Kenyan runner Wilson Cheriyuit has set a record of 2 hours 17 minutes 24 seconds in Pokhara Marathon. He set a new record in the 19th successful Pokhara Marathon on Saturday. Earlier, another Kenyan runner, Julius Muriali Wahome, had a record of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 36 seconds. Julius was second this time.
Kenyan runners dominated the marathon. Last year's winner, Julius, was 2 seconds behind. Another Kenyan runner, Onesmus Gitau Jorog, finished third with a time of 2 hours, 18 minutes and 21 seconds. Champion Wilson received Rs 5 lakh, Julius Rs 3 lakh and Onesmus Rs 2 lakh. Nepali runner Kiran Singh Bogti finished fourth, Niroj Bhatt Chhetri fifth, Rikhulal Magar sixth, Dinesh Singh Bogti seventh and Kenyan runner Michael Mathia finished eighth. They received 50,000, 20,000, 15,000 and 10,000 respectively.
Niroj Bhatt became the first in the marathon towards Gandaki state. He took 2 hours 38 minutes 22 seconds. Rikhulal was second, Dinesh Singh was third, Meenrashi Bik was fourth, Ashok Baram was fifth, Sanam Gurung was sixth and Pritam Gurung was eighth. They got 50,000, 30,000, 20,000, 15,000, 8,000, 6,000 and 4,000 respectively.
In men's 21 km half marathon, Kenyan runner John Bansara finished first with 1 hour 9 minutes 7 seconds, Nepalese runner Santosh Vikram Bista finished second with 1 hour 9 minutes 56 seconds, Gajendra Rai finished third with 1 hour 10 minutes 2 seconds. They received 75 thousand, 50 thousand and 30 thousand rupees respectively.
In the women's half marathon, Olympian Santoshi Shrestha became the champion with a time of 1 hour 20 minutes 3 seconds. It is his second consecutive win in Pokhara Marathon. Kenyan runner Swaron Zonotik was second in 1 hour 21 minutes 7 seconds while Pushpa Bhandari was third in 1 hour 23 minutes 8 seconds. Asma Bik came fourth and Dropathakumari Kathayat got the fifth place. They received 1 lakh 50 thousand, 1 lakh, 75 thousand, 15 thousand and 5 thousand rupees respectively.
Shubham Lamichhane won the men's 10 km race with a time of 36 minutes and 5 seconds. Rajendra Tamang finished second with 36 minutes 14 seconds and Badal Karki finished third with 36 minutes 47 seconds. On the women's side, Sumitra Kumari Chaudhary came first with a time of 38 minutes and 56 seconds. Asha Rawat was second with 44 minutes 32 seconds and Narayani Bhandari was third with 44 minutes 43 seconds. They received 30,000, 20,000 and 10,000 respectively.
5 km Sugan Lamichhane, Sujan Nepali and Ishwar Dhakal were first, second and third respectively in the men's side while Menu Adhikari, Angela JT and Sadhana Periyar were first, second and third respectively in the women's side. They received 15 thousand, 10 thousand and 7 thousand respectively. In the veteran men's race above 50 years, Dharma Maharjan was first, Revat Bahadur Dhakal was second and Abhinarayan Adhikari was first, second and third respectively. On the women's side, Tolmaya Thapa was first, Durgalakshmi Gurung was second and Rammaya Gurung was third. They received 15,000, 10,000 and 7,000 respectively. Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel started the marathon, which started from Pokhara Stadium under the organization of Nepal Ex-Players Forum.
