Italy: Ugandan runner Solomon Mutai could be cursing the World for leading him to the wrong way/turn he briefly took at the crossroads. With 4 km to go, the Ugandan took the wrong way at a crossroad.
Luckily enough, he returned to the right course and managed to win with a lead of one minute and a half over Kenya’s runner Emmanuel Ruto Naibei, who crossed the finish line in second place in 2:09:41. This meant that Mutai on Sunday missed the chance, by just a hair breadth distance to break the 2:08 barrier, but he improved his previous lifetime best of 2:08:25, set in Vienna in 2019.
He however becomes the first Ugandan runner to win the Venice Marathon. “It was a good race, but the course was a bit challenging because of the 14 bridges. I started my running career because other runners in my country inspired me”, said Mutai. Mutai won the men’s race at the 36th edition of the Venice Marathon in 2:08:10, improving the course record held by John Komen since 2009 with 2:08:13.
A group of eighteen runners led by pacemakers Solomon Maritim and Jacob Kirui went through the 5 km in 15:01, the 10 km in 30:01, the 15 km in 45:15. The leading pack that included Emmanuel Naibei, Emmanuel Sikiuku, Solomon Mutai, Dumecha Lemi, Robert Kipchirchir, John Langat, Gashahun Talahun and Hailu Negasa reached the halfway mark in 1:03:56 inside the course record.
An African trio formed by Mutai, Sikuku, and Naibei pulled away at the 30 km mark, which they reached in 1:31:08. Mutai, who won the world championships bronze medal in Beijing 2015, broke away from Emmanuel Rutto Naibei at 34 km on the Ponte della Libertà when the Venice Marathon reached the decisive stage.
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- Mr. Daniels N. Tatya is an affluent Sports Writer, Commentator and Editor. His over 15 years of covering almost major sporting events makes him a revered and an authority on investigative Sports journalism in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected] +256(0)758268315
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