Kenya’s Mwaniki and Lilian take the honours in TCS World 10K Bengaluru

Kenyan runners Peter Mwaniki and Lilian Kasait win TCS World 10K Bengaluru titles, missing event records.

Kenyan runners Peter Mwaniki (28:15) and Lilian Kasait (30:56) cruised to the international elite men’s and women’s titles respectively in the 16th edition of the Tata Consultancy Services World 10K Bengaluru here on Sunday.

Mwaniki shifted gears at the 7.5 km mark to leave his countryman Hillary Chepkwony (28:33) behind. It was a similar story for Lilian, who pulled away from the nearest rival Emmaculate Achol (31:17) at the 7.1 km mark. 

Mwaniki and Lilian couldn’t break the event records (men: 27:38, women: 30:35) on this new route, which was praised by most runners. However, the finish line – stationed along a cordoned-off stretch on Cubbon Road – lacked buzz.

This was in contrast to previous editions, where the grand finish on the Sree Kanteerava Stadium running track was witnessed by big crowds of cheering runners and onlookers.

On Sunday, Mwaniki, Lilian and other medalists had only the photographers and a few event officials to share their joy with when they completed the run.

Lilian had to overcome a setback along the way. Near Ulsoor Lake, she nearly bumped into the timing vehicle, which seemingly made a wrong turn. “The car turned, so I thought it was a turning point and followed the car. But the officials on the motorbike told me to proceed (forward). So, I followed my colleague Emmaculate,” Lilian said. 

Emmaculate, who vomited after finishing the run, had to be taken to the hospital. She was discharged a few hours later, organisers said.