Ethiopian and Kenyan nationals sweep Delhi half marathon titles

Ethiopia's Birhanu Legese and Cynthia Limo of Kenya on Sunday won the elite men and women categories of Delhi half marathon.

Limo, who participated for the second time in the half marathon, felt the participation was better than last year.

"I must say it is good because compared to last year, we ran better. Last year the winner lady ran 70.03 or 70.04. But I must say this year, it is a good competition. And I have to congratulate my fellow colleagues who are very strong ladies," said Limo.

The elite category saw a huge participation from countries like Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda which have been winning the marathon for the last several years.

Meanwhile, the title of the fastest Indian in men's category was awarded to athlete Nitendra Singh Rawat while Lalita Babbar bagged the title of fastest Indian woman.

Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia felicitated the winners.

The half marathon organised by a telecommunication company, Airtel, also saw a huge participation of people from all walks of life in amateur category which was further split into half marathon of 21 kilometers, Great Delhi run of six kilometers and senior citizens category of four kilometers.

The half marathon was scheduled for people above the age of 18 years while children above the age of 12 were asked to participate in Great Delhi run.

Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu alongwith director Prakash Jha cheered the participants. She has been the face of Airtel Delhi Half Marathon since 2010.

Around 34,000 enthusiasts participated in the event, beating last year's record of 32,000.