PANJIM: Kenyan national Emmamual Mnaneat emerged the overall champion of the third edition of the Goa Marathon 2014, held today at the Campal ground.
In the 21 km half marathon, Emmamual Mnaneat clocked a timing of 1:07:29 secs while fellow Kenyans Daniel Cheruiyot Yegoh (1:07:46) and Issac Kipkeroi (1:09:42) finished second and third respectively.
Kuldeep Singh, finished with a timing of 1:11:16 to emerge as the fastest Indian of the meet.
In the Women’s Open 21 km half marathon the fastest Indian was Milan Sachin Rajput with a time of 1:22:5 which was good enough for third place. Ethiopian Seme Mesdireak Bedila raced to the first place finish with a time of 1:21:03 while Eiladyo J Tarus of Kenya came in second with a timing of 1:21:05.
The Goa Marathon 2014 also included a 10 km run, 5 km dream run and the school run for children Under-14 and Under-16 was held
The half marathon this year attracted runners from all over India as well as runners from overseas and saw stiff competition both in the men and women’s open category.
The 10 km run had many local Goans participating as well as runners from across the country.
The dream run had several groups from corporates like Central Bank of India, Hyatt, Novotel and Pyro Electric besides a group from Toastmaster’s Club. The army and navy continued to support this run in large numbers.
The Special Olympic Squad was present for the second year running.
Schools that sent in large contingents were – Rosary School, Sharada Mandir, Sacred Heart, KV INS Mandovi.
Renowned Brazilian footballer Beto and Goan aquatic champ Talasha Prabhu were present for the event.
MP Francisco Sardinha and Dilip Parulekar, minister of tourism also made their presence felt at the event.
The Goa Marathon 2014 was supported by - Goa Athletic Association, Corporation of City of Panjim, Goa Tourism, Central Bank of India, Deltin Group, Primeslots, Quality Foods and Real Drinks.