Kartik Kumar and KM Laxmi Triumph at Bengaluru Marathon 2024

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 6 (ANI): Asian Games medallist Kartik Kumar won the men's elite race at the 11th Bengaluru Marathon on Sunday, while KM Laxmi claimed victory in the women's category.
The Bengaluru Marathon, a category E World Athletics Label Road Race, was also certified as a National Open Marathon by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) this year. The event started from the Kanteerava Stadium, as per the Olympics.com.
As per Olympics.com, Kartik Kumar, who secured a silver medal in the 10,000m at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year, finished first with a time of 2:22:50.
He finished fourth in men's 10000m with 28:14.67 at the Portland Track Festival 2024.
Pradeep Singh Chaudhary took second place with a time of 2:23:35, and Harshad secured third with 2:25:50.
In the previous year, Anish Thapa won the 10th edition of the marathon with a time of 2:18:06.
In the women's race, KM Laxmi dominated, finishing in 3:00:21. Last year's champion, Jyoti Gawate, finished third with a time of 3:25:21, while Ashvini Jadhav held onto her second-place spot from last year, completing the race in 3:12:42, as per Olympics.com.
India's national marathon records stand at 2:12:00 for men, set by Shivnath Singh in 1978, and 2:34:43 for women, set by OP Jaisha in 2015.
In the half-marathon, Ashok Bind topped the men's category with a time of 1:12:05, followed by M Nanjundappa (1:12:53) and Manikanta P (1:14:41). In the women's half-marathon, Tejaswini finished first with a time of 1:25:16, followed by Manisha Joshi (1:35:12) and Bugalee Kumari Gurjar (1:35:31). (ANI)