Sport
Kenya’s Stephen Sambu, wins the B.A.A. 10K
Kenya’s Stephen Sambu. PHOTO/Michael Dwyer
Stephen Sambu of Kenya won the B.A.A. 10K for the second straight year Sunday, edging countryman and 2011 Boston Marathon winner Geoffrey Mutai.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Mamitu Daska also won for the second consecutive year. She was timed in a course-record 31 minutes, 4 seconds, with Kenya’s Betsy Saina 6 seconds behind.
Sambu pulled away near the 8 km (5 mile) mark and finished 10 seconds ahead of Mutai. Sambu set a personal best of 27 minutes, 25 seconds, beating his mark by 14 seconds.
“I am so happy,” said Sambu, who turns 26 on July 7. “It makes me feel like I’m improving.”
He and Mutai, running side by side, set a world record for 8 kilometers – 22 minutes, 1 second. Sambu did not know until after the race that the mark had fallen.
“Our plan from the beginning was to make the pace high,” he said.
“I was feeling good the whole way,” he said. “I just increased the pace a little bit. I was thinking after 8K I knew I still had 2K to go. I was just thinking about finishing. I was feeling tired.” Mutai also won the 2011 New York City Marathon.
