Bengaluru, April 8 : The World 10K Bengaluru, a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, continues to attract a world-class field with as many as seven women who have run faster than the current event record lining up for the 2025 edition on April 27.

Two runners who finished among the top ten in last year's race are prominently figuring among them. Kenya's Cintia Chepngeno, who finished ninth in 2024, is leading the list with a time of 30:08, clocked in Valencia. She arrives in fine form after securing a silver position in the Macau 10K earlier this year. Her countrymate Gladys Kwamboka Mong'are, the reigning African champion in the 10,000m who finished fifth in Bengaluru last year, has a personal best of 30:24.

Sandwiched between them are three other African runners from three different countries. Eritrea's Rahel Daniel, with a time of 30:12.15, clocked while finishing fifth in the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, joined forces with Ethiopia's 2023 African junior champion Asmarech Anley (20) and Ugandan Sarah Chelangat to challenge the Kenyan duo. Incidentally, Chelangat had a golden double at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games and was a finalist in the 10,000m event at the Olympic Games and World Championships in recent years.

Three other Kenyans - Maureen Jemutai, Miriam Chepkoech, and Nelvin Chepkemboi - also enter the fray with fast timing. Kenya's Irene Cheptai holds the event record for women at 30:35, registered in 2022. Abeba Aregawi originally hails from Ethiopia but migrated to Sweden in 2013, along with Transfora Mussa from Tanzania, adding further colour to the upcoming race.

Interestingly, Aregawi won the silver medal for her native country in the 2012 London Olympics 1500m final and went on to clinch the gold in the following year's World Championships in Moscow for her adopted country.

Ugandan Olympian and multiple-time global medallist Joshua Cheptegei is the fastest among the men competing. His personal best of 26:11, set in 2022, is significantly superior to the World 10K Bengaluru event record of 27:38, which was also achieved in 2022 by Kenyan Nicholas Kimeli. Cheptegei was a runner-up in Bengaluru in 2014 before embarking on his global journey.

Another Ugandan, Stephen Kissa, enters the fray. He also made it to the podium when he first appeared in Bengaluru eight years ago (2017) with a third-place finish and had dropped to sixteenth place by 2023. Stephen was also a bronze medallist in the 2020 Delhi Half-Marathon.

Kenya's Vincent Langat, who clocked 26:55 in Valencia earlier this year, may pull a surprise if conditions suit his plan. Awet Nftalem Kibrab, who originated in Eritrea and emigrated to Norway in 2022, and Ethiopian Jenbery Sisay (who finished seventh last year) may try their luck on the appointed day.

With a total prize pot of USD 2,10,000, the World 10K Bengaluru remains a popular destination for elite runners from around the globe, offering a platform to perform and prosper together.

/IANS