians, in fact, have been overshadowing their neighbours here over the last couple of years.
"This year should be no different. There's a strong Kenyan presence on the men's side, but I think it would be difficult to stop the Ethiopian women. They should dominate again," feels Ladbrooke.
One of the favourites among the men this year is Kenyan William Kipsang, with a personal best of 2:05.49, which he set at the Rotterdam Marathon in 2008. A hamstring injury on his right leg forced him to sit out of the track for two years. The 34-year-old made his comeback at the San Diego Marathon in October last year, but finished the race in an unimpressive two hours, 15 minutes. He's now keen to make it count here.
"I am fully fit. This will be my first race in Mumbai. I have been preparing for this event for some time.
"I have been training uphill, running 23 kilometres up and down, and have not felt any pain. The weather's good. I am hoping to clock something between 2:08 and 2:09," says Kipsang.
Meanwhile, Athletics Federation of India (AFI) technical delegate CK Valson confirmed on Thursday that all top Indian runners would be participating in Sunday's race. "We have asked all top Indian runners to run this event as the SCMM is also a qualifying event for the London Olympics. All of them will be coming," he told TOI.
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