A 74-year-old man and one more person collapsed and died, while 22 others were hospitalised during the annual TATA Mumbai Marathon in Mumbai on Sunday.
Apart from the senior citizen, a 40-year-old man, Suvradeep Banerjee, from Kolkata also died during the marathon.
While Banerjee, a seasoned full marathoner and software engineer, collapsed near the Haji Ali Junction, 74-year-old Rajendra Bora collapsed on the road near a petrol pump close to a popular pizza joint opposite the Marine Drive, news agency PTI reported.
A total of 22 others were hospitalised for dehydration and other reasons.
Ethiopian runners Hayle Lemi Berhanu and Aberash Minsewo, also the defending champions, won the men's and women's titles respectively.
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Among Indian men, Srinu Bugatha recorded the best finish with a timing of 2:17:29 and was followed by Gopi Thonakal (2:18:37) and Sher Singh Tanwar (2:19:37).
The top 10 elite men's runners included two Indians - Srinu placed at the eighth spot and Gopi at the 10th. "I was aiming for the course record but the last five kilometres were not good," PTI quoted Indian Army's Srinu as saying. Srinu that he was not aware of marathon racing until 2013 but he has been working hard to improve his timing.
Gopi and Srinu were together until the 27-kilometre mark but the former faced fitness issues and was forced to take a few breaks.
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"I was cramping, I had to stop for a bit for stretching and then I continued," Gopi told media.
In the men's elite event, Lemi recorded a second consecutive win in the gold label race with a timing of 2:07:50. Haymanot Alew (2:09:03) came second while Mitku Tafa (2:09:58) finished third.
Lemi said he was aiming for the course record too but missed beating the mark in the last three kilometres or so.
(with PTI inputs)
