Sutume Kebede and Stephen Kissa Claim Titles at Tata Steel World 25K Road Race

• Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede defended her women’s title with a time of 1:19:17, despite a recent stomach ailment.
• Uganda’s Stephen Kissa won the men’s category in his 25K debut, outrunning Kenya’s Daniel Ebenyo by four seconds.
• Indian runners impressed, with Gulveer Singh setting a new course record and Sanjivani Jadhav taking the women’s title.

At the ninth edition of the Tata Steel World 25K road race, held on Sunday, Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede successfully defended her women’s title with an impressive timing of 1:19:17. Although she didn’t break her own course record of 1:18:47 from the previous year, Kebede was pleased to retain the crown, especially after her strong performances earlier in the year at the Houston Half Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon.

In the men’s category, Uganda’s Stephen Kissa made a spectacular debut, securing victory after maintaining a steady pace alongside defending champion Daniel Ebenyo of Kenya. Kissa broke away at the 20K mark and finished four seconds ahead of Ebenyo, who had been the pre-race favorite.

Indian runners also put on a stellar performance, with Gulveer Singh breaking the course record in the men’s category, clocking 1:14:10 to claim first place. Sawan Barwal followed closely in second, finishing just one second behind. In the women’s category, Sanjivani Jadhav returned after a one-year hiatus to improve her personal best by more than five minutes, winning with a time of 1:29:08.

Results:

International Men:

1. Stephen Kissa (Uganda) – 1:12:33
2. Daniel Ebenyo (Kenya) – 1:12:37
3. Anthony Kipchirchir (Kenya) – 1:12:55

International Women:

1. Sutume Kebede (Ethiopia) – 1:19:17
2. Viola Chepngeno (Kenya) – 1:19:44
3. Desi Jisa (Bahrain) – 1:21:29

Indian Men:

1. Gulveer Singh (NCR) – 1:14:10
2. Sawan Barwal – 1:14:11
3. Gaurav Mathur – 1:16:59

Indian Women:

1. Sanjivani Jadhav – 1:29:08
2. Lili Das – 1:30:58
3. Kavita Yadav – 1:32:19