Kenya's Leonard Barsoton and Bahrain's Desi Jisa set course records to win the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K on December 18, 2022.
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Kenya’s Leonard Barsoton and Bahrain’s Desi Jisa set course records to win the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K, the World Athletics Elite Label road race on December 18, 2022. With a run of 1:12:49, Barsoton, the world cross country silver medalist from 2017, retained his title, breaking his own track record of 1:13:05 from the previous year. While Jisa beat the previous course record for the women’s event, which was set in 2019 by Ethiopian Gutemi Shone, by about a minute, recording 1:21:04.
A strategic race took place in the men’s competition. Barsoton was in the mix from the start but not in the front, behind Alfred Ngeno, Abdisa Tola, and Birhanu Legese. After the 20-kilometer mark, he accelerated and never turned back. He knew the course would include a bridge and then a circuitous route around Babu in Kolkata Ghat along the banks of the Hooghly river as he had run in Kolkata before. The Commonwealth Games marathon winner Victor Kiplangat of Uganda quickly set the pace after Tola of Ethiopia took the lead around the 15-kilometer mark. Barsoton had a significant lead by the time the group reached 23 kilometres, extending the distance between him and second-place Legese (1:12:54). Kiplangat came in third with a timing of 1:12:56s.
Jisa, who was in the lead, lowered her speed in the 5 km between 15-20 km, which appeared to be a strategic move to conserve her energy for a strong finish. She grabbed complete control with 5 kilometres to go. Zeineba Yimer of Ethiopia (1:21:18) came in second, followed by Mercyline Chelangat of Uganda (1:21:31). She received an amount of USD 7500 as well as an event bonus of USD 3000 for the record she established. She beat the old record of 1:22:09 set two years prior with a time of 1:21:04.
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