Ethiopian Derara Hurisa uses friend's boots to make dream marathon debut by smashing the course record.
Victorious Derara Hurisa crosses the full marathon finish line outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus yesterday. Pic/ Shadab Khan
Ethiopian elite men's runner Derara Hurisa had a dream debut in Mumbai on Sunday. He set a new Tata Mumbai Marathon record of 2:08:09, breaking Kenyan Gideon Kipketer's mark of 2:08:35 set in 2016. Hurisa (22) was richer by USD 60,000 (approximately R42.6 lakh: USD 45,000 for winning the marathon and a course record bonus of USD 15,000). He was 11 seconds faster than fellow Ethiopians Ayele Abshero (2:08:20) and Birhanu Teshome (2:08:26).
"I lost my original Adidas shoes on the flight earlier in the week, so I borrowed Nike Vaporfly shoes from my friend Abraham Girma. I only tried them yesterday. I felt good at the 30-km mark and my motive was to finish the race. I kept telling Ayele to take charge, but he held back and that's when I changed my mind and went for the record," an elated Hurisa said after winning the marathon. When asked, what will he do with the prize money, he replied: "I was only thinking about running well and trying to win the race. But now I will obviously start planning on what I am going to actually do with it."
ADVERTISEMENT
The talking point was the borrowed Vaporfly shoes he wore given to him by his friend Abraham. These shoes are from the same controversial family of footwear that is stirring up a debate in the sports world. Kenyan runners Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei, the man and woman who hold the world marathon records, wore. Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon under two hours (1:59:40) in Vienna in October last year. Though world athletics did not count this as a record since it was not set in an accredited race, Kosgei broke Paula Radcliffe's 16-year-old women's marathon world record at the Chicago marathon last year clocking 2:14:04. The previous record 2:15:25 set by Radcliffe was at the London Marathon in 2003.
When Hurisa was asked if wearing the Vaporfly shoes gave him some advantage during the media interaction, he preferred to play it down and replied, "The brand of the shoes do not matter, it depends on how well you train and run on marathon day."
Even though Hurisa was considered unfancied for this race, he always gave signals of his talent. He won the silver medal in the U-20 category in the African Cross Country Championships four years ago. In 2017, he won a half marathon in Turkey.
Meanwhile, Kenya's defending champion Cosmas Lagat did not have a great one this year since an injury around the 14-km mark meant it was over and out for Lagat.
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
