Mumbai, Jan 17 (IANS) After setting a new men's course record at the Mumbai Marathon, Kenyan pacemaker Gideon Kipketer on Sunday said he would like to build a house and buy more farmland with the $56,000 prize money he has received.
Kipketer was the dominating runner right from the start as his pace took him way ahead of the others in the country's premier marathon event.
He took the lead in the midway stage and from there on extended it to finish in two hours, eight minutes and 35 seconds. En route to his victory, he bettered the previous record of 2:09:32 set by Ugandan Jackson Kiprop in 2013.
With this win, Kipketer earned a prize money of $41,000 along with the course record jackpot which is $15,000 to grab a whopping $56,000 from the event.
"It's my biggest pay day. I will build a house and buy some more farmland. My next marathon will be in April. I felt confident as I ran and wanted to be the winner and it happened," Kipketer said at a press conference here.
"I run two marathons every year. I spoke to my sister, Valentine Kipketer (who came third in the women's section) about the marathon here. She said it will be a challenging one," he said.
The second place was taken by Ethiopia's Seboka Dibaba (2:09:20) while the third spot went to Marius Kimutai of Kenya (2:09:39).
"The way Kipketer ran, it was difficult to catch him. The race was not so easy. It was hot and humid too out there. But I am happy with the result. I had some injuries last year and I am happy to finish second," Dibaba said.
Kimutai said, "I have won four marathons. Before the start, I was not at all sure if I could make the top three with other good racers. But I am happy to have done that. It was a good race."
