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.
In the women’s race, Daska surpassed her personal best by 37 seconds. “I didn’t expect to run such a fast race today,” she said.
The race started at Boston Common, headed up Commonwealth and turned around on the same street at Boston University. The course continued through Kenmore Square, a short distance from Fenway Park, before concluding at the Common. It was filled with twists and turns through the city’s Back Bay section, making an early left near local landmark Cheers, the bar of television fame.
The 10K is part of the B.A.A. three-race medley. The 5K was in April, with a half marathon scheduled for October.
Source: Associated Press