Russians, Kenyans dominate Jakarta international 10K

Russians, Kenyans dominate Jakarta international 10K

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Two Russian sisters triumphed while the Kenyan runners lived up
to their international reputation by dominating the men's group
in the Jakarta International 10K race here on Sunday.

Lidya Grigoryeva, 31, clocked the best women's time of 32
minutes, 32 seconds to reach the finish line first in the race,
which was held as part of events to mark Jakarta's 478th
anniversary.

Her older sister, Irina Timofeyeva, took third place in 32:57
behind Gigi Asha of Ethiopia, who timed 32:47.

"I was glad that I won the race, which was quite competitive,"
Grigoryeva said afterwards. Her time, however, was still far
below her personal best for the distance of 30:57.

Timofeyeva congratulated her younger sister on the victory.

"It was okay for me coming in third place and when I could see
my younger sister triumph," she said.

About 25,000 runners took part in the competition, which
started and finished at the National Monument in Central Jakarta.

Kenya made a clean sweep in the men's division with eventual
champion Wilberforce Talel leading countrymen Mitei Enock and
Stanley Kipkoger Salil from first to third, respectively.

Talel took the first place in 28:43 minutes, still one minute
and 10 seconds below his best time. Enock and Salil followed
behind in 28:59 and 29:14, respectively.

"I was nervous at the beginning, but later on I just ran ...
and I was happy that I could win this race," Talel, whose best
time is 27:33, said.

"My two colleagues from Kenya were very strong, which made the
race so competitive."

Men's and women's winners each took home the winning prize of
US$11,000, while runners-up were entitled to $6,000 and third-
placed $4,000.

Last year's runner-up Martin Hhaway Sulle of Tanzania failed
to keep the pace with his Kenyan adversaries, dropping to fourth
in a time of 29:40.

Meanwhile, Jauhari Johan and Triyaningsih retained their
titles as the country's best runners.

Jauhari equaled his last-year time of 30:59 minutes to win the
men's national division while Triyaningsih bettered her time to
34:30 in the accomplishment. She ran 35:19 last year.

"Although I could not improve on last year's time, it's always
nice to retain the title," Jauhari, who won the top national
prize of Rp 15 million (US$1,600), said.

Agus Prayoga came second in 31:04 and Yahusa was third in
31:28.

Feri Subnafeu took the women's second place in 34:46 followed
by Oliva Sadi in third place in 35:03 minutes.

Tigor Tandjung, the secretary general of the Athletics
Association of Indonesia (PASI), said the results in the elite
competition had met organizers' expectations.

"Their best times say enough about their potential to become
champions here," he said.

The only hitch in the day was in the TV coverage, with
official broadcaster SCTV unable to air the event live due to
technical problems.