Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 20 (ANI): Ethiopian Sabastian Sawe, who clocked the world’s fifth-fastest 10K in Germany final month, has set his sights on taking down the course report on the prestigious World 10K Bengaluru on Sunday.
Sawe clocked a formidable 26.49 final month, which places the World 10K Bengaluru males’s course report of 27:38 held by Nicholas Kipkorir Kimeli (Kenya) final yr in danger.
In Germany, Sawe additionally beat Kimeli, who completed third in a powerful time of 26:54. Speaking to the media right here in Bengaluru forward of the Race Day this Sunday, Sawe mentioned he’s in nice kind to raised his private finest.
“I’m feeling good, and my shape has been good too, so I will try to do my personal best on Sunday. My goal for the year has been consistency, so I’ve been training hard but also making sure that I am not overstretching myself. I would say preparation leading up to the race has been very smooth,” an optimistic Sawe advised reporters.
Making his intentions clear about vying to clinch the title, Kipkorir too emphasised that he’s a contender for the crown which comes with the money prize of USD 26,000.
“I’m excited to be back in Bengaluru and I am excited to defend my title. I know my peers are also eager to perform so I am sure it will be very competitive. I know the course and have done well here so I believe it is an advantage. Last year, the race was not easy at all. I was pushed really hard. It is important to maintain your shape consistently if you want to do well,” he mentioned.
“You can never judge what will happen on race day. That is the nature of the competition. Hopefully, we can push each other to break the course record,” he added.
Stephen Kissa, a Ugandan nationwide marathon champion with a time of two:04.48, talking to reporters mentioned: “I like running in India, and I am expecting the weather to be good as well. I think the level of competition means; we can assist each other to get faster.”Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu, runner-up at this yr’s Tokyo Marathon, is a scorching favorite for the ladies’s title. The girls’s course report of 30:35 is by Irine Cheptai of Kenya.
“My favourite surface is road. I have done good training and I will try to do my best on Sunday. I think I need more speed and after the Tokyo race I have been working on more speed,” she mentioned.
The 2023 TCS World 10K Bengaluru on Sunday, May 21, is a USD 210,000 World Athletics Gold Label Road Race that can see the Elite males’s and girls’s winners declare an equivalent USD 26,000 purse. Additionally, if an athlete breaks the course report on Sunday, they are going to bag a prize of USD 8,000. (ANI)