The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2020 witnessed a magnificent sporting spectacle on Sunday. The event records in men’s and women’s categories, and the national half marathon record were broken for the first time in the history of ADHM, making the 16th edition of the event a cracking one.
After being flagged off by the Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and Event Ambassador Abhinav Bindra, Ethiopia’s Amdework Walelegn raced to victory with a timing of 58:53 in the men’s category to smash the event record, while Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw broke the event record in the women’s category and ran the second-fastest women’s half marathon ever. India’s 3000 metres steeplechase national record holder Avinash Sable shone among the athletes of India, breaking the national half marathon record and the event record.
The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon has always gone beyond convention and in the face of the toughest of challenges, the event found a way to emerge victoriously. Thousands of runners and a host of run clubs stood in solidarity with the 16th edition of the event via the exclusive Airtel Delhi Half Marathon Mobile App.
Even though they couldn’t run along with the elite runners from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, they spread their vibrancy across the country, forming an emotional bond with the event from wherever they were.
Around 13,500 people from around the world took part in ADHM 2020, across three categories – Half Marathon (21.097 km), Open 10K (10 km) and Great Delhi Run (5 km) – from their own respective locations.
As many as 89 runners led the charge from the city of Chandigarh. The participants got a brilliant opportunity to embrace and experience the magic of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon from wherever they were.
A runner from Chandigarh expressed that since the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon was organized for amateur runners through the ADHM app, he had a chance to help some of the runners in his city attain their targets.
“I knew some people who were running their first marathon in Chandigarh, so some of us decided to help them attain their targets. Since we ran ADHM in Chandigarh, we got an opportunity to help some of the runners in our city. I would say that was the best part about running ADHM through the app. It was a good attempt by ADHM to organize the event through the ADHM app,” said Yogesh Gera.