On a rare race day of agreeable weather in the city, the 2024 Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM) podium was swept by half a dozen Ethiopian runners, who between them, cornered the top three positions in the male and female gender categories.

Defending champion Hayle Lemi regained his crown in the men’s segment, covering the distance in two hours, seven minutes and 50 seconds (in 2023, he had clocked 2:07:32). He was followed to the finish line by compatriots Haymanot Alew (2:09:03) and Mitku Tafa (2:09:58). Among women, the first to grace the finish line was Aberash Minsewo, who clocked 2:26:06. In second and third position were fellow Ethiopians Muluhabt Tsega (2:26:51) and Medhin Bejene (2:27:34). Incidentally, Sunday’s race was Aberash’s debut in the marathon.

In the Indian elite category, the men’s segment was topped by Srinu Bugatha (2:17:29). Last year’s winner, Gopi Thonakal (2:18:37), had to settle for second place while Sher Singh Tanwar (2:19:37) placed third. In the corresponding women’s segment, the winner was Thakor Nirmaben Bharatjee (2:47:11). Reshma Kevate (3:03:34) and Shyamali Sing (3:04:35) finished second and third respectively. In 2023, when Gopi had won the Indian men’s elite category in 2:16:41, Srinu had finished fifth among Indian men and fifteenth among male elites overall with timing of 2:23:05.

The top three podium finishers in the half marathon for men in 2024 were Sawan Barwal (1:05:07), Kiran Matre (1:06:23) and Mohan Saini (1:06:55). The same in women were Poonam Dinkar (1:19:18), Amrita Patel (1:19:18) and Kavita Yadav (1:20:44).

This year’s TMM featured close to 56,000 participants across its various categories. A report by moneycontrol.com said 10,711 runners had registered for the marathon and 15, 218 for the half marathon. Additionally, there was an open 10K, a senior citizens’ run, a Champions with Disability segment and the Dream Run. The last-mentioned category at 20,590-strong, fetched a big portion of the event’s numbers.

Meanwhile a statement from TMM said that two runners – Suvradeep Banerjee (40) and Rajendra Bora (74) – died during the event. The event’s medical partner is Asian Heart Institute (AHI). Rajendra Bora “ was found in a collapsed condition at the petrol pump, near Pizza by the Bay, he was attended to by an AHI doctor, who performed CPR on him and immediately shifted him to the Bombay Hospital Casualty ward, via the ambulance standing nearby. In transit, they continued the resuscitation but, were unable to revive him.

“ Suvradeep Banerjee, a full marathoner was found collapsed by the police, near Haji Ali junction. The police informed the ambulance at Nair Hospital, which reached the site shortly. We are given to understand that the runner was unresponsive at the site and during transit. We await the statement from Nair Hospital authorities,’’ the press release said.

According to it, a total of 1820 runners needed medical assistance. The majority of the cases were muscle cramps, sprains, minor injuries, bruises, exhaustion and dehydration. There was a total of 22 hospitalizations and 19 runners have been discharged. “ In general, the majority of the cases were of muscle cramps, dehydration, hypoglycaemia and minor injuries. The number of casualties over the years is coming down. The races starting earlier at 5.00 am and the temperature being conducive (for the full and the half marathon) has helped the runners in a big way. The weather this year was cool and that has aided the runners in completing their run smoothly,” the statement quoted Dr Vijay D’silva as saying.

(The author, Shyam G Menon is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai)

Please find below more photos from the elite race / all photos taken by the author: