Ethiopians Emane Seifu and Seboka Negusse Win NMDC Hyderabad Marathon Elite Titles

Ethiopian athletes swept the elite titles at the NMDC Hyderabad Marathon on Sunday, with Emane Seifu and Seboka Negusse clinching the women's and men's races respectively.

In the women’s elite category, Ethiopia’s Emane Seifu crossed the finish line in 2:46:29 to secure top honours. Fellow Ethiopian Tsega Desta took second place with a time of 2:46:57, followed closely by Kenya’s Teresiah Omosa in third at 2:47:17. Among Indian women, Nirmaben Thakor finished as the fastest runner with a timing of 2:50:20. Bhagirathi Non followed in 2:51:41, while Meenakshi Negi, Maripally Uma, and Bhagwati Dangi clocked 3:08:43, 3:18:22, and 3:31:28, respectively.

The men’s elite race saw a thrilling finish as Ethiopia’s Seboka Negusse clocked 2:20:57 to claim victory, edging out Kenya’s Felix Kimutai, who finished second with the identical time of 2:20:57. Kenya’s Francis Cheruiyot took third place in 2:21:29. Gopi Thonakal finished fourth overall to become the top Indian finisher with a time of 2:21:46. Other leading Indian male finishers included Man Singh (2:23:56), Pradeep Singh Chauhan (2:26:12), Ranjit Singh (2:27:49), and Bugatha Srinu (2:29:56).

The marathon awarded cash prizes of Rs 3 lakh, Rs 2.5 lakh, and Rs 2 lakh to the top three finishers in the elite categories. Runners who finished in fourth, fifth, and sixth places received Rs 1.5 lakh, Rs 1 lakh, and Rs 75,000, respectively.

A notable highlight of the event was the marathon debut of 184 young tribal runners from Chhattisgarh, where state-owned mining firm NMDC operates projects. NMDC Director (Personnel) Krishna Kumar Thakur noted that the initiative helped identify promising athletic talent among tribal youth.

Speaking at the flag-off in Cyberabad, Commissioner of Police Dr M. Ramesh highlighted the city's active running culture, noting that nearly 2,000 police personnel participated across different race categories. Corporate participants were also acknowledged at the event, with Novartis Healthcare recognised for the highest proportion of female participants, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories for the highest registrations with 1,000 participants, and Arcesium for contributing Rs 30 lakh to charity. The marathon supported 40 NGOs and raised more than Rs 2 crore for charitable causes.