Kenya's Sabastian Sawe claims victory at World 10K in Bengaluru

Kenya's Sabastian Sawe claimed victory at the 15th edition of the World 10K in Bengaluru, in what will go down as a classic in Indian road running history.

Sawe, who moved to fifth on the world 10km all-time list with his personal best of 26:49 in Herzogenaurach last month, ran a superbly-paced race to win in the close contest in a time of 27:58.

Three Kenyan athletes finished in the top four in a men’s race that saw last year’s winner and course record-holder Nicholas Kimeli come fourth, as his compatriot Sawe won in spectacular style after kicking on at the finish.

Sawe won milliseconds ahead of Rodrigue Kwizera of Burundi, after the pair traded the lead towards the end of a gripping race. Kwizera matched the winning time in second place, while Hillary Chepkwony was third in 27:59.

"It’s my first time here. I was feeling confident coming into the run because I’m coming off a victory in Germany," said Sawe, as quoted by World Athletics. "The last two kilometres were really tough. I told myself I have to push really hard, even the last 500m was very challenging."

In the women’s race, Jesca Chelangat was the best placed Kenyan in fourth, after clocking 31:58, as Ethiopians swept the podium places.

Tsehay Gemechu claimed the women’s crown with Fotyen Tesfay finishing four seconds behind while the experienced Dera Dida was only seven seconds shy of the winner in third place.

It all came down to the final kilometre after the trio ran together, but a strong finish by Gemechu secured this year’s Tokyo Marathon runner-up the 10km crown. In her previous visit to Bengaluru in 2019, Gemechu had finished sixth.

Additional information from World Athletics