During the India Gate segment of the Delhi half marathon, defending champion Deriba Merga of Ethiopia was overtaken by his compatriot, a fleet-footed 19-year-old by the name of Tilahun Regassa. Merga harked at the youngster, and signaled him to follow his lead, but Regassa refused. Less than half an hour later, Merga crossed the ribbon to successfully defend his title, followed by countryman Eshetu Wendimu and Kenyan Wilson Kipsang. 43 seconds later, a disappointed and somewhat sheepish Regassa finished fourth.

“He is young and talented but has a lot to learn,” Merga said after the race. “If he would have followed my lead, he would be sitting next to me in second position.”

Merga covered 21.097 kilometres in 59:54 minutes on Sunday to win the Delhi event for the second successive year. “I’m proud to win in Delhi again, but I'm not happy with my time. I desperately wanted to run below 59 minutes,'” Merga said.

Practicing for the event on forest tracks and soft grass instead of the traditional tarmac due to an injury, Merga believes that the lack of training hindered his performance. “I was forced to run on softer surfaces during my build up to the event. Tarmac requires powerful strides, but there is always a next time,” he added.

Meanwhile in the women’s category, Kenyan Mary Keitany ran the fourth fastest time in history to set a new course record of 1:06:54. She was followed by the Ethiopian duo of Ayelew Wude (1:07:58) and Aberu Kebede (1:07:59).

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