This archive report was first published on 22 September 2019.
On a humid day in Mombasa, Kenya, Mathew Kimeli and Delvine Meringor emerged victorious at the inaugural Safaricom Mombasa 10km road race on September 22, 2019.
Kimeli, representing Iten Adidas Club, clocked an impressive 31 minutes, 27.23 seconds to take the men's title and claim the top prize of Sh100,000. The athlete, who had previously won the Health Kidney 10Km Race in New York in May and finished second in the Praque 10Km run in Czech, faced a tough challenge when one of his shoes came off at the 4km mark.
"When one of my shoes came off, 14 athletes passed me, but I managed to quickly put it on and recover," Kimeli said, adding that he is eyeing the Ntalatgaa Cross Country in Nandi County on October 10.
Meringor, a Kaptagat athlete from West Pokot County, was in a league of her own in the women's race, crossing the finish line in an impressive 36 minutes, 10.45 seconds to take home Sh100,000. The athlete, who had previously finished seventh during the Houston Half Marathon in January, faced humid conditions that posed a significant challenge.
"I was about to collapse, but I decided to reduce the speed after realizing my opponent was far away. I'm lucky my opponent did not realize what was happening to me," Meringor said, adding that she was using the race to prepare for the upcoming Madoka Half Marathon on October 5, where she is the defending champion.
The top five finishers in the men's and women's categories were:
- Mathew Kimeli, Iten (31:27.23)
- Stephen Mwendwa, Makueni (31:38.76)
- Solomon Kiplimo, Iten (31:45.23)
- Bernard Musa, Machakos (31:55.16)
- Panuel Mkungo, Individual (32:06.95)
- Delvine Meringor, Kaptagat (36:10.45)
- Cynthia Kosgei, Individual (37:00.36)
- Roseline Chepketer, Individual (37:32.95)
- Naomy Kemunto, Ngong Camp (38:02.20)
- Christine Ndanu, Individual (38:21.04)
