News Desk, News Nation 360 : The World Athletics Elite Label Road Race and one of India's largest running festivals, the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K, will feature two world champions from Kenya, Daniel Simiyu Ebenyo in the men's category and Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw in the women's division, who holds the 10K world record. With a time of 1:12:49 for the men's event, Kenya's Leonard Barsoton holds the current record; Desi Jisa of Bahrain holds the record for the women's event, clocking in at 1:21:04. Yehualaw, the 10K world record holder (29:14 in 2022) who is making her debut at this 25K, is the female runner to watch. In the half marathon, she holds the second-best time ever recorded in the world with a 2021 time of 1:03:51. The $100,000 prize money race, #AamarKolkataAamarRun, will feature some of the greatest athletes in the world. In every race, the top three finishers will receive equal prize money for men and women, with payouts of $7500, $5000, and $3500. An additional incentive for the international elite runners will be an Event Record Bonus of US $3,000. Daniel Simiyu Ebenyo, a Kenyan, won two silver medals at world championships this year: one for a half marathon in Riga at the first World Road Running Championships, and another for 10,000 metres in Budapest last August. He then went on to win the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon with ease in October. This will be his first appearance at the 25K distance, in Kolkata. Due to their sub-60 minute half marathon times, Roncer Kipkorir Konga and Bernard Biwott, two of his countrymen, are anticipated to challenge Ebenyo for the top podium spot. After winning in Buenos Aires in August and breaking his personal best time of 59:08 in the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, Roncer placed seventh, while Biwott set an early world record in January when she triumphed in Santa Pola, Spain. Vivek Singh, Joint MD, Procam International said that they are thrilled that, as an elite race, they have become more so every year, and the lineup speaks for itself. The TSK 25K is one of the most sought-after races at this distance because it attracts some of the world's top distance runners. In addition to raising the bar for the competition, the presence of seasoned winners like Daniel Ebenyo and Yalemzerf Yehualaw will provide much-needed exposure for their Indian distance runners to compete against some of the best distance athletes in the world. Hiske Tewelde, an expert in multiple-distance running and holder of the national record for the Eritrean marathon, is another competitor in the stacked men's field and is expected to be the dark horse. When thousands of runners take on the 25K distance on December 17, 2023, the Hooghly River is expected to see yet another record broken. This year's running festival boasts an incredible lineup.
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