Ugandan Kiprop, Kenyan Valentine set new Mumbai marathon marks

Debutant Kiprop, who was supposed to set the pace in the closing stages, overcame a strong field that included defending men's champion Laban Moiben of Kenya to storm to the finish line in 2 hours, 9 minutes and 32 seconds, thus dipping under the two-year-old course mark of 2:09:54.

The victory made the 26-year-old richer by USD 55,000 which included the USD 15,000 bonus for breaking the record.

In second place was Jacob Cheshari of Ethiopia who, too, bettered the previous course mark by finishing in a fast 2:09:43, while Elijah Kemboi came third in 2:10:03.

Last year's winner and pre-race favourite Moiben was 5th in 2:10:55.

Kiprop, who is the training partner for London Olympics men's marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich, said he came here straight after his three-month-long training stint with the Olympic gold medallist in Kenya and it stood him in good stead.

"This is my first marathon. I have been training with Kiprotich in Kenya. I came here straight after training with him for the last three months. I started running in half marathons in 2005. This year, I have started my full marathon," said Kiprop, who won USD 40,000 as winner besides the bonus for breaking the course record.

Asked about the conditions, Kiprop said the weather was cool initially and became a bit hot towards the end.

The men's race, in comparison to the women's in which 20-year-old Kipketer destroyed the field with front running from 20km out, was a close one with the bunch of nine, including Moiben, leading the field from the halfway stage -- the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link in Bandra. More