Ismail Ssenyange won a race, he hadn’t prepared really well, quite comfortably. The 26-year-old from Uganda won the full marathon in a time of two hours 36 minutes and 22 seconds at the Wipro-Chennai Marathon here on Sunday.
Ismail had a great start and was hardly challenged in the 42 kilometres.
“I am happy that I won the Wipro-Chennai Marathon with just two months of practice. The last time I participated in a full marathon was way back in 2008 in Uganda” said Ismail, who works as a security guard in Dubai. “I am glad that I came here to participate in this well organised race and I thank my sponsors Dubai Creek Striders for giving me this opportunity. I am looking forward to the Wipro San Francisco Marathon in June 2013.
S. Vairavanathan of India emerged second in a time of 2:42.18 while his counterpart Lourdes Bosco finished third clocking 3:13.46.
India’s Indresh Dhiraj won the women’s full marathon while Ridhima Suri came second. Lakshmi Krishnamurthy came third. Over 6000 took part in the race, which was conducted by Chennai Runners.
The results (Indians unless otherwise mentioned): Full Marathon (42 km): Men: 1. Ismail Ssenyange (Uganda) 2hr 36min 22sec, 2. S. Vairavanathan 2:42.18, 3. Lourdes Bosco 3:13.46; Women: 1. Indresh Dhiraj 03:29.39, 2. Ridhima Suri 04:06.33, 3. Lakshmi Krishnamurthy 05:08: 40.
Half Marathon (21 km): Men: 1. R. Rajesh 1:08.31, 2. M. Jegadeesan 1:18.00, 3. Ashok Nath 1:21.51; Women: 1. Michelle Sharma 1:51.08, 2. Pavlina Harustakova (Slovakia) 1:54.36, 3. Keerthana Suanunathan 1:58.20.
10 km walk: Men: 1. Nanjundappa Nanjunda 00:34.56, 2. E. Anantha Gopal 00:39.40, 3. Sharad Kumar 00:40.38; Women: 1. Andrea Genuini 00:39.58, 2. Manisha Shah 00:49.50, 3. Siddhi Varun Japee 00:58.22.
