Kenyans Victorious in Adana

Emmanuel Bor and Daisy Kimeli took the top honours with 1:01:39 and 1:13:42 respectively at the Adana Liberation Half Marathon.

For the fifth time in the 12-year history of the event, Kenyan athletes ran away with both titles in Adana. Emmanuel Bor led the men’s race from gun to tape, passing through the 5km mark in 14:53, 10km in 29:13 and 15km in 44:13 on his way to a 1:01:39 win. Getaye Gelaw of Ethiopia, a resident of Turkey, was a close contender throughout the race and finished in 1:01:56. Kenya’s 41-year-old Benard Sang, who was just beside the leaders until the 10th km, ran a relatively slower second half of the race to take the third in 1:04:58.

On the women’s side, Daisy Kimeli was already 48 seconds ahead of the rest of the field when she passed the 5km in 16:37 and she was never challenged until she crossed the finish line in 1:13:42. Burcu Subatan, a rising road runner from Turkey, closed the gap during the last 8km and arrived in 1:13:58. Another Turkish athlete Büşra Nur Koku was the last on the podium by her time of 1:15:23.

Emmanuel Bor’s 1:01:39 is the fourth fastest winning time in Adana while Daisy Kimeli is the fifth slowest winner with 1:13:42. Both men’s and women’s races are won nine times by Africans and three times by Turkish athletes in 12 years.