Joshua Lives Up to His Hype as Gulveer and Seema Break Records in the 10th Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata

News Desk, News Nation 360 : The Tata Steel World 25K delivered an exciting show on a frigid winter Sunday, as records were broken, winners demonstrated their supremacy, and Indian distance running claimed yet another breakthrough. The day was really won by Gulveer Singh and Seema of India, who both rewrote the course records in their respective elite categories. At the same time, Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda demonstrated his mastery of the distance in the international elite men's race. Joshua Cheptegei, a double Olympic champion, controlled the men’s race from the start and won in 1:11:49 ahead of Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu at 1:11:56 and Lesotho’s Tebello Ramakongoana at 1:11:59 in a close podium finish, though he missed the 1:11:13 course record set by Daniel Simiu Ebenyo in 2023. The trio stayed together through 15 km and 20 km marks and matched at 1:00:49 for the 21.1 km half-marathon distance, but Cheptegei pulled away in the final

four kilometres to claim his first title. In the women's international elite race,e Ethiopia’s Degitu Azimeraw dominated from the flag-off to win in 1:19:36 ahead of defending champion Sutume Asefa Kebede in 1:20:28 and Meselech Alemayehu in 1:20:4,8 securing an Ethiopian sweep while the course record stayed with Sutume. Azimeraw led the 10 km, 15 km and 20 km marks by seconds that grew to a minute by 22 km, and she finished 500 metres ahead of her nearest rival. Gulveer Singh dominated the Indian elite men's race with a commanding run, finishing in 1:12:06 over two minutes faster than his own 1:14:10 record from 2024, ahead of Harmanjot Singh at 1:15:11 and Sawan Barwal at 1:15:25 showing his steady lead from 15 km with a one-minute gap that grew to two minutes by 21.1 km where he clocked 1:00:58 to Harmanjot’s 1:03:17. Seema won the Indian elite women's race in 1:26:04, breaking Suriya L's 2017 record of 1:26:53, with controlled aggression, ahead of Sanjivani Jadhav in 1:30:34 and Nirmaben Thakor in 1:32:02, leading by one minute at 10 km, then pulling further ahead to three minutes by 21.1 km before cantering home.

Pic - Krishnendu Kundu & Anustup Kundu