The men’s defending champion, Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea, has not confirmed his participation yet but the list that was released by the organisers on Tuesday included a clutch of runners talented enough to keep the athletics fans in thrall.
Diedonne Disi of Rwanda, winner of the Delhi half-marathon in 2007, heads the list followed by Kiprop Boniface Torotich of Uganda, the 2006 Commonwealth Games champion in 10000M. Kiprop was fourth in the Athens Olympics and tenth in Beijing in the 10000M.
Worku Basu of Ethiopia, third in the Paris Marathon this year, is another leading contender, with the entries still coming in. Procam International, the promoters of the event, said they were expecting a total of 45 elite runners for the main race, vying for a share of the $155,000 prize money on offer.
Grace Momanyi of Kenya, joint-winner last year in the women’s section, will return to defend her title while there is no confirmation so far from Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey, who had shared the top prize with Momanyi after a dead heat. Last year’s European cross country champion Hilda Kibet, who switched allegiance to Holland from Kenya a couple of years back, will be another strong contender.
Vivek Singh, Managing Director of Procam, said a total of 15,000 entries had been received so far and online registrations would be open till May 24. Sports Minister Goolihatti D Shekhar, the chairman of the organising committee, said the State Government would provide all support for the event.
DH News Service
