Alex Matata steps in for his brother to clinch Delhi Half Marathon

New Delhi: For Kenya’s Alex Matata, life has been tough. He works various errands, like in transportation, to keep the wolf from the door.

"Sometimes I have to give up training to work for food."

He has a mother to take care of and he credits her for everything he has.

“She has made me into what I am. She has helped me grow from zero,” said Matata, who won the Delhi Half Marathon on Sunday in sub-hour time of 59 minutes and 22 seconds while other competitors failed to breach it.  

Matata wasn’t originally expected to compete at this year’s race. His bother Charles was supposed to participate. But a knee injury kept Charles out.

Matata stepped in to replace him. He landed just two days ago and wasn’t even expecting to win. But he broke away from other runners to run a solo race. Matata had ended as the runner-up last year. This time he went one better.

“I love my brother. I won it for him. Unfortunately, he got injured. He was preparing very well,” said Matata.

The Kenyan, who trains in a different setting from brother, recalled last year with some bitterness. He had lost gold to Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei.  

“Last year it was not good for me, but this year I am very much happy because the weather was good and everything was good for me. I settled my mind and then I said, let me run my race,” said Matata.

Matata, in the company of fellow Kenyan Reuben Rono, completed the initial 10-kilometre stretch in 28 minutes and 43 seconds. He was closely followed by a group of six other competitors.

Matata accelerated during the race's second half, distancing himself from the remaining participants.

Ultimately, he secured the men's title with a time of 59 minutes and 50 seconds, achieving his fifth half-marathon victory of the year.

Bayelign Teshager from Ethiopia claimed the second position with a time of 60 minutes and 22 seconds, while James Kipkogei from Kenya secured the third position in 60 minutes and 25 seconds.

Birhanu Legese, who was anticipated to win before the race, concluded in fourth place with a time of 60 minutes and 54 seconds.

“I am very thrilled about the race. Last year I was number two, so my goal was to do better than that. I know the course, which is an advantage, and the weather was on my side. We had a nice cool start. At the 10K mark, I felt I had a good chance of winning. This might be my best race of the season,” said the 28-year-old Matata.

“The course record was not on my mind coming here, the only goal was to win the race and I ran without any pressure, which wasn’t the case last year.”

Lilian Rengeruk beat Melal Biratu by a fraction of a second

Among the women, it was Lilian Rengeruk who bested Ethiopian duo Melal Biratu and Mulat Tekle.

While Matata was a runaway winner, Lilian had to stave off challenge from Melal and win by a fraction of a second.

Lilian went past the finish line in one hour, seven minutes and 20 seconds. Melal reached home in one hour, seven minutes and 21 seconds.

“The race was tough and everyone was strong. I just told myself to do my best because I had the strength to finish. I’m happy with my time today, especially since I’ve just come back from an injury. This was my third race of the year, and my strategy was to stay patient, take the lead, and fight till the finish,” Lilian explained after her win.

Pal, Seema shine among Indians

Among the Indian Elite runners, Abhishek Pal, coached by his elder brother, won his third title at the Delhi Half Marathon. He reached home in 01:04:17 while his nearest competitor Kiran Mhatre clinched title in 01:04:57. Kartik Karkera, a doctor by profession, was third with 01:05:16.

“I trailed the international athletes because I had less time to prepare. I was in the track events till 10 days ago and that cost me. If we had 2-3 months of half marathon training, we could have done better,” said Pal, who is eyeing the Asian Games next year.

Among the Indian Elite Women, Seema was heads and shoulders above the rest of the field, reaching home in 01:11:23. Ujala was second with 01:15:41. Sanjivani Jadhav was third with 01:15:52.

Tags : Alex Matata, Delhi Half Marathon, Kenya, Lilian Rengeruk, Abhishek Pal, New Delhi