Finishing tenth overall with a time of 2:15:48, Rawat, an infantry Havaldar of the 6th Kumaon regiment, smashed Ram Singh Yadav's mark of 2:16:59 set in 2012. The 29-year-old from Uttarakhand had already earned a berth at the Rio Games with a mark of 02:18:06 at the World Military Games at Mungyeong, South Korea, in October 2015.
Gideon Kipketer might have earned the loudest cheer by smashing the course record in the Men's Full Marathon on Sunday but it was a credible day for the Indians as well. Nitendra Singh Rawat shattering the four-year record for the fastest time recorded by an Indian in the men's category. Podium finishers Gopi T and Kheta Ram also sealed qualification for Rio Olympics.
Finishing tenth overall with a time of 2:15:48, Rawat, an infantry Havaldar of the 6th Kumaon regiment, smashed Ram Singh Yadav's mark of 2:16:59 set in 2012. The 29-year-old from Uttarakhand had already earned a berth at the Rio Games with a mark of 02:18:06 at the World Military Games at Mungyeong, South Korea, in October 2015. "Our coach (Surinder Singh Bhandari) had predicted a time of 2:16:00 for me. It wasn't just one of us who did it but Gopi as well. I may have earned an Olympic berth. What gives me more joy is the fact that I will have my fellow Armymen Gopi and Kheta alongside me, come August. If you see our performance compared to the elite athletes, you have three Indians in the top 15 (Rawat 10th, Gopi T 11th and Ram 15th)," said Rawat, who won the 2015 Delhi Half Marathon.
Gopi followed in the same footsteps as Kipketer as the pacemaker for Indian athletes before letting loose towards the final stretch to finish on the podium with a time of 2:16:15. Ram marked 2:17:23 to finish third, well inside the qualifying mark of 2:19:00 "I was told to set the pace for others till the 30km mark but I felt good and decided to continue. Nothing can get better than finishing second in your very first full marathon," said Gopi, who had been preparing alongside the duo for three months last year, training in Dharamsala, followed by a five-month national camp at the high-altitude training facility in Ooty, all in preparation for the Mumbai Marathon and the Olympics.
However, both Ram and Gopi stressed that they were basically track runners and would try to qualify for the 5,000m and 10,000m for the Rio Games. On the other hand, Sudha Singh, who came third last year, put up a dominating show this time to be the top Indian woman and clock 2:39:28. Sudha was seventh overall. The 2010 Asian Games gold medallist finished ahead of Lalita Babar, who timed 2:41:55 to earn 10th place in overall standings.
It was heartbreak for OP Jaisha, who failed to produce the kind of display that saw her finish as the fastest Indian woman. She did, however, manage to earn a podium berth with a time of 02:37:29. The trio had already sealed for the Rio Olympics.
Indian Results
Men: Nitendra Singh Rawat (02:15:48), Gopi T (02:16:15), Kheta Ram (02:17:23)
Women: Sudha Singh (02:39:28), Lalita Babar (02:41:55), OP Jaisha (02:43:26)
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