Ethiopia’s Gutemi Shone ripped up the record book at the Kolkata 25K women’s race as she set a new event record for the World Athletics Silver Label Road Race on Sunday.
Shone clocked 1:22:09 to win by more than a minute. She clipped almost four minutes off the event record of 1:26:01 set by her compatriot Degitu Azimeraw two years ago.
The 28-year-old was out on her own over the last 10 kilometres.
After a group of seven women had passed 10km in 33:37, Shone started to increase the tempo and by the halfway point just had her training partner Desi Jisa of Bahrain for company.
The Ethiopian-born Bahraini hung on doggedly for another couple of kilometres but by 15km, which Shone passed in 50:03, the 2019 Sevilla Marathon winner was starting to pull away from her rival.
Shone passed 20km in 1:06:00 with Jisa now 42 seconds back and the gap continued to grow over the final five kilometres, which was covered in 16:09 before Shone crossed the line in 1:22:09.
Jisa hung on to take second in 1:23:32 with another Ethiopian-born Bahraini, Tejitu Daba, exactly one minute further back in third. The first five finishers were inside the former women’s event record.
“I have practised (trained) very hard throughout the year and it is yielding results now,” Shone said.
“The temperature was a little hot and since the running was through the city there were many turns and bents to make the race tough. Moreover, you did not know what kind of surface to expect next, so you had to keep guessing. All of that made the course challenging and worth the run,” she added.
Women’s results:
1. Guteni Shone (ETH) 1:22:09
2. Desi Jisa (BRN) 1:23:32
3. Tejitu Daba (BRN) 1:24:32
4. Sasho Insermu (ETH) 1:24:59
5. Failuna Matanga (TAN) 1:25:55
6. Birke Debele (ETH) 1:26:49
7. Magdalena Shauri (TAN) 1:26:55
8. Nazret Weldu (ERI) 1:28:29
9. Chaltu Kekabo (ETH) 1:29:26
10. Tesfanesh Merga (ETH) 1:32:54
In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo
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