Moshi — TANZANIAN duo of Fabiola William and Ismail Juma put up a
strong-willed performance to win the women's full marathon and men's
half marathon respectively, at this year's Kilimanjaro Marathon staged
at Moshi University of Cooperative and Business Studies (MUCoBS) ground.
William, a woman police residing in Singida, clocked 2:49:51 to win
the women's full marathon and bring to an end Kenya's dominance in the
event, while Juma raced in 1:03:05 to win the men's 21km race, which saw
local runners record a clean sweep of medals.
William looked dog-tired at the end of the grueling race but that
mattered very little for the 32-year old long distance runner after
successful completing her mission - to win the country's biggest
sporting event and one of Africa's top road races. "I am very happy to
win.
I was determined to win this race, so I trained very hard and thank
God I have made it," a vividly delighted William said post event and
challenged local runners to put in a hard work and be determined if they
wanted to excel in the race, which for years has been dominated by
Kenyans.
"Kenyans have been dominating the race but Tanzanians can also
perform well in this race if they put in a lot of effort and be focused,
nothing is impossible," she added.
Kenyan runner Rosaline David came up in second position in the
women's full marathon after clocking 2:50:39. David, who won a bronze
medal in Kenya's Kericho Marathon, said that the race was extremely
competitive and hailed the local runners for showcasing a spirited
performance.
The third place went to Joan Cherop in 2:50:44, while the fourth
winner was Dorice Todipus. Other winners were Sarah Maiyo, Gladys
Cheruiyot, Susan Koskei, Eulitter Tanui, Esther Mukutu and Lilian
Chelim.
There was a clean sweep of medals for Tanzanian athletes in the men's
half marathon after Juma, Emmanuel Giniki (1:03:15) and Theoful Joseph
(1:03:15) won the top three positions. Kenyan athletes, however,
continued to claim dominance in the annual race after winning all top
ten positions in the men's full marathon as well as claiming nine
position in the women's top ten.
In the men's full marathon, David Ruto defended his title after
clocking 2:15:50, beating other nine fellow Kenyans. Bernard Kimayo came
in second place in 2:15:52, while the third place went to Alex Bartilo
who clocked 02:16:00.
Speaking after the event, Ruto expressed his delight to retain the
crown and hailed fellow Kenyan opponents for winning the remaining top
ten slots.
Kenya also dominated the women's half marathon as Grace Kimanzi ended
the race in 1:12:35 to emerge winner while fellow Kenyans Yenuce
Echumba and Vicoty Cherkemai finished in 1:12:52 and 1:14:20 to take
second and third slots respectively.
There were also several winners in the Gapco's 10km race as top ten
placed winners won wheelchairs while those who took part in the 5km
Fun-Race earned several token prizes. Winners of the full marathon in
both categories took home 4m/- each while second and third-placed
winners pocketed 2m/- and 1m/- each, respectively.
Prize package for the half marathon winners for both men and women
was 2m/- and half of the sum was earmarked for runners-up while
third-placed winners pocketed 500,000/- each.
Minister for Home Affairs Mathias Chikawe awarded prizes to the top
winners and hailed the Kilimanjaro Marathon organisers and sponsors for
making the event a great success.
He said the event has been a platform for grooming local and foreign
athletes as well as promoting a domestic tourism as more than 1000
foreign runners had a clear view of Mount Kilimanjaro, which is the
highest in Africa.
Executive Solutions are the local coordinators of the Kilimanjaro
Marathon 2015 in conjunction with Athletics Tanzania (AT), Kilimanjaro
Amateur Athletics Association and Kilimanjaro Marathon Club.
It is sponsored by Kilimanjaro Premium Lager, Tigo (Half Marathon),
GAPCO (Disabled race), Simba Cement, KK Security, Keys Hotel, TPC Sugar,
CMC Automobiles Ltd, RwandAir, FNB Tanzania, Kibo Palace Hotel, UNFPA,
Kilimanjaro Water, NSSF and Tanzania Coffee Board.
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