Hardloopnieuws

Masai is top Discovery man

Door David Macharia

Moses Masai (links)aan de leiding. © Jared Nyataya

Africas 5,000 metres champion Moses Masai won the 12 km senior mens title during the 14th edition of the Discovery cross country championships held in Eldoret yesterday. During the race at Eldoret Sports Club Masai, seventh in last years junior mens race at the world cross country championship in France displayed his maturity amid the tension created by serious contenders: Robert Cheruiyot (also a past Boston Marathon winner), Richard Limo and the reigning Nairobi marathon champion Samson Barmao in the initial stages of the race.

De finale
At the end Masai, who clocked 37:35.9, admitted he felt on top of the world after beating the 300 plus runners. Kiprop finished second in 37:49.0, Chebet was third in 38:01.2 followed by Langat in 38:07.7. Cheruiyot, who blamed his shoes for the failure to finish among the top three, took fifth position in 38:20.2. Kiprono Menjo was sixth in 38:33.2, Limo seventh in 38:36.2 and Barmao eighth in 38:39.5. Among the spectators included the world marathon record holder and New York marathon champion Paul Tergat and former New York marathon womens winner Margaret Okayo.

De dames
Fresh from Italy where she won the 29th edition of the Vallagarina cross-country – EAA permit – race, Prisca Jepletting took the senior womens 8 km race. Jepletting clocked 28:49.1 ahead of Edna Kiplagat who was timed at 29:01.3. The junior mens 8 km event saw the emergence of another runner from Turkana district, Joseph Ebuya, winning in 25:34.3.
Ebuya won the race a day after finishing third in the same event during the North Rift cross-country championship at Nandi Bears golf club. He beat the inaugural Fluospar road race champion Thomas Liriongosiwa by 21 seconds. Liriongosiwa clocked 25:55.0 for second place. Gladys Chemweno emerged the winner of the junior womens 6 km in 21:37.3 followed by Pauline Korkwang in 22:06.6. The Discovery series was launched in 1991 by former Boston Marathon winner and 1991 10,000m world champion Moses Tanui.

© Kenyan News