Kissa upsets Ebenyo in Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata 2024
Stephen Kissa salvaged some pride after logging his first win in an international competition in five years.
He suffered two back-to-back debacles as a non-finisher at the Olympic Games in Tokyo (10,000m) and Paris (Marathon) and took only second spots in a couple of races in between.
Hence, making a podium finish on his debut at 25K brought a happy moment for the Ugandan to cherish for a long time.
The race kicked off with a fair bit of nippiness in the air and as Kolkata broke dawn, the top bunch of Daniel Ebenyo, Benson Kipruto, Stephen Kissa, and Haymanot Alew made past the 10K mark at 28:42 but looked up the ante as they were still a few seconds behind their expectation.
Defending champion Ebenyo looked strong, remained at the helm of affairs in the men’s race, and ran neck-to-neck alongside Kissa in most parts of the race. They briefly exchanged the lead, but the gap between the duo did not go beyond a meter or two all the time.
The Kenyan, who also set a stand-alone World Best for 25K (1:11:13) during last year’s race, was looking to improve his time in this edition.
They reached 15K in 42:56, some 30 seconds faster, with Ebenyo and Kissa still leading the pack, as the pace picked up along the tram tracks of South Kolkata. Surprisingly, Kipruto dropped off as Kissa took the lead at the 20K mark, clocking 57:50, with Ebenyo closely behind.
But he lost focus in the last two kilometers. Instead of looking at the clock, he only focused on pulling away from the Ugandan runner. Kissa did not allow that to happen and held off the challenge to sprint out to the tape to claim the men’s crown in 1:12:33 and pocket the USD 15,000 prize purse.
Ebenyo finished runner-up four seconds later, while Anthony Kipchirchir surprised everyone with a bronze position at 1:12:55.
‘Really I am very happy. India is a very nice country. It is my third time in India. When I was running, I thought we would make the world record. I had two options: either the first place or should I follow the first group. After the first 2 km, I saw my body responding well and so I ran with the first group.
‘I realized that I ran well today. I thought this could be my day. At the last kilometre I was comfortable, and I knew I could do it,’ said Stephen Kissa after winning the 25K.
‘Every day, a champion is born in sports. Last year, it was me. This year, it was Kissa. That is the fun of sports. I am very happy. He has flown the flag of Uganda and congratulations. I was a little tired this year as I did not recover from the Chicago Marathon. I will take a break for the festive season and spend time with my family. I felt some fatigue today, but it is sports,’ Daniel said.
‘First of all, I thank the organizers for calling me. I am on the podium for the first time. Next time, I will come back again; I like the course and hope to win here. I was cheered all along, and I liked it. I cut the pace towards the 15K mark and ran at my best. I settled for the third. But next year, I will come back stronger,’ said Anthony, who finished his first podium here.
